Governor Mikie Sherrill Champions Union Jobs, Infrastructure and Energy Expansion at National Building Trades Conference
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By Adam Rizvi | Editor, The India Observer (TIO): WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mikie Sherrill, Governor of New Jersey, delivered a forceful message in support of organized labor, infrastructure investment, and working families while addressing the North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) 2026 Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
Speaking to union leaders and workers from across the United States,
Governor Sherrill emphasized that strong labor partnerships remain central to economic opportunity and middle-class stability.
“The whole reason I’m here today is because of labor,” Sherrill told attendees, reflecting on her grandfather’s union job as a welder in the United Auto Workers, which helped lift her family into the middle class after the hardships of the Great Depression.
Governor Sherrill used the keynote address to highlight major infrastructure initiatives underway in New Jersey, including the long-awaited Gateway Tunnel Project — one of the most significant transportation projects in the United States.
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The governor reaffirmed her commitment to protecting funding for the project, which is expected to generate approximately 100,000 jobs over 15 years and modernize a critical rail corridor between New Jersey and New York
Sherrill noted that she had fought for the project during her tenure in Congress and continues to defend it as governor.
“I refuse to back down in the fight for tens of thousands of Building Trades jobs,” she said.
The governor also outlined a sweeping strategy aimed at reducing energy costs and expanding domestic power generation in New Jersey.
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According to Sherrill, the state plans its largest expansion of in-state energy production in four decades, including:
- Solar and battery storage projects
- Modernized natural gas infrastructure
- New nuclear energy development
She recently signed legislation ending a 50-year moratorium on new nuclear power construction in New Jersey, opening the door to future nuclear projects.
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New Jersey already hosts one of the largest nuclear power generating sites in the country, supplying electricity to millions of homes.
In addition to energy initiatives, Sherrill highlighted several major transportation upgrades designed to modernize the state’s aging infrastructure.
Among them:
- Completion of the Portal North Bridge, a key improvement along the Northeast rail corridor
- A statewide plan to replace New Jersey’s entire bus and rail fleet by 2031
- A new $6.7 billion bridge across Newark Bay, the largest infrastructure project in the history of the New Jersey Turnpike
The Newark Bay Bridge project alone is expected to support approximately 19,000 jobs.
Throughout the speech, Sherrill emphasized that union jobs create generational opportunities for working families.
She shared stories of skilled welders, construction workers, and laborers whose careers have supported their families for decades and helped build New Jersey’s infrastructure.
“Union jobs can create opportunities for families for generations,” Sherrill said.
Governor Sherrill concluded her remarks by reaffirming that her administration’s priorities center on affordability, job creation, and long-term infrastructure investment.
“I’ll always answer first to people around their kitchen tables, not the boardroom or the backroom,” she said.
“New Jersey built this nation. It’s past time to do it again.”
Source: Remarks prepared for delivery by the Office of Governor Mikie Sherrill at the NABTU 2026 Legislative Conference
Labor unions, infrastructure modernization, and energy policy remain central issues shaping the economic future of New Jersey and the broader United States. Governor Sherrill’s remarks highlight the state’s plans to expand union jobs, modernize transit systems, and invest in long-term energy independence.
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