Dear NJ State AFL-CIO E-Activist,

VICTORY 500

November 4, 2008 will hold a special place in the history of our New Jersey Labor Movement and an important milestone for the New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates Program.  It is because of your continuous support and dedication that we have the opportunity to share with you, today, the news of our 500^th victorious election of a union member to public office in the state of New Jersey since 1997, more than any other state in the nation.  We congratulate Brother Kenneth Utter, of UA Local 475, who was elected to the town council in Somerville, NJ, along with his 33 union brothers and sisters who were also elected to public office.

No one understands the issues affecting working families better then our own rank-and-file union members.  Our members and our movement now have a stronger, more powerful voice in government, through the Labor Candidates Program, which was developed, maintained and expanded through your unwavering support and teamwork.  With union members serving at the State, County and Local levels, we can be assured that our labor movement will always have an effective hand in crafting, directing, and implementing important public policy that affects our everyday lives.

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO, working in partnership with the national AFL-CIO, international unions, our Central Labor Councils, Building Trades Councils and affiliated unions, congratulates all union members who have won their elections and are now a member of the finest labor candidates program in the country.  Working together, we will continue to win together!