By Bruce Miller
Election Day in New Jersey marked one of the closest gubernatorial races our state has ever seen — and while working people delivered a historic second term to Gov. Phil Murphy, his narrow victory should be a wake-up call that New Jerseyans need to see him deliver on his promises, starting with the landmark Guaranteed Severance Law.
New Jersey became the very first state in the U.S. to hold Wall Street’s corporate billionaires accountable to workers when they bankrupt companies and throw tens of thousands of people mercilessly out of work when we passed the Guaranteed Severance bill. But despite this governor signing the bill into law nearly two years ago, workers are still unprotected from Wall Street’s greed, due to Governor Murphy’s failure to enact the law since its effective date, July 19, 2020.
I know firsthand how critical this legislation is for essential workers whose lives are upended by Wall Street greed because I was one of those workers in 2018, and spent a good year of my life afterward pouring my time, energy and heart into making guaranteed severance the law of the land in my state. I built my career at Sears, where I gave 35 years of loyal service. When Sears filed for bankruptcy in October 2018, two-thirds of my pension disappeared overnight. But I still considered myself among the lucky ones: I received eight weeks of severance pay, while many of my colleagues got nothing.
Alongside other workers who’ve been burned by Wall Street, I helped craft the Guaranteed Severance Law to ensure that other essential workers would never be left without a safety net like we were. When the bill was signed into law on Jan. 21, 2020, by Governor Murphy, I felt I had truly helped make a meaningful difference in the lives of New Jersey workers.
But the governor — who has campaigned on the promise of being a champion for working families and the middle class — and state elected leaders have let this important legislation sit stagnant, ineffective and unenforced for almost two years.
Essential workers, the very same “heroes” celebrated in TV ads, are still waiting for the protections we fought for, and working families remain vulnerable to Wall Street greed. Corporate executives are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to strip away jobs while raking in profits to line their own pockets, and frontline workers and their families continue struggling to make ends meet.
While working at Sears, I would have never imagined that in a few years I’d be standing at a podium in the state Capitol, in front of dozens of reporters and cameras, to educate the public about the Guaranteed Severance bill. Telling my story and advising elected officials on meaningful labor policy wasn’t on my bucket list — but I stepped up because it needed to be done.
Now during the COVID-19 pandemic, workers have undoubtedly been used as pawns throughout this crisis. People working in frontline retail and warehouse jobs were the human shields protecting our economy when the country went on lockdown. As we try to build back, workers must be protected and valued as the lifeline we are with more — not fewer — safeguards for our well-being. After applauding “our heroes” for keeping our economy running, working families have effectively been shut out of the economic recovery.
What we’re seeing in New Jersey and across the country is a tale of two COVID recoveries: one where billionaires continue to quietly rake in unprecedented pandemic profits, gaming the system to their advantage, and another where working Americans must fend for themselves, even when protections for workers have been codified into law.
Had the Guaranteed Severance Law gone into effect as scheduled on July 19, 2020, more than half of the 40,137 workers in New Jersey whose jobs were terminated since the bill became law could have benefitted from the protections outlined in the landmark bill. That’s at least 24,920 people who were robbed of a safety net when their jobs were destroyed during the greatest public health crisis of our lifetimes. Meanwhile, large corporate employers in New Jersey received millions in state and federal tax benefits and subsidies.
Elected officials have a responsibility to protect working families caught between an increasingly volatile economy and the ongoing pandemic, and prevent Wall Street from destroying working people’s livelihoods. Guaranteed severance is the first step, and we are falling shy of the finish every day this bill’s enforcement is delayed.
No one could have predicted how COVID-19 would unfold back in the Spring of 2020, but allowing Wall Street billionaires to take cover behind the pandemic is unforgivable, especially at this late date, 16 months (and counting) after the Guaranteed Severance Law was to take effect.
While I’m proud of what we accomplished, it’s a shame that our victory remains an empty promise for the thousands of essential workers who lost their jobs during the worst public health emergency of our lifetimes.
If Governor Murphy truly wants to stand with working people and project jobs in New Jersey, it’s time he finally enforced the Guaranteed Severance Law. That would sure beat another meaningless pat on the back for the “heroes” who delivered his win.
Bruce Miller, a former Sears employee for 35+ years in Toms River and a leader with United for Respect.
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