Demcoratic State Sen. Donald Norcross will step down as president of the Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO Central Labor Council effective Labor Day.
Norcross, in his second year as a state senator, said the time is right to leave the post he has held for 16 years.
“I am proud of our accomplishments over the last 16 years, but I strongly believe this is the right time to give someone else an opportunity to lead an organization that has been so much a part of my life,” said Norcross. “I had planned to retire in December, but I felt that Labor Day would be more appropriate because of the great symbolism it holds for workers and their families. I also know how much that would have meant to my father.”
Norcross said he felt it is right to step aside now before the next election of officers because of the demands posed by his position in the state Senate.
An electrician by trade, Norcross got his start as an apprentice in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in 1980. He rose through the ranks to become a delegate to the Southern NJ AFL-CIO Central Labor Council in 1988, was elected vice president of the council in 1990 and secretary-treasurer in 1994. He was elected president of the council in 1995, following the death of William Youse, who succeeded George Norcross Jr. – Donald Norcross’s father – in the role.
Norcross is the brother of powerful South Jersey Democrat George Norcross III.
