Trailblazer Archives - New Jersey Globe

Labor Leader: Joel Jacobson picked a public fight with Frank Sinatra

September 7, 2026 12:18 amSeptember 6, 2026 9:05 pm

One notable New Jersey conflict of the 1970s was the rivalry between labor leader Joel R. Jacobson (1918-1989) and Frank Sinatra. Sinatra and Dean Martin were playing blackjack before their performance at the Golden Nugget Casino in Atlantic City in...

Labor Leader: George Norcross spent 16 years as South Jersey AFL-CIO president

September 7, 2026 12:17 amSeptember 6, 2026 8:45 pm

George E. Norcross (1928-1998), the father of a U.S. Congressman, the managing partner at a major New Jersey law firm, and the state’s most powerful Democratic powerbroker, spent his career as a labor leader. Norcross served as president of the...

Labor Leader: ex-Yankees pitcher later served as N.J. Commissioner of Labor

September 7, 2026 12:16 amSeptember 6, 2026 8:05 pm

Before Bill Bradley, there was Harry C. Harper. Known as “Hackensack Harry,” Harper spent ten seasons as a major league baseball pitcher. The big left-hander was the starting pitcher for the New York Yankees in Game Six of the 1921...

Labor Leader: Vincent J. Murphy was NJ AFL-CIO president, two-term Mayor of Newark

September 7, 2026 12:15 amSeptember 6, 2026 8:12 pm

One of the most influential labor leaders in New Jersey’s history was Vincent J. Murphy (1893-1976), who spent nine years as the president of the New Jersey AFL-CIO after serving two terms as Mayor of Newark. He was the Democratic...

Here are seven labor leaders – big deals in their day – that you should know about

September 7, 2026 12:14 amSeptember 6, 2026 8:12 pm

As New Jerseyans celebrate Labor Day, here are seven labor leaders of the last whose names ought not to slip from the memories of those who closely follow politics and the state labor movement. Hetty Rosenstein is one of the...

Labor Leader: John J. Giblin served as State Senator, Essex County Freeholder

September 7, 2026 12:14 amSeptember 6, 2026 8:39 pm

John J. Giblin (1909-1975) was one of New Jersey’s most powerful labor leaders, serving as president of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 68, chairman of the national union, Essex County Freeholder and State Senator. Giblin was the patriarch...

Labor Leader: Paul J. Krebs, last president of N.J. CIO served one-term in Congress

September 7, 2026 12:13 amSeptember 6, 2026 8:13 pm

The last New Jersey Democrat to lose a U.S. Senate race in New Jersey was Paul Krebs (1912-1996), labor leader and one-term congressman from Livingston. His story involves one of the great New Jersey labor union feuds. The account starts...