Requiring Schools to Provide Instruction on the Labor Movement

By Vin Gopal

The labor movement in America is an important part of our nation’s history.

It is the reason we have Social Security, health insurance, collective bargaining, and laws that make the workplace safer. 

It gave workers a voice.

Senator Vin Gopal

We often take the benefits the labor movement brought to the American workplace for granted. That’s why it’s gratifying that the governor signed legislation we co-sponsored into law requiring the State Board of Education to adopt New Jersey Student Learning Standards that require school districts to provide instruction on the labor movement. Under the new law, boards of education are required to include instruction on U.S. and New Jersey labor history and the contributions of the labor movement. The instruction will be part of the social studies curriculum of students in grades six through 12.

The instruction will include, at a minimum, information on the history of organized labor;  notable strikes throughout history;  unionization drives; the collective bargaining process, and existing legal protections in the workplace. 

Local boards of education will establish policies and procedures as to how instructional materials are selected. The materials will present the political, economic, and societal contributions of individuals involved in the labor movement throughout U.S. history.

In another matter, my District 11 legislative partners, Assemblywomen Marrgie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul, and I recently joined Red Bank Mayor Billy Portman and other local officials and environmental advocates to call for urgent passage of the NJ Climate Superfund Act. We are co-sponsors of the legislation that would impose liability on certain fossil fuel companies for damages caused by climate change. It would establish a program in the Department of Environmental Protection to collect and distribute compensatory payments.

The event, held at a park in Red Bank, highlighted the growing human and economic toll of extreme weather in New Jersey and urged state leaders to hold Big Oil accountable by requiring fossil fuel companies to pay for damages caused by climate change. We are proud to stand with Clean Water Action, Food & Water Watch, EmpowerNJ, and other supporters of the Climate Superfund Act.

The bill would require the State Treasurer to prepare and submit an assessment of the damages to the state that have resulted from greenhouse gas emissions since 1995, and present it to the state legislature within two years. 

We have successfully lobbied for support in the legislature and political support has grown throughout the year, with 52 legislative co-sponsors.  In addition, 53 municipalities, and two counties have adopted resolutions in support of the bill. We are now pushing for the bill’s passage before the end of the legislative session in January.

The New Jersey legislation is modeled after laws in New York and Vermont. It would place the burden of paying for projects to ensure that New Jersey is resilient and affordable in the face of future climate impacts on large fossil fuel companies instead of taxpayers.

We would also like to remind residents that our constituent services team will be offering a PAS-1 filing workshop on how to apply for the state’s property tax relief programs – Stay NJ, ANCHOR, and Senior Freeze. Open to Legislative District 11 residents, the workshop will be held at the Neptune Senior Center, on October 7, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The team also will visit Jumping Brook with mobile office hours to assist residents with information about navigating state programs and agencies, on October 9, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

We hope to see you there.