Union City was recognized by a relatively new nonprofit called New Jersey Veterans Chamber of Commerce (NJVCOC), as the first municipality in Hudson County to reach “veteran-friendly” status.
“Mayor [Brian] Stack was the first to jump the gun and make it happen,” Union City native and Army veteran Lucy Del Gaudio said. “I’m originally a Union City kid, and went to Union Hill High School, so this is a very proud hometown moment.”
Officials passed a number of ordinances and reached a number of benchmarks that provide economic opportunities for veterans with or without disabilities, as well as their families. These initiatives factored into the receipt of the award.
“We’d like to recognize Union City as a veteran-friendly municipality, and it’s recognized as such due to its business procurement goals, veteran’s hiring program, and parking dedicated to veterans and Gold Star family members,” said Jeff Cantor, founder and CEO of NJVCOC. “Veterans often face disadvantages and see hardships in establishing credit or finding meaningful employment, so this means a lot to our entire community.”
“We’d like to recognize Union City as a veteran-friendly municipality.” — Jeff Cantor
Cantor said that the organization, which was founded about 10 months ago, has been engaging with officials at the local, county, state, and federal level. NJVCOC pushes legislators to provide tangible, long-term economic opportunities. Employment, housing, and healthcare for veterans are top priorities for the organization.
Cantor was joined by NJVCOC member Peter Lupo and Hudson County veterans Craig Auriemma and Lucy Del Gaudio.
Union City officials passed a business procurement goal in which they seek to provide at least six percent of all ongoing municipal contracts to veteran-owned businesses.
Officials also established a veterans hiring program and specialized parking for veterans along with parking spaces for Gold Star families, an honor no family wants. Gold Star family members have an immediate relative who died serving in a conflict.
Another of the group’s top priorities has been to push for state agencies to finally adhere to a 2015 law, which requires all state agencies to set aside three percent of government contracts to veteran-owned businesses.
“The law hasn’t been working by itself, nobody’s been following it,” Cantor said. “Through our advocacy, we’ve been able to get traction and have some agencies change their mindset and adhere to the law, and prior to or organization, there were zero disabled-veteran-owned businesses getting contracts.”
Cantor said that, so far, the Economic Development Authority has been the first to comply with the law. Other agencies are “well on their way,” he said.
For updates on this and more stories check hudsonreporter.com or follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Mike Montemarano can be reached at mikem@hudsonreporter.com.
