Bill Mullen, the president of the New Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council, today personally endorsed Steve Sweeney, a longtime union leader and the former Senate President, for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2025.
“As Senate President, Steve Sweeney always put the interests of New Jersey working people first,” stated Mullen. “Steve came up as a union Ironworker and we could always count on his commitment to the construction trades, from Project Labor Agreements and prevailing wage laws to apprenticeship programs, expanding vocational-technical education and rebuilding our roads, bridges and highways.”
The endorsement, which comes one week after Sweeney formally announced his candidacy, is not surprising: he and Mullen are close friends and longtime allies; in 2022, Mullen shepherded a resolution approved by the building trades union that pledged loyalty to Sweeney and expressed hope that he would run for governor.
“Steve knows the value of the benefits union members enjoy, and he fought successfully to pass legislation to expand benefits like Paid Family Leave and Earned Sick Leave to all workers and to raise the minimum wage and peg it to inflation,” Mullen said. “I have worked with Steve for years, and I know he will make a great governor.
Sweeney has already won the endorsement of the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and the International Longshoremen’s Association, along with personal support from six South Jersey Democratic county chairmen.
Sweeney, the International Vice President of the Ironworkers Union, pledged to continue working with Mullen and building trades unions “to continue to improve the lives of working families.”
Some Teamsters union locals have already endorsed Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, the only other announced 2025 candidate.
Gov. Phil Murphy is term-limited and is now completing his sixth year as governor.