COGE’s New Preliminary Staff Report Marginalizes NYC Retirees
Editor’s Note: Harry Weiner is a member of both the New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees and Council of Municipal Retiree Organizations.
By Harry Weiner
On July 2, COGE issued a Preliminary Report, and it is disappointing that there has been no outreach to retirees from City service. And it glosses over health benefits, a significant portion of the budget.
New York City Shame: Home Care Workers to Restart Hunger Strike to End the 24-Hr. Workday
By Joe Maniscalco
On July 28, New York City home care workers fighting for passage of the No More 24 bill in the City Council will again stage a hunger strike outside the gates of City Hall to end the 24-hour workday.
Listen: FDNY EMS Ambulances Sit Idle During Blistering July 4th Heat
By Bob Hennelly
Recent record-level heat saw temperatures approach 100 degrees with a "feels like" heat and humidity index approaching several degrees above that.
Throughout the heat emergency, scores of FDNY EMS ambulances sat idle, due to lack of staffing according to the FDNY EMS unions which noted call volumes exceeded 6,000 a day with some calls being held for a couple of hours.
SCOTUS Legalizes Trump Purge of Federal Agencies—What That Means For U.S. Workers
By Steve Wishnia
The Supreme Court ruled June 29 that it was an unconstitutional limitation on the President’s powers for Congress to establish independent agencies whose officials can’t be fired without cause, such as the Federal Trade Commission and the National Labor Relations Board.
No More 24 is Already Changing New York—What Can We Build Next?
By Steven Zheng
Editor’s Note: Steven Zheng is NYU student organizer from Youths Against Sweatshop and the Yecao Collective.
New York’s home care workers are still fighting to pass Intro. 303 because they are still fighting to abolish one of the most brutal labor arrangements the city continues to tolerate: the 24-hour workday.
Unionized Healthcare Workers Sound Alarm As 40,000 New Yorkers Face Deportation; Many More Nationwide
By Steve Wishnia
In a 6-3 ruling on June 25, the Supreme Court held this week that the Trump administration has the right to revoke Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants, exposing more than 300,000 people to possible deportation.
NYC’s No More 24 Fight Goes International
By Joe Maniscalco
The whole world is watching New York City’s fight to end the 24-hour workday and Governor Kathy Hochul is guilty of breaking international labor laws.
Chilean Workers, Like Their U.S. Counterparts, Seek Revolutionary Change
By Eilean Faltin
In Santiago, Chile, International Labor Day is celebrated with two parades. One procession is organized by CUT—the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Chile, which functions as the main negotiating body between workers and the government. This parade is protected by police barricades and runs more or less orderly down La Alameda—the main avenue of the city.
NYC Healthcare Workers to Hospital Bosses: ‘Take the Profit Out of Your Pocket’
By Joe Maniscalco
Staten Island paramedic Jack Chapman looked out over the thousands of fellow 1199SEIU members gathered in Foley Square on Wednesday and talked about how EMS wages have lagged behind the responsibility workers like him carry ever day.
Uh-Oh…Garrido’s ‘COGE’ Role Raises Serious Concern for NYC Retirees
Editor’s Note: The following is an open letter to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s newly-created Commission on Government Efficiency about the role Acting MLC Chair and Medicare Advantage proponent Henry Garrido is playing on the commission and why that raises red flags for New York City Retirees.
As reported by the Chief, COGE invited Executive Director Ann Cheng to attend a future Municipal Labor Committee meeting to gather feedback from labor leaders. A June 10 letter from COGE stated that “We believe that true efficiency will be found by learning from the expertise and knowledge of our workforce.”
Chris Silvera Stood Up for Public Housing—Who Else Will Join the Fight?
By Joe Maniscalco
Before his recent passing, IBT Local 808 Secretary-Treasurer Chris Silvera bravely stood alongside public housing tenants in Chelsea fighting to save their homes from privatization and demolition.
Listen: A $2B Lifeline for EMS and NYC Paras??
By Bob Hennelly
At a City Hall steps press conference yesterday, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced that the City Council's economists had calculated the city could anticipate an additional $2 billion in revenue from higher than previously expected tax revenue.
Workers Call on NY Immigration Coalition to Recognize Their Union Now
By Steve Wishnia
Workers at the New York Immigration Coalition, cohost of the union-led International Workers’ Day May Day March, have asked the organization to recognize their newly formed union, NYIC United.
Listen: Labor’s Efforts to Throw NYC Retirees Under the Boss Shocks Legendary Union Organizer
By Joe Maniscalco
Legendary union organizer and author Phil Cohen has seen a lot over his decades-long involvement in the American labor movement. But even Phil was shocked to learn during the latest Labor and Healthcare Confidential episode on WBAI that some of the most powerful labor leaders in New York State continue to try and undermine legislation blocking the diminishment of retiree healthcare.
Listen: U.S Senator Blocked From Inspecting New Jersey ‘Concentration Camp’
By Bob Hennelly
This past weekend, Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) was denied access to detainees at Delaney Hall, he told reporters on Saturday. Kim told reporters that this was the first time that GEO, the private company that runs the site, had obstructed his ability to provide legally-required Congressional oversight.
81 Days of Deadlock: NYC Speaker Says No More 24 Bill is Still Under Review
By Joe Maniscalco
Eighty-one days have elapsed since New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin stood on the sidewalk with home care workers outside City Hall and promised to bring Intro. 303—the No More 24 bill—to the floor for a vote.
Listen: Will NYCHA Public Housing Survive Mamdani?
By Jillian Jonas
Is NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new housing plan and relevant budget allocations what we expected from a member of DSA? Why is a Democratic Socialist advocating privatization for NYCHA, especially after years of evidence it doesn't work, and the only true beneficiaries are members of the real estate class?
This Former NYC Office Cleaner Filed a Sexual Harassment Complaint—Then the Bosses Fired Her
By Steve Wishnia
Four years after Nicole Munoz was fired from her job as a bathroom cleaner in a Midtown office building, and nine months after the state Division of Human Rights held there was “probable cause” to believe it was retaliation for her filing a sexual-harassment complaint, she is seeking compensation from her former employer, the SL Green real-estate company.
NYC’s Largest Public Sector Union Splits Over Leader’s Opposition to Bill Banning the 24-Hr. Workday
By Joe Maniscalco
A coalition of both active workers and retirees from New York City’s largest public service union is defying union leadership and calling on City Council Speaker Julie Menin to back a bill banning round-the-clock shifts in the home care industry.
Listen: NJ Mayor Announces Policing ‘Reset’ at Delaney Hall Detention Center
By Bob Hennelly
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has announced a reset for the policing around Delaney Hall, the controversial private immigration prison operated by the GEO Group, a major donor to President Trump.