Our fight for a safe Covid recovery also intersects with our struggle against the climate crisis. With the full return of in-person learning in just a few weeks, our Climate Works for All coalition is making sure that our school infrastructure is also resilient to the public health and climate crisis all New Yorkers face. As Maritza Silva-Farrell and IBEW Local 3 Business Manager Chris Erikson argue in a new op-ed in the Gotham Gazette, installing solar panels and HVAC air control systems within schools will help us move towards equitable, healthy communities for our students and teachers, lower our city's emissions, create good green jobs and can help prevent COVID spread in the classrooms. Take action with us by signing our petition urging NYC Mayor de Blasio and the next mayor to build Green Healthy Schools now!

Our recovery must reimagine what our state can look like. This includes a vision toward climate and worker justice that puts people and the planet before profit. Our work with both the NY Essential Workers Coalition and Climate Works for All is about the right to a healthy and safe community where we can all thrive. Building worker power and creating good, green jobs through strong coalitions is our pathway to a healthier, sustainable, and resilient New York.

Climate, Care, Jobs, and Justice

This summer we’ve seen record-breaking temperatures, droughts, tropical storms, and electrical outages pummel our communities from coast to coast. Climate change is not a problem of the future: it’s here now, and Congress has a huge opportunity to do something about it.

As steering committee members of the statewide NY Renews coalition, we have been joining the efforts of the the national Green New Deal Network to ensure that climate action is an integral part of our national recovery. In April, we made over a dozen congressional lobby visits, rallied in 15 locations throughout the state, participated in social media actions, and held a town hall with Senator Chuck Schumer. But we're not done yet. On August 19th, we will also be part of a national day of action which includes 10 big rallies targeting members of Congress on the need to go big and invest in climate, care, jobs and justice. You can sign up to be part of the August 19th day of action here!

At the state level, we have also been calling on our state legislators to pass the groundbreaking Climate and Community Investment Act, legislation that will bring us hundreds of thousands of green jobs and a cleaner, brighter future. It is unacceptable that the NYS legislature failed to pass this important legislation earlier this year. Take action with us to make our voices loud and clear: no delay on climate action any longer.

Taking on Big Tech at the Federal and State Level

Amazon and other tech giants hold so much power over our lives, our communities and our economy. This is especially true for working people of color, who are harmed in so many ways by the outsized, undemocratic power Big Tech has over our working lives, our political discourse, and our ability to thrive. As part of the Athena coalition, we are fighting for the passage of five #BigTechBills which will soon be voted on in Congress. These transformative bills will empower workers, protect independent businesses, and rein in concentrated market power that people are faced with everyday. You can get updates on this important federal campaign by signing up here.

In an op-ed for the New York Times, Stacy Mitchell of Institute for Local Self-Reliance and coalition member, argues that unions and small businesses can join forces to defeat big tech giants like Amazon. That is exactly what we did at the state level when we led an unprecedented coalition of labor groups, small businesses, and community organizations that pushed for the 21st Century Antitrust Act. This coalition and legislation is fighting to rebalance the playing field for both small businesses and workers as New York recovers from this pandemic. With the leadership of the Deputy Majority Leader Senator Gianaris, we passed this one of a kind legislation in the NY Senate. Now we are pushing for this legislation to be a top priority at the next session. Learn more about the campaign to break up big tech here.

Stopping Rampant Wage Theft in New York

Wage theft is a huge problem for working people of New York, particularly for workers in the private construction industry. Too often, an honest day’s work does not mean an honest day’s pay because of insidious wage theft practices. The passage of the Wage Theft law in the New York State Legislature is a huge step toward maintaining the dignity of the work for many of our Black, brown, and immigrant communities that build New York’s buildings and infrastructure. If this crucial legislation is enacted, general contractors could be held liable or even face civil violations if a subcontractor on a job site stiffs workers.

In an op-ed published in City Limits, Executive Director Maritza Silva-Farrell wrote in support of this important legislation: “This legislation demonstrates to workers across the state, especially immigrant and non-union workers, that they are valued. These workers put everything on the line in support of our state’s ability to make it through the pandemic and we cannot continue to fail them”. We thank State Senator Jessica Ramos and Bronx Assemblymember Latoya Joyner for standing with workers by championing this bill. We urge Governor Cuomo to sign this bill immediately to protect the dignity and well-being of private construction workers.

Excluded Worker Fund Applications are Open!

After a year of organizing, workers across the state who were excluded from all government relief won the historic $2.1 billion Excluded Workers Fund. We congratulate board members Make the Road NY and New York Communities for Change in leading the fight! This week, the Fund Excluded Workers (FEW) Coalition are celebrating the opening of the Excluded Worker Fund applications and encouraging anyone who has been unable to access financial relief throughout the pandemic to prepare their documents and apply this week. It is important to note that the coalition has recently raised concerns to the Department of Labor about accessing the fund for cash economy workers and self-employed workers and urge those workers to wait for further guidance from the Department of Labor. In the meantime, there has been non-stop community education efforts to ensure that community members are aware of the needs to access these funds. You can join their Facebook live event on Thursday at 6 PM to learn more.

Movement Builders Awards 2021

Mark your Calendars: Tuesday, September 21st

As we all recover from a year and half of multiple crises, we are getting ready to celebrate our community's resilience and our achievements in rebuilding together! We’re excited to announce that on Tuesday September 21st at 6PM, we will be hosting the 2021 ALIGN Movement Builders Awards. We are proud to hold this event at IBEW’s Electrical Industry Training Center (48-40 34th St, Long Island City) in an outdoor space. Proper health and safety protocols will be taken, including checking for proof of vaccination, providing masks and antibacterial soap, and indoor masking.

Reserve your tickets or sponsor an ad here!

This year, we hold the MBAs to honor the outstanding leaders who have been at the forefront of the fight for economic and climate justice throughout the pandemic. We have been proud to work with our honorees to defend and expand workers’ rights and address the impact of COVID-19 and climate change on our communities. We hope you can join us this September to recognize our honorees and reflect on the trials and victories of the past two years.

Learn more and apply at: https://alignny.org/working-at-align/

Join the team that’s winning a more just and sustainable New York! We are hiring for two positions:

First, we are looking for a Director of Communications to join our fight for a just and equitable New York! This position is full-time, with a salary range of $75,000–85,000 and benefits.

Second, we are hiring a Climate Campaign Coordinator to ignite momentum for new and developing campaigns. This position is full-time, with a salary range of $60,000-68,000 and benefits.

Alliance in Action

Teamsters JC 16 - Teamsters from coast-to-coast are turning out in force with their fellow union brothers and sisters to urge the Senate to pass the Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would empower hardworking Americans in their efforts to join together and fight for better wages and benefits as well as safer jobs. Learn more about their push here.

Make the Road NY - In response to the Excluded Workers Fund regulations issued by the New York Department of Labor, the Fund Excluded Workers coalition is urging the Cuomo administration to stop its attempts to potentially bar thousands of essential and excluded workers from qualifying for the program. Read and share their important statement here.

PowerSwitch Action - We congratulate Partnership for Working Families on their formal transition to PowerSwitch Action! This new name captures so much of who they are and what we need: a power switch in this country with the strategic, bold action we need to take to get there. You can learn more about their path for collective liberation and long term agenda here.

NYC Environmental Justice Alliance - NYC-EJA alongside New York Lawyers for Public Interest, and Natural Resources Defense Council successfully opposed a City Council bill that seeks to amend the Waste Equity Law (Local Law 152 of 2018) to let some waste transfer stations in environmental justice communities to once again increase their waste capacity. Read more about this win here.

NYC Central Labor Council - The 2021 Climate Jobs and Just Transition Summit will bring together newly established state Climate Jobs coalitions, labor leaders, union climate activists, environmental and environmental justice advocates, clean-energy developers, policymakers, scientists, and all who want to build the clean-energy economy of tomorrow with good union jobs. Save the date for September 21, 2021. Learn more here.

DC 37 - DC 37 leaders stood with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Congress member Ritchie Torres at Lincoln Hospital to demand $860 million in emergency reimbursements that FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, owes New York City Health + Hospitals. Read more on their campaign here.

New York Communities for Change - Check out this must watch video on the BBC featuring NYCC member Ana Ramirez who went on hunger strike for 23 days to win the historic $2.1 Billion fund for excluded workers in NY.

CWA District 1 - Join CWA D1 for weekly Twitter Storms from 5-8pm to save 300+ Staten Island E-Z Pass workers union jobs. Check out our toolkit here for more info on the campaign and sample tweets.

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