New Jersey Legislature Passes Bill Banning Non-Union Workers From Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Contracts

Hurricane Sandy relief bill was the subject of much political theater as it worked its way through Congress in Washington DC, with local officials including Governor Chris Christie bemoaning delays in assistance for their communities. But in New Jersey the state Senate just passed a bill that will make relief efforts more expensive, and more protracted, through a bit of Big Labor protectionism:

On Monday, the New Jersey state Senate, in a party-line vote, passed a bill that would exclude construction workers who are not a part of a union from doing work related to Hurricane Sandy cleanup and reconstruction in the state.

The bill will now heads to the New Jersey assembly. If it passes there, it goes to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) desk.

We all remember the stories in the immediate aftermath of Sandy about non-union workers being blocked from cleanup efforts. The unions vehemently denied the stories, saying they were setting aside labor divisions for the good of getting their communities back online.

That’s a little hard to swallow given the aforementioned legislation.

Union-friendly legislators in New Jersey don’t want union workers to have to compete with non-union workers, which means the citizens of New Jersey lose when their recovery because more expensive, and more arduous.