New York: A Workers’ Paradise
Workers are the lifeblood of our State. As the union movement surges in New York, maintaining momentum will require supporting unions at every stage. In addition to organizing to support union drives and elections, we must also support workers after they win their elections, ensuring that those workers have their election results respected and are able to freely negotiate fair contracts. Several bills are currently stuck in the legislature or headed to the governor’s desks that would improve the lives of everyday workers.
New York is a Union Town. We don't cross picket lines — especially not with lucrative city contracts for billionaires.
— Kristen Gonzalez (@Gonzalez4NY) April 21, 2022
But @NYCMayor seems to have forgotten that labor is the backbone of this city.
So I'm at City Hall standing with @TeamstersJC16 to take back worker power. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/LmbXMWOtmE
Unions for All
- Support unionization efforts and fight to ensure fair elections and fair contract negotiations for new and existing unions, like the fights happening across tech, media, and at corporate giants like Amazon and Starbucks that are happening right here in the district.
- Hold companies like Starbucks and Amazon — companies that violate protections under the National Labor Relations Board — accountable.
- Give public sector workers the right to strike by repealing the Taylor Law.
Green Jobs for All
- Pass the Build Public Renewables Act to create 50,000 union and prevailing-wage jobs in New York to build publicly-owned wind and solar energy to reduce our energy bills and meet New York’s climate laws mandating 70% renewable energy by 2030 to tackle the climate crisis.
- Require that all state-funded projects have jobs at or above prevailing wages and give unionized shops preference. The Green - New Deal has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of good, union jobs that can help our state and neighborhoods thrive and give all workers the dignity they deserve.
Benefits for All Workers
- Add $3 billion or more to the Excluded Worker Fund to ensure that every worker, regardless of status, has equal access benefits to recover from the pandemic.
- Pass the Consumer and Small Business Protection Act (S.6414) to expand the rights of consumers and small business owners and protect them from unfair, deceptive and abusive acts
- Support NY State Senate Bill S1175B to remove the cap on city street vendor license, which, along with NYC Street Vendor bill 116-B, will protect the rights of those who run some of New York’s most essential and quintessential small businesses.
The labor movement is one of the most powerful vehicles for change we have. I look forward to fighting alongside unions like @UAWRegion9A and @1199SEIU to win the greener, union future we deserve.
— Kristen Gonzalez (@Gonzalez4NY) August 4, 2022
Union workers make New York — and we're just getting started. #WeMakeNewYork 🤝 pic.twitter.com/T08RpAxFVx
Protect Wages
- Fight for passage of the SWEAT bill to end the practice of wage theft in New York, giving workers more power to collect owed wages and hold employers accountable. Currently, there is little workers can do to compel employers to pay owed wages without exorbitant expense.
- Close the tipped worker loophole. which employers abuse to skirt fair wages and exploit service industry workers.
- Support the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, advocate for it’s signing and enforcement
- Work with other pro-labor legislators to pass legislative bill S.1999, which would classify gig workers as employees instead of “independent contractors.” This classification as “independent contractors” has allowed companies to exploit gig workers by denying them work benefits.
Protect Worker Safety
- Discipline companies that risk worker safety by fully funding the HERO Act, which [...]
- Pass the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, which would [...]
- Ban 24-hour workdays for home healthcare workers. Currently home healthcare is one of few industries where workers are subjected to around-the-clock work without full compensation or adequate rest. absolute
- https://gothamist.com/news/home-health-care-workers-call-hochul-end-24-hour-shifts
Our BIG Plans For Albany
Reimagine Housing
People shouldn’t have to struggle to keep a roof over their head while landlords get rich by raising rents. We must guarantee housing as a human right
Green New York
People shouldn’t have to breathe poisoned air or die in flooded basements while fossil fuel companies make billions killing our planet. We must build publicly-owned renewable energy.
Restore Healthcare
People shouldn’t have to decide between a trip to the emergency room and putting food on the table. We must provide single-payer health care in New York State.
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