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Hi Friend,
My name is Sixta, and I’m an NYCC member in Flatbush. I’ve lived in New York most of my life, raising my five children here while working as a housekeeper.
Like many New Yorkers, I work hard to take care of my loved ones — but when the pandemic hit I lost my housekeeping jobs, which were my only source of income. I couldn’t afford rent, health care, or personal protective equipment like masks and gloves.
I was scared, but I received a lifeline from the Excluded Workers’ Fund. NYCC and other labor and community organizations won the Excluded Workers’ Fund in 2021 so that workers like me who are excluded from unemployment insurance can receive funds to cover lost wages.
While I’m grateful for the support I received, many other workers are being exploited daily by employers who steal their wages, miscalculate their work hours, and expose them to unsafe working conditions. Working New Yorkers lose out on $3 BILLION in wage theft every year — and it’s just not right.
We can stop this corporate crime wave against workers by passing the EmPIRE Act — a bill that would make sure New York’s Department of Labor can fully enforce laws that protect workers like me against wage theft and other abuses by fining employers.
Will you join me in this fight by donating $15, $25, or whatever you can to make sure we can organize hard to mobilize workers and run actions so we can pass the EmPIRE Act to protect workers?
Passing the EmPIRE Act is the right thing to do, Friend. Our rights as workers are only as real as our ability to enforce them, and we don’t have to put up with wage theft and feeling unsafe in the workplace.
These are necessary protections to combat unfair labor practices, and I know we can win.
Thank you,
Sixta Leon
NYCC member – Flatbush
