In a continuing effort to connect the school and its students to the local labor trades, New Jersey City University recently partnered with the Hudson County Building Trades to host a job fair.
The job fair, held at NJCU’s Gilligan Student Union, was attended by representatives from numerous local unions, including:
- Plumbers Local No. 24;
- Sprinkler Fitters Local No. 696;
- Operating Engineers Local No. 825;
- Pipefitters Local No. 274;
- Carpenters Local No. 253;
- IBEW Local No. 164;
- Tile and Marble Local No. 7;
- Insulators Local No. 32;
- Glazier’s Painters and Spacklers Local No. 21;
- Laborers Local No. 3;
- Heavy Highway Local No. 472;
- Crest/Mechanics Local No. 477;
- Auto and Diesel Technicians;
- International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employers Local No. 59.
Local elected officials and community leaders also attended the event to show their support, including Assembly members Angela McKnight (D-Jersey City) and William Sampson IV (D-Bayonne), Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea and Hudson County Building Trades President Patrick Kelleher.
“This is exactly the kind of community engagement and local partnership-building that makes NJCU an indispensable mission-focused institution, not only for our students, but for the entirety of Hudson County,” NJCU interim President Andrés Acebo said.
“We are committed to providing our students with the practical resources they need to be able to thrive during and long after their time at NJCU. I’m grateful for our allies in New Jersey’s labor community, and look forward to continuing to partner with Hudson County Building Trades to serve Hudson County residents for many years to come.”
In January, NJCU also made history by becoming the first university in the state of New Jersey to sign a Project Labor Agreement with the Hudson Building Trades, which authorized all university construction projects exceeding $5 million to be completed by union labor. NJCU has also maintained a close partnership with the faculty unions even through last year’s budget cuts, demonstrating the university’s unwavering commitment to organized labor.
“This job fair was a good opportunity to collaborate with NJCU, who has been a strong supporter of organized labor and fostering economic opportunity in Hudson County,” Kelleher said. “NJCU students are an incredible resource for our communities, and we are excited to partner closely with the university to make sure that they have access to career opportunities in our county.”
Acebo said New Jersey City University is guided by its mission to provide truly accessible, debt-free education for Hudson County, and to serve as a resource not only for its student body, but for the community as a whole. Events like this job fair that connect residents with high quality, union jobs and foster collaboration and solidarity with unions are central to the university’s mission, he said.
