From left to right: Richard Suarez, President, ILA Local 1235 and Atlantic Coast District Vice President; Raymond Colli, Shop Steward, ILA Local 1588; Sen. Bob Menendez and Virgil Maldonado, President, ILA Local 1588 and International Vice President.
BAYONNE, NJ – (March 31, 2017) Virgil Maldonado, President, ILA Local 1588 and an International Vice President, and Richard Suarez, an Atlantic Coast District Vice President and President, ILA Local 1235 joined with U.S. Senator Bob Menendez in Bayonne on Friday, March 31st to urge the Trump Administration to keep funding port improvement products to protect ILA jobs.
“It’s an honor for me to join with other distinguished guests here today to tell you that more of my members have jobs, and more New Jersey residents have jobs because of the tireless work of our esteemed U.S. Senator Robert Menendez,” Virgil Maldonado said at a press conference at Global Container Terminals. “Two weeks ago, my International President Harold Daggett and other ILA officers visited Senator Menendez at his Washington office to express concern about government interference in the ILA’s and management’s collective bargaining agreements. They outlined just how our Government should not act. Federal investments in our nation’s ports help create and maintain good paying jobs for our ILA members. This is what Sen. Menendez stands for and how our Federal Government should operate.”
Jose Reyes, Secretary-Treasurer, ILA Local 1235; Celso Telle, Business Agent, ILA Local 125 and Raymond Colli, Shop Stewart, Local 1588, joined Virgil Maldonado and Richard Suarez at Sen. Menendez’s press conference.
Sen. Menendez and Virgil Maldonado each referenced the 2013 Federal TIGER grant of $11.4 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund expansion at Global Marine Terminal, as an example of how keeping infrastructure funding in the Federal Budget helps produce jobs and strengthens the economy.
“Senator Bob Menendez worked hard to help obtain that grant, said ILA Local1588 President Maldonado. “It’s what he’s been doing for decades on behalf of my ILA members and all working families in New Jersey.
“Senator Menendez, I speak today on behalf of my president and your friend, Harold Daggett and the tens of thousands of ILA members who are also your friends,” Virgil Maldonado continued. “You have a tough job and challenging responsibilities working in this new administration. We don’t want it to be a lonely job. As President Daggett told you two weeks ago, we in the ILA are behind you 100 percent. Thank you for always investing in us and in America’s working middle class.”
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