In New Jersey, where Governor Chris Christie has said that relief measures for Hurricane Sandy should be “above politics,” non-union workers are now excluded from participating in cleanup and rebuilding efforts. That policy took effect when the New Jersey state senate voted on Monday to expand an existing labor-agreement law that has been on the books since 2002. According to the Jersey Journal, highways, bridges, pumping stations, and water and sewage treatment plants were not covered under the existing law, but the new bill includes them:
Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), who authored the legislation and fast tracked it, said the agreements are key to making sure work goes to New Jersey workers.
Above politics, just not regional politics, I guess. The new measure also passed along party lines, 23 Democrats to 13 Republicans. Above politics, just not party politics.