BRYN MAWR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 18, 2024--
Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE: WTRG) announced today Natalie Chesko has been named the new President of Aqua New Jersey. Chesko will oversee Aqua’s water and wastewater operations in New Jersey.
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“I couldn’t be more elated to welcome Natalie to the Aqua family, and I’m excited to see how her passion and expertise will further Aqua’s mission,” said Aqua President Colleen Arnold. “Her years of experience as an engineer in different aspects of the industry will serve as an immediate asset, not only to our company but also to our customers in the Garden State.”
Chesko, an Ocean County native and Rutgers University alumna, says she’s excited to take on her new role.
“I am thrilled at this opportunity to be the President of Aqua New Jersey,” said Chesko. “I am looking forward to an increased visibility with the company where I now have a larger outreach to impact the communities that Aqua services. I also will now have a more global extension where I can help impact the environment and overall community health.”
Prior to joining Aqua, Chesko most recently served as the Executive Director of the Hamilton Township Municipal Utilities Authority. She brings to Aqua more than 20 years of experience in engineering and utilities.
To learn more about Aqua, please visit AquaWater.com.
About Essential
Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) delivers safe, clean, reliable services that improve quality of life for individuals, families, and entire communities. With a focus on water, wastewater and natural gas, Essential is committed to sustainable growth, operational excellence, a superior customer experience, and premier employer status. We are advocates for the communities we serve and are dedicated stewards of natural lands, protecting more than 7,600 acres of forests and other habitats throughout our footprint.
Operating as the Aqua and Peoples brands, Essential serves approximately 5.5 million people across 9 states. Essential is one of the most significant publicly traded water, wastewater service and natural gas providers in the U.S. Learn more at www.essential.co.
About Aqua New Jersey
Aqua New Jersey serves approximately 185,000 people in 11 counties throughout the Garden State. Visit AquaWater.com for more information or follow @MyAquaWater on Facebook and Twitter (X).
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Essential Utilities Announces Appointment of Natalie Chesko to President of Aqua New Jersey. (Photo: Business Wire)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Workers, activists and others in Asian capitals took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over rising prices and governments’ labor polices and calls for greater labor rights.
May Day, which falls on May 1, is observed in many countries as a day to celebrate workers’ rights. May Day events have also given many an opportunity to air general economic grievances or political demands.
In Seoul, the South Korean capital, thousands of protesters sang, waved flags and shouted pro-labor slogans at the start of their rally on Wednesday. Organizers said their rally was primarily meant to step up their criticism of what they call anti-labor policies pursued by the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol.
“In the past two years under the Yoon Suk Yeol government, the lives of our laborers have plunged into despair,” Yang Kyung-soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which organized the rally, said in a speech. “We can't overlook the Yoon Suk Yeol government. We'll bring them down from power for ourselves.”
KCTU union members decried Yoon’s December veto of a bill aimed at limiting companies’ rights to seek compensation for damages caused by strikes by labor unions. They also accuse Yoon’s government of handling the 2022 strikes by truckers too aggressively and insulting construction sector workers whom authorities believed were involved in alleged irregular activities.
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has pushed for labor reforms to support economic growth and job creation. His government has vowed to sternly deal with illegal strikes and demand more transparent accounting records from labor unions.
“The remarkable growth of the Republic of Korea was thanks to the sweat and efforts of our workers. I thank our 28.4 million workers,” Yoon said in a May Day message posted on Facebook. “My government and I will protect the precious value of labor.”
Seoul rally participants later marched through downtown streets. Similar May Day rallies were held in more than 10 locations across South Korea on Wednesday. Police said they had mobilized thousands of officers to maintain order, but there were no immediate reports of violence.
In Japan, more than 10,000 people gathered at Yoyogi park in downtown Tokyo for a May Day event, demanding salary increases that they said could sufficiently set off price increases. During the rally, Masako Obata, the leader of the left-leaning National Confederation of Trade Unions, said that dwindling wages have put many workers in Japan under severe living conditions and widened income disparities.
“On this May Day, we unite with our fellow workers around the world standing up for their rights,” she said, shouting “banzai!" or long life, to all workers.
In the Philippine capital, Manila, hundreds of workers and left-wing activists marched and held a rally in the scorching summer heat to demand wage increases and job security amid soaring food and oil prices.
Riot police stopped the protesting workers from getting close to the presidential palace. Waving red flags and holding up posters that read: “We work to live, not to die” and “Lower prices, increase salaries,” the protesters rallied in the street, where they chanted and delivered speeches about the difficulties faced by Filipino laborers.
Poor drivers joined the protest and called to end a government modernization program they fear would eventually lead to the removal of their dilapidated jeepneys, a main mode of public transport, from Manila’s streets.
Similar May Day rallies were expected in other Asian and European cities.
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Associated Press journalists Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and VJ Basilio Sepe in Manila contributed to this report.
A man with a flag of a local workers group waits for a May Day rally to start in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
People clap hands as they hear a speaker during a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
People walk towards the site of a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Masako Obata, president of Japan's National Confederation of Trade Unions, also known as Zenroren, speaks during a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
People listen to a speaker during a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Participants march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Participants march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
People listen to a speaker during a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Participants prepare for a march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Participants march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Filipino activists march towards the U.S. Embassy during a protest to mark International Labor Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Policemen try to block activists as they tried to march towards the U.S. Embassy during a protest to mark International Labor Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Filipino workers carry streamers and posters during a protest to mark International Labor Day near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
A man carries a poster during a protest to mark International Labor Day near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Filipino workers carry streamers and posters during a protest to mark International Labor Day near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
