Legislative Alert: May 2, 2025

President's Message 

Preparing for Federal Economic and Budget Changes

A significant portion of this legislative session and state budget process has been spent trying to address the effects of federal budget, job and service cuts; as well as the negative impacts that other federal actions are having on the state’s economy and budget. We are also faced with major policy changes that are endangering labor, education, health care, and many other rights, benefits, and protections that working families rely on.

We continue to advocate for the State to prioritize raising our unemployment benefit to a meaningful level while we have the opportunity. This will involve using state rainy day funds to return our unemployment trust fund to solvency, which will help working families across the state weather the negative impacts of federal policies.

There will be many other issues to address once the budget has been finalized, including reinforcing labor rights, worksite safety protections, and other services that are being eroded by federal actions. New York State is well positioned to regulate and safeguard workers’ right to organize if the NLRB is eliminated or gutted, and we are reviewing proposals that would replace federal mediation and conciliation services, enforce worksite safety, and provide other protections as needed.

As the state budget process wraps up, we are aware that the legislature may need to return to Albany later in the year if federal cuts to Medicaid, education, and other services are as drastic as expected and in turn affect state, local or school district services. As we mobilize, educate, and push back against proposed federal cuts, we must keep all revenue options on the table at the state level and be prepared to use rainy day funds to ensure that the services and programs relied on by New York’s working families remain intact. 

Mario Cilento, President

Upcoming Meeting 

LABOR LOBBYISTS MEETING 
Monday, May 12, 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.