February 2021

How do we respond to a crisis? Follow the movements on the ground. The crisis of COVID-19 brought frontline workers to organize and fight for their health and safety. The crisis of police brutality led millions to take the streets to demand an end to the violence on Black lives. The power crisis unfolding in Texas is heightening the urgency for big green infrastructure investments to escape the grip of fossil fuel dependence that is poisoning our air and water. Born from crises are the movements that hold state leaders accountable when they blame renewable energy policies for the pains inflicted on Texan families during the blackouts. We build these movements so that the response to the crisis of poverty, inequality, and climate catastrophe is nothing short of dismantling the systems that created the crisis in the first place. It is the only practical and humane response that will allow us to repair this world and ensure the dignity and well-being of the most impacted communities in New York and across the country.

You can support our movement for economic, racial, and climate justice by donating to ALIGN.

NYC’s Landmark Emissions Law is Under Attack

Through our Climate Works for All coalition, we fought hard and won the passage of Local Law 97 in 2019, the most aggressive city emissions and jobs creation policy in the country. Now this national model for climate action is threatened by Governor Cuomo's budget proposal. Included in that proposal is Part R of the TED bill, which would allow building owners a loophole to avoid compliance to Local Law 97, ultimately undermining the objective of the law to reduce building emissions, create over 140,000 jobs, and protect frontline communities.

In response to this attack, over 90 people joined the Climate Works for All coalition in a press conference to save Local Law 97 (watch the recording here). Among those who joined in support were the statewide NY Renews coalition, labor and climate advocates, and elected officials from NY City Council, NY Senate and Assembly, and U.S. Congress.

At the Save Local Law 97 Press Conference on Thursday, February 25, 2021, advocates and elected officials from NY City Council, NY Senate and Assembly, and the U.S. Congress spoke out against Governor Cuomo’s budget proposal that threatens NYC’s landmark emissions reduction and job creation law.

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez stated: “All levels of government must make transformational investment in an economic recovery that focuses on a sustainable future for our planet… At every level of government, we must protect our environmental justice communities that are disproportionately burdened by the harms of pollution.” 

State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris discussed how climate action at the state level goes in tandem with climate action in the City: “At the state level we passed one of the strongest climate change laws in the country, the CLCPA. Why do we want to do something that will take us backwards and work against what we have already done and are so proud of?”

Benjamin Prosky, Executive Director of the American Institute of Architects New York said, "The retrofitting required by Local Law 97 is essential to New York City's future. Not only for the enormous environmental benefits it brings, but it is also good for business. Right now retrofitting is needed to address the economic crisis which has hit the design and construction industry in New York particularly hard."

You can take action by calling your state legislators today urging them to #StopPartR and #SaveLL97 here.

Mobilizing to Make Polluters Pay

As part of the statewide NY Renews coalition, we passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in 2019, the most ambitious climate legislation in the country. But our work doesn't stop there. This legislative session, we are fighting for the passage of the the Climate and Community Investment Act (CCIA), a bill that will #MakePollutersPay and raise $15 billion per year from corporate polluters and use it to create good, green jobs, invest in frontline communities, and build a renewable economy. As part of that fight toward a just transition, the coalition released a report called “False Solutions”, which provides a comprehensive breakdown on how the fossil fuel industry is pushing for fake solutions that will only exacerbate the climate crisis. At the federal level, we are also joining organizations across the country as part of the Green New Deal Network to push the Biden administration to adopt a THRIVE agenda, a plan for a bold and ambitious plan for climate, jobs, and justice. You can write to President Biden urging him to adopt the THRIVE agenda here.

From renewable natural gas to “green” hydrogen, these solutions are no “cleaner” than their fossil fuel counterparts. From increased greenhouse gas emissions to directly harming BIPoC and low-income communities, we must avoid these new narratives about “clean” energy. Read and share the report:  http://bit.ly/falsesolutions

The Health and Safety Crisis in Amazon Warehouses

Throughout the pandemic, Amazon workers continue to sound the alarm on the health and safety crisis in Amazon warehouses. The result has been a wave of workers organizing across the globe, demanding the dignity, safety, and well-being of workers and their communities. The NY Attorney General Letitia James has responded to these movements by filing a lawsuit against the failure of  Amazon to provide adequate health and safety measures. On Prime Day 2020, our NY Essential Workers Coalition stood by Amazon workers to demand that the state pass the NY HERO Act, which would protect frontline workers like those who work in Amazon warehouses.

The coalition has been mobilizing across the state, gathering support from workers across sectors, and gaining momentum among senate and assembly members for the swift passage of the NY HERO Act. In an op-ed published in the Buffalo News, bill sponsors Senator Gianaris and Assemblymember Reyes discuss the potential for the bill to not only protect communities but also to build power: “The New York HERO Act is about empowering people – our neighbors, friends and families – to lead.” With vaccines in short supply, and hundreds still dying daily from Covid-19, it is imperative that the NY state legislature pass the NY HERO Act without delay. You can take action by calling your state legislator urging them to pass the NY HERO Act now.

A #ClimateBriefing for NYC Candidates

Leading climate advocates speak at a #ClimateBriefing to NYC Candidates: (clockwise: Maritza Silva-Farrell (ALIGN), Eddie Bautista (NYC-EJA), Peggy Shepard (WE ACT), Danny Peralta (The Point))

The ongoing climate catastrophe has made climate change a top priority for New Yorkers heading to the polls in a few months. This week, Executive Director Maritza Silva-Farrell spoke with leading environmental justice and just transition advocates on a #ClimateBriefing to candidates running for Mayor, Borough President, Public Advocate, Comptroller, and City Council to discuss the most urgent solutions that frontline communities need in the face of an economic and climate crisis. Maritza Silva-Farrell spoke on the Climate and Community Stimulus Platform developed by our Climate Works for All coalition and the importance of good, union, climate jobs for a post-Covid economy: “Collective worker power will lead us to win... We have an opportunity to create a clean energy economy and put black, brown, indigenous people most impacted by the climate and jobs crisis in climate jobs.” You can watch a recording of the event here.

Overhauling the Wild West of the Private Waste Industry

Doug Washington, a Teamster 813 member and COVID survivor, advocating at a DSNY hearing for the implementation of Commercial Waste Zones with protections for essential workers.

The commercial waste industry is rife with dangerous practices for workers and our environment. As part of the Transform Don’t Trash NYC coalition, we won the passage of the Commercial Waste Zones in 2019 to ensure that the industry has high standards for workers and protections for environmental justice communities. Recently, the coalition has been advocating for funding for DSNY within the City Budget for the successful implementation of this law. We have also been meeting with DSNY and attending public hearings to advocate for the needs of environmental justice communities to be prioritized in DSNY’s request for proposal (RFP) and rulemaking process. The historic law is in place and now we must ensure that we are truly transforming the wild west-like commercial waste industry into a system that is more humane for workers and frontline Black and brown communities.

Next Month: Climate, Jobs, and Justice Mayoral Candidate Forum

In less than four months, New Yorkers will be going to the polls for the primaries, casting their first votes to the future leaders that will be responding to multiple crises that NYC faces. On Thursday, March 18th, 2021, at 5PM, the Climate Works for All coalition will be hosting the Climate, Jobs, and Justice Mayoral Candidate Forum which will give incoming 2021 Mayoral candidates an opportunity to share their plan for racial, economic, and climate justice. Save the date to listen to the mayoral candidates answer our tough questions on how they plan to navigate these crises, and move towards a more just and livable New York City.

An Alliance in Action

Teamsters JC 16 - Join the Teamsters to take the pledge to Build Back Stronger to ensure good jobs, secure pensions, and strong unions for working people across the country.

RWDSU - We stand with the Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama organizing in a historic union drive. Stuart Appelbaum, President of RWDSU, told the Guardian, “We see this campaign as much as a civil rights struggle as a labor struggle.” 

Make the Road NY - Over 1.2 million New Yorkers have gone over 300 days without relief. Join Make the Road NY to urge Governor Cuomo and state legislature to #FundExcludedWorkers to ensure the survival of working, immigrant families. 

NYC Environmental Justice Alliance - NYC EJA and Habitat Map released a new report that shed light on the disproportionate public health burdens imposed on environmental justice communities from industrial pollution, trucking, and transportation infrastructure. Click here to check out the report.. 

District Council 37 - Public service workers have been on the front lines of the pandemic, some without PPE or working in dangerous conditions. They need the vaccine now to stay on the job to keep our communities running. Join DC 37 to demand Congress #FundtheFrontLines: 1-888-981-9704. 

NYC Central Labor Council - Join the NYC CLC, AFL-CIO, labor and community leaders for a discussion on the Labor & Civil Rights Movements on Wednesday, March 10th, 6:00 PM. RSVP.

New York Communities for Change - NYCC has been on the ground demanding state legislators to #TaxTheRich, #CancelRent and #FundExcludedWorkers. See them in action. 

CWA District 1 - CWA joined IUE-CWA members and community allies for rallies at Walmart stores across the country to call on the corporation to act immediately to prevent workers from losing 80 factory jobs. Click here to sign the petition!

You can support our fight for economic, climate, and racial justice by making an online donation through our website at this link or by sending a check to ALIGN at 50 Broadway, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10004.

[email protected]