The New York State AFL-CIO Applauds Senator Gillibrand for Continuing To Fight on Behalf of our 9/11 Heroes and First Responders
(Senator Gillibrand Asks President Obama to Commit to a Comprehensive 9/11 Health Bill at Today’s Senate Democratic Conference Meeting)
Denis Hughes, President of the 2 ½ million member New York State AFL-CIO today issued the following statement:
“The New York State AFL-CIO extends its deepest thanks and appreciation to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for her commitment and undying dedication to the cause of our 9/11 heroes.
This morning, President Obama met with the Senate Democratic Conference to discuss a wide range of outstanding issues. At the meeting, and on national television, Senator Gillibrand displayed her support for a comprehensive 9/11 health bill, and got the President’s commitment to work with Congress on a comprehensive bill.
Senator Gillibrand asked President Obama the following question, “Mr. President, I want to ask you about an issue that is important to all New Yorkers and to many Americans across the country, and that is health care for the 9/11 first responders and the community members living near Ground Zero. These Americans hailed from all 50 states and every Congressional district. Now, as a result of exposures to toxins from the collapse of the World Trade Center, approximately 20,000 are sick, suffering serious health effects. Many are disabled and some have already lost their lives. I have introduced legislation that would provide permanent care and proper compensation to these Americans. Will you commit today to working with Congress to pass and sign a comprehensive 9-11 health bill that is fully paid for?”
“President Obama responded that he was fully committed to working with Congress on the legislation.
“It is the support of Senator Gillibrand, Senator Schumer and the members of New York’s congressional delegation that has made this a prominent national issue. The 2 ½ million members of the New York State AFL-CIO, and in particular, the thousands of sick, long-suffering first responders are grateful that our elected officials in New York State have the courage of their convictions in fighting to secure this vital legislation.
“With President Obama’s support, I am confident that we will finally be able to secure comprehensive, permanent funding to treat our heroes. After eight long years of fighting to secure this legislation, we must do everything in our power to pay back, as best we can, those who sacrificed on behalf of others. The time to payback our heroes is now.”
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President's Message
At the January 25th Labor Lobbyists Meeting, Richard Winsten, former Legislative Director of the State Federation and Jordan Wells of the Labor Religion Coalition described the latest series of steps affecting farm workers in New York and their continuing struggle for economic and workplace justice. In a flurry of activity, and having been led to believe a negotiated bill could be looked favorably on by the Senate leadership, several compromised measures were inserted into the Farm Labor bill. The Justice for Farmworkers Campaign supports the bill’s amendments:
Collective bargaining protections are limited to workers on farms with sales exceeding $650,000—-exempting over 96% of farms and covering only agribusiness.
The overtime threshold (i.e. the number of hours of straight pay before time-and-a-half kicks in) is increased from 40/week and 8/day to 60/week (55/week beginning in 2013) and 10/day, and on the 7th consecutive work day.
Farms employing piece-rate workers are given special attention. Only 1.5 times the minimum wage is required for overtime hours, rather than 1.5 times the worker’s regular rate.
“Cooling off” periods of 21 days are required during the peak harvest times when a strike or lockout could cause irreparable harm.
Existing unemployment tax liability on guestworker wages is eliminated entirely, resulting in $1 million or more in annual savings for NY Farmers.
Small farms are allowed continued exemption from workers compensation and unemployment insurance tax liabilities.
“Family” is defined as broadly as possible and exempted from coverage under the Act
The bill’s effective dates are pushed back.
These measures were apparently reluctantly offered in the hope that the passage of the bill would offset the dilution of the goals the Farm Labor advocates sought. The upshot is that the bill was reported, not to Rules, but to the Agriculture Committee, and to Senator Aubertine.
On behalf of the State Federation, I want to make clear our support of the Farmworkers, of their struggle to organize and of their bill. This Federation is dismayed by the shoddy trick of referencing a bill such as this one to a committee where it can be held for the foreseeable future. We will continue to track this bill and will act accordingly, as needed.
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SENATOR GILLIBRAND
“Senator Gillibrand has a great deal of support within the labor movement, from progressive organizations and within the democratic party. It will be extremely difficult at this point for anyone else to gain enough support for the democratic nomination.
“Particularly during a time of great economic distress, working men and women need a Senator who intuitively understands the very real challenges they face in their daily lives. Whether it’s the right to form a union, health care reform, or introducing vital legislation for our September 11th heroes, working people can be confident that Senator Gillibrand will fight on their behalf in Washington.
“Senator Gillibrand has a 100% Senate voting record, and a lifetime 97% voting record while in the House of Representatives. Enough said.”
-Denis Hughes, President
Working New York TV Show
The fourth season of Working New York kicked-off on October 7th. The show airs on the first and third Wednesday each month. Our New Starting Time is 8:30 pm. on Regional News Network (RNN)
The latest guest was Joshua Freeman, Labor Historian and Author and aired on January 20, 2010. The next guest will be Senator Morahan. This episode will air on Wednesday, February 3, 2010.
"Working New York" is a half-hour talk show designed to inform the general public of policies, issues and initiatives important to working men and women and their families. The program airs the first and third Wednesday of each month.
The program is hosted by New York State AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes and addresses a wide range of social, political and economic issues from the point of view of working people. The show attracts a diverse collection of guests from the worlds of politics, literature, entertainment, and of course labor.
Labor Leaders and Elected Officials Urge Passage of 9/11 Health Bill
Labor Leaders, FealGood Foundation, NYC Firefighter Brotherhood Foundation, and A Coalition of September 11th Heroes Joined By Elected Officials to Urge Passage of 9/11 Health Bill.
On November 18th, labor leaders the FealGood Foundation, the NYC Firefighter Brotherhood Foundation and a coalition of September 11 heroes, along with elected officials from across the nation held a rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to urge Congressional leaders to bring the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009 (H.R. 847 and S. 1334) to the floors of the House and Senate for a vote this year. This bill will provide comprehensive health care and compensation for thousands of ailing 9/11 heroes.
Caring for Americans with 9/11-related illnesses is not just a New York issue. According to the federally-funded World Trade Center Health Registry, people from all 50 states and 431 of 435 Congressional districts nationwide were in lower Manhattan on or after 9/11 and now have serious concerns about their health. Unfortunately, the federal response to this health emergency has been inadequate and disappointing because of significant funding delays, and a lack of organization and attention to the 9/11 health crisis by the previous administration’s health agencies.
Last month, the nation observed the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. On this year’s anniversary and the seven that preceded it, we heard many heartfelt and touching tributes to the heroism of the men and women who rushed to Ground Zero to help save the lives of others. But this year, we need more than just speeches and tributes – we need concrete action by Congress to give the heroes and heroines of 9/11 the health care and compensation they need and deserve. It is truly the least this great nation can do.
President's Perspective - September 4, 2009
OPINION: Higher unemployment benefits would boost local economy
(This article ran in Newsday on September 4, 2009)
Earlier this year, President Barack Obama paved the way for states across the country to extend unemployment insurance benefits, a move intended to jump-start the economy and spur states into further action. Unfortunately, little has been done in New York.
New York's unemployment insurance benefit remains the lowest in the region. In fact, our benefit ranks second to last in the country in terms of wage replacement.
Aside from the recent $25 boost from the federal government, New York's maximum weekly unemployment benefit, now $430, hasn't changed in 10 years. Other Northeastern states that offer significantly higher benefits have indexed them to rise with inflation.
What's more, the low unemployment premium paid by employers has left the state's Unemployment Trust Fund insolvent. New York has to borrow an average $90 million per week to pay out our subpar benefits.
Why? New York applies the payroll tax only to the first $8,500 in annual wages paid to each employee - a limit that also hasn't changed in a decade. Many other states tax a much higher portion of wages. In New Jersey, the taxable wage base is $27,000; in Connecticut, it's $15,000.
Nine states had to borrow to pay unemployment benefits during and after the recession in the early 1990s, and only one, Texas, borrowed more than New York. Texas and four of the others eventually made legislative changes to avoid another bout with insolvency. New York has not.
New York needs to gradually increase what employers pay, indexing over time so that they can budget their costs while saving New York and its taxpayers millions of dollars.
Especially on Labor Day, it's important to remember that our unemployment system was created to help struggling working people make ends meet when the economy cannot produce jobs. As a result, the system has a profound impact on the state's economy as a whole, in good times and bad.
Every dollar in unemployment benefits generates a $1.64 increase in economic activity. People who are unemployed spend their benefits almost immediately, to purchase groceries, buy household necessities and pay rent. Their unemployment dollars are quickly dispersed back into the local economy, helping to sustain businesses and increasing the tax coffers of local governments throughout our state. Those tax dollars go to support police, fire fighters, sanitation pickup, hospital care and education.
That's why immediate action is necessary. We're not just talking about assisting those who are unemployed, but our business community and all of New York's taxpayers, too.
Denis M. Hughes
First Place - Best Labor Cable TV Program
We are proud to announce that the New York State AFL-CIO's cable television program "Working New York", hosted by President Hughes, has won first place for best labor cable television program in the country.
Denis Hughes will pick up the award at ILCA's convention in Pittsburgh. ------------------------------------------ BROADCAST AWARDS
BROADCAST OR CABLE TV PROGRAMS International, National and Other Labor Organizations First Award: New York State AFL-CIO, “Working New York: John Connolly, Executive Director of Actors' Equity,” Mario Cilento
The Employee Free Choice Act
The Employee Free Choice Act, supported by a bipartisan coalition in Congress, would enable working people to bargain for better benefits, wages and working conditions by restoring workers' freedom to choose for themselves whether to join a union. It would:
Remove current obstacles to employees who want collective bargaining.
Guarantee that workers who can choose collective bargaining are able to achieve a contract.
Allow employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation.
Joining together in a union to bargain for health care, pensions, fair wages and better working conditions is the best opportunity working people have to get ahead.
Today, good jobs are vanishing and health care coverage and retirement security are slipping out of reach. Only 38 percent of the public says their families are getting ahead financially and less than a quarter believes the next generation will be better off.
But workers who belong to unions earn 28 percent more than nonunion workers. They are 52 percent more likely to have employer-provided health coverage and nearly three times more likely to have guaranteed pensions.
All workers should have the freedom to decide for themselves whether to form unions to bargain for a better life.
2010 COPE Convention August 15 and 16, 2010 Desmond Hotel, Albany, NY
Annual Labor Celebration December 17, 2010 Sheraton NY Hotel & Towers
Support Haitian Relief Efforts
Haiti is a scene of unimaginable devastation and human tragedy today. The NYS AFL-CIO is asking our affiliates to do all they can to help Haitians survive Tuesday’s massive earthquake.
Donations can be made to the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center Emergency Relief Fund to ensure that assistance reaches workers and their families.
You may write checks payable to:
Solidarity Center Education Fund 888 16th Street, N.W., Suite 400 Washington, DC 20006
Please note in memo line: “Earthquake Relief for Haitian Worker Fund”
The Solidarity Center and its partners are ready to assist Haitian workers and their families in any way possible. Please contribute what you can to the Solidarity Center’s Earthquake Relief for Haitian Workers campaign. Updates on the relief efforts will be posted at http://www.solidaritycenter.org/
Thank you for your life-saving generosity.
Ethically Speaking...Introducing a new monthly segment written by Chalmers Clark, PhD, focusing on ethical considerations in conversations about our work and positive values that organized labor strengthens in American society.
Whenever I teach ethics, straight away I have to admit I’m not going to teach folks the last word about what is right and wrong. I encourage students to recognize a crucial difference between memorizing a set of ethical rules, and learning to think about a problem or question ethically. In the first instance, we might call it a “rules and regs” approach. The second approach involves more in the way of a process; the process of making ethical judgments. Our emphasis, in Ethically Speaking, will take heed of moral rules but will also emphasize the meaning of ethical thinking as a thought process. (full story)
Unemployment Resources
If you're out of work, you're not alone. In December, 2009, the unemployment in the United States remained at 10 percent, while in New York State it climbed to 9 percent. America's working families deserve better.
History of the NYS AFL-CIOThe New York State AFL-CIO has a rich and proud history, which is deeply embedded in labor's continuous struggle for dignity and economic and social justice. This history is the story of the State Federation and its predecessor federations dating to 1865.
The survey offers a unique opportunity for working families to make our voices heard on the cost of health insurance, quality of health care, access to prescription drugs and the gamut of health care problems we all face.
We are proud to announce that the New York State AFL-CIO's cable television program 
