TRENTON — As the fight to reform pension and health benefits continues inside the Statehouse, hundreds of public workers rallied this afternoon in Trenton with Rev. Jesse Jackson to protect their rights to collectively bargain. “We have never lost a battle that we fought and never won the battle unless we fought,” Jackson said. “And so fight on for...
The Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks to workers during a union rally held at Military Park, Newark. He also joined public workers rallying at the Statehouse in the fight against health benefits and pension reform.TRENTON — As the fight to reform pension and health benefits continues inside the Statehouse, hundreds of public workers rallied this afternoon in Trenton with Rev. Jesse Jackson to protect their rights to collectively bargain.
“We have never lost a battle that we fought and never won the battle unless we fought,” Jackson said. “And so fight on for jobs, fight on for public workers, fight on for teachers, fight on for bus drivers, fight on for police, fight on for the workers.”
The outspoken civil rights leader and former presidential candidate took veiled shots at Gov. Chris Christie and Republicans nationwide, who he blamed for cutting taxes for the wealthy, cutting jobs for blue-collar workers and cutting services for the neediest.
He also made reference to Christie’s trip Tuesday aboard a state helicopter to his son’s baseball game. “Here you cannot get public transportation to work and you send somebody out to the ball game in a helicopter?” Jackson said.
The rally capped Jackson’s two-day “Solidarity Tour” of the New Jersey area aimed at firing up public workers, who are under pressure by Christie and state Republican lawmakers to relinquish some pension and health benefit.
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