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Newsletter for the Movement for Economic, Climate, and Racial Justice
 

We’re kicking off another hot labor summer with big worker wins in the state legislature. The passage of the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act and Retail Worker Safety Act are a testament to the power and promise of organized labor. Safety should never be compromised for the sake of profit, and these wins are a major step toward ensuring the right to a safe workplace. On the climate front, the Climate Change Superfund Act passed the legislature, paving the way for polluters to pay billions toward climate projects. We need climate money now, and this bill outlines one of the best solutions to do that. 

 

Unfortunately, these victories were progressive outliers in an otherwise disappointing legislative session. New Yorkers don’t make a living wage, especially upstate where cost of living and rent is soaring. Climate legislation like NY HEAT and the Just Energy Transition Act didn’t pass, on top of the Governor pausing the years-in-the-making, emissions-reducing congestion pricing plan. The compromises and shortcomings so common in our state leadership feed into the righteous anger that we hear, see, and feel in this economic and climate crisis. We’re angry too. And we remain committed to channeling that anger into action. We fight and fall and then fight harder. That is the unbroken, time-tested logic of the people who are hungry for justice.

TAKE ACTION

Help Defend NYC’s Strongest Climate Law: New York City's strongest climate law is in danger. A new bill, Intro 772, has been introduced in the City Council which could weaken NYC’s Dirty Buildings Law. Take Action to say #NOto772!
 

Next Steps for Climate Justice : Join NY Renews on Tuesday, 6/18 at 6 pm as we debrief, regroup, and plan our next move to secure climate justice in New York. RSVP.
 

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A Victory for Safe, Dignified Warehouse Work

Sweet, sweet victory. In the last week of the legislative session, the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act (WWIRA) passed with an overwhelming majority in both houses — a momentous win led by our New Yorkers for a Fair Economy coalition after a two-year fight for better designed warehouses, safety training, and enforcement. When signed, the bill will strengthen New York’s growing toolbox of warehouse protections, supplementing the Warehouse Worker Protection Act that we won in 2022, which provides greater transparency to dangerous quotas in warehouses. 

 

For years, e-commerce corporations like Amazon have been leading the race-to-the-bottom for workers across the globe, pushing one-day shipping at the cost of lower wages and dangerous warehouse conditions. We are now in a dire situation where 1-in-11 warehouse workers get injured every year in New York. Workers and communities are fighting back. In the past few years, we are seeing David vs Goliath worker organizing wins, state legislative victories in Minneapolis, California, and New York, and federal proposals to rein in abusive work practices. We’re doing our part in New York, so now we’re calling on Governor Hochul to do hers by signing WWIRA into law.

 

We have the momentum and we need your support. This month, join us in putting workers first. Can you donate to our fight for warehouse worker justice?

 

One Step Closer to Making Polluters Pay

We’re one step closer to making polluters pay for the harm they’ve caused to New Yorkers statewide. Passed on the final day of session, the Climate Change Superfund Act would raise $3 billion a year for climate mitigation, adaptation, and resiliency projects. Big oil made a big climate mess and made a hefty profit on the way. This bill seeks justice by mandating that fossil fuel corporations pay for the transition to a more sustainable economy. 


But the current climate moment demands more. Passing one major climate bill when the UN Secretary General warns “the world is on the verge of a climate abyss” is a failure of leadership. We must face our climate reality with the full force of an intergenerational movement, unwilling to sacrifice the right to breathe clean air and good jobs. Join NY Renews on Tuesday, June 18 at 6 pm as we debrief, regroup, and plan our next move to secure climate justice in New York.
 

One Year After Orange, Smoky Skies

On the one-year anniversary of orange, smoky skies in New York City, the Climate Works for All coalition rallied to call on Mayor Adams to invest $600 million for #GreenHealthySchools. Our fossil fuel-powered public schools are stuck in a dangerous cycle: vulnerable to the climate crisis while contributing to pollution in our city. One student organizer with TREEage summarized the situation precisely: “School infrastructure that is already struggling is facing more extreme conditions. The result for us is temperatures that make it hard to focus and pollution that makes it hard to breathe. Students, teachers, and school workers are bearing the burden for government inaction.” 

 

It’s no coincidence that a week after the anniversary, Governor Kathy Hochul sent out an advisory to be “air quality” aware, citing air pollution and heat as sources of danger in the coming weeks. There was a passing, nonchalant mention of our climate emergency: “Greenhouse gasses in the air are changing the world's climate.” We refuse for this to be the new normal –  an annual summer announcement akin to getting your flu shot – and will continue to assert our right to breathe clean air, in any school, in any workplace, in any neighborhood in this City.

 

ALIGN in the News
 

ALIGN can't do it alone. Together, we can win! Donate to join our movement for a just and sustainable New York. Can you make a donation to fight for our vision for economic, climate, and racial justice?