LOCAL 194 LEGEND FRANK FORST

Frank was a vice president of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO for 35 years.

As a labor organizer for the American Federation of Technical Engineers which later became known as the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), Frank was instrumental in organizing workers on New Jersey’s toll roads, including the Turnpike and Parkway. He was a leading voice of support for laws giving public employees the right to bargain, and was responsible for Local 194 being the first in the nation to see Martin Luther King Day become a contractually recognized holiday.

Frank was an organizer for the American Federation of Technical Engineers, which later became the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. He was instrumental in organizing workers on all three of New Jersey's toll roads, as well as New Jersey state highway workers. He spent most of his career representing New Jersey Turnpike workers. Most recently, he served as assistant to the president of Local 194 and as secretary-treasurer and business manager of Local 194A, representing workers at the Burlington Bristol Bridge Commission. He was a vice president of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO for 35 years.

Among his numerous labor accomplishments, he helped separate the Public Employees Retirement System from Social Security, making it possible for workers to receive both. He also pushed to allow unions to collect dues and political action funds through a voluntary dues check-off, and helped public workers receive premium pay for overtime work.

He was one of the first commissioners on the Public Employee Relations Commission. He was a former Democratic State Committee and Middlesex County Committee member. He is a veteran of the Korean War and a member of the American Legion. He was a former member of the A. Philip Randolph Institute and the NAACP.