Legislative Alert: January 09, 2026
President's Message
LABOR'S AGENDA IN 2026
On behalf of everyone at the New York State AFL-CIO, I wish you a safe and healthy New Year. As we begin the 2026 Legislative Session, we remain committed to working with our affiliates and elected officials to support the needs of working-class families and communities.
New York is facing a growing affordability crisis, leaving families across the state struggling to secure basic necessities. Federal cuts are threatening New York’s vital public programs. As a result, State and local governments are experiencing increased financial pressure to maintain essential services. Federal cuts to Medicaid and affordable housing will worsen New York’s budget issues and further strain our already understaffed safety-net programs. The State must step up to protect workers and their families.
We can reduce the negative impacts of the federal cuts on New York by establishing fair revenue policies. While wealthy individuals and corporations have benefited significantly from federal tax breaks, working families continue to struggle. We will advocate for the wealthiest New Yorkers to pay their fair share by raising the corporate tax rate and creating a new tax bracket. These policies will help raise significant revenue, relieve pressure on public services, and help establish universal childcare. It will also allow for increased investment in childcare providers and improve childcare access for families.
We must also build upon past Artificial Intelligence (AI) worker protection achievements by continuing to fight for the safe, fair, and responsible use of AI. Even as the federal government tries to tie our hands, we must prevent job loss and discrimination, and fight for privacy, fair labor practices and worker retraining programs.
It is also important that we reform Tier 6 in a meaningful way. While we have made progress on fixing Tier 6, it remains a major deterrent for recruitment and retention by requiring significantly higher employee contributions compared to prior Tiers, while adding unfair restrictions on retirement age, eligibility and pensionable service. In addition, it has created subpar benefit levels. We will call on our elected officials to prioritize Tier 6 pension improvements by restoring parity for public employees in Tiers 5 and 6 with those in Tier 4.
We will continue our efforts to improve worksite safety through increased penalties and strong enforcement mechanisms. We also need to ensure we meet the State’s clean energy goals by investing in infrastructure improvements that include strong labor standards, while supporting an “all the above approach” to energy development.
Labor’s agenda will require hard work, but we look forward to joining together to help build a better New York.
Mario Cilento, President
Upcoming Meeting
LABOR LOBBYISTS MEETING
Monday, June 9, 2025, 1:00 p.m
This event will be located at the Albany office of the NYS AFL-CIO,
100 South Swan St. Albany, NY.
This meeting is for labor representatives only.
For further information contact Mike Neidl at 518-436-8516 or by email
[email protected]