Steven Fulop (D), mayor of Jersey City, N.J., will propose a bill next week that would require most businesses in the city to offer paid sick days to workers. Any company with 10 or more employees would have to provide up to five paid sick days annually. The bill is expected to pass, as much of the City Council is aligned with Fulop.

Dozens of women leaders from labor and community groups joined with state, county and local elected officials at the Statehouse today to support raising New Jersey’s minimum wage and to commemorate Women’s Equality Day—the day the 19th Amendment was certified, granting women the right to vote. Speakers explained how approving the minimum wage ballot question would advance the fight for women’s equality in New Jersey and help to close the opportunity gap for thousands of women in the state who struggle to make ends meet in minimum wage jobs. Out of all minimum wage workers in New Jersey, some 60% of them are women.

With the  federal minimum wage  stuck at $7.25 an hour and an increase facing stiff opposition from congressional Republicans, coalitions  of union, community, faith and other groups are mobilizing to win increases in state and local minimum wage levels. Here’s a look at some recent wins and campaigns where AFL-CIO state federations and central labor councils are playing big roles.

After a conditional veto of an increase in New Jersey's minimum wage by Gov. Chris Christie (R), working families, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO and a coalition of 151 organizations are pushing for a measure that  would raise the state's wage to $8.25 per hour  and attach a cost-of-living adjustment to the wage for the future. Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D) and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D) also joined the "Raise the Wage" campaign. In November, voters will be able to decide on the ballot whether or not to increase the minimum wage.

The hundreds of thousands of East Coast residents—especially in New York and New Jersey—who continue to feel the sting of Hurricane Sandy more than two months after the storm, now are "feeling the sting of a House Republican slap to the face after Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) backed out of a promise to vote on an emergency aid package for hurricane victims," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) called Boehner’s decision to cancel the vote “a cruel knife in the back.”

Sign the New York State AFL-CIO petition to pass Hurricane Sandy relief.

Lee Sandberg, communications coordinator for the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, sends us this update .

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO, working together with its Executive Board members, central labor councils, Building Trades councils and affiliated unions, amassed a mountainous collection of union-made toys that was proudly presented to a team of U.S. Marines today in Trenton, on behalf of the U.S. Marine Corps' “Toys for Tots” program.

President Obama sent a request to Congress asking for $60.4 billion to fund Hurricane Sandy storm recovery efforts. The request is expected to be introduced in legislation next week and will be debated after that.

New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech and  New Jersey State AFL-CIO  Secretary-Treasurer Laurel Brennan send us this update on Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts. 

The UAW in Atlantic City has thousands of members who were impacted by Hurricane Sandy. In addition to sustaining major property losses, our brothers and sisters have had their hours cut because of the devastation to the casino industry. The critical message to our members is that they are not in this alone. Various recovery resources are available, and we will do everything to get them the help they need as soon as possible.

While the election and other stories have taken Superstorm Sandy out of the headlines, millions of Americans who were in the storm's path are still in need of assistance. Don't let the the short attention span of the news cycle delay necessary aid to those whose lives have been permanently altered.

UNITE HERE Local 54 casino workers in Atlantic City, N.J., are pitching in to help their members and the local community impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Local 54 has started a Helping Hands Relief Center to provide the public with information and help to apply for services. Local 54 President Bob McDevitt told the Press of Atlantic City newspaper :

There is an incredible need in the community....We felt we should coordinate this. As far as organizations go, we connect to most of the people.