As we head into the holiday season, we celebrate recent strides in advocacy. We’re fighting hand in hand with communities for climate justice. We’re shedding light on the lack of multilingual access to unemployment benefits during the pandemic through our report, Designed to Exclude. And we pay tribute to movement leaders like Lois Curtis who have paved the path for our justice work.
COMMUNITY ACTION & RESEARCH
The Fight Against the North Brooklyn Pipeline Continues
Yesterday, Brooklyn community organizers attended a Community Board 16 meeting in continued efforts to speak out and demand a full environmental review of all phases of the North Brooklyn Pipeline. This follows actions in late September when community leaders Celina Trowell and Pati Rodriguez testified about the North Brooklyn Pipeline’s damage to communities in Bushwick and Brownsville and New York’s failure to safeguard the health and rights of communities of color. Watch excerpts of testimonies:
New York Failed to Provide Language Access to Unemployed Workers
Have you checked out our report, Designed to Exclude? This comprehensive report details how New York State Department of Labor did not make unemployment insurance accessible to the city’s 2.5M workers with limited English proficiency. Designed to Exclude pulls together interviews with workers and leaders of more than a dozen immigrant-serving organizations in New York State and a review of documents and data. The report outlines key policy recommendations to ensure New Yorkers who speak the state’s top ten languages will be able to access the unemployment benefits they deserve.
CELEBRATING MOVEMENT LEADERS
Rest in Power Lois Curtis
We mourn the loss of disability justice defender Lois Curtis who passed away on November 3. Lois was lead plaintiff in the landmark case Olmstead v. L.C. which set a legal precedent and won the right for people with disabilities to receive needed support and care in their homes and communities rather than in institutions. Listen to and read this tribute to Lois on NPR.
We owe so much of our work to Lois and her legacy. Since Olmstead, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed and won protecting disabled people’s rights to home-based care. NCLEJ’s Waskul v. Washtenaw County Community Mental Health case, on behalf of individuals in Michigan with developmental disabilities, aims to meaningfully enforce Olmstead and expand Medicaid budgeting so that Michiganders can hire and retain home care workers. Read more.
And in May 2020, during the height of Covid-19 pandemic, we challenged an attempt by Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to send people to nursing homes and make it more difficult for them to return to their communities.
Joyful Justice
Have you seen our photos from the Fall Justice Maker Awards?
We had an incredible night celebrating Chinese Staff and Worker Association and Flushing Workers Center, National Mobilization Against Sweatshops, and New York University School of Law Professor Helen Hershkoff. Movement leaders shared their perspectives on the crucial yet often unrecognized work to defend low-income workers like home health aides, expand access to public benefits, and further disability justice.
It was a night honoring collaboration, courage, and victory in the face of obstacles. And we celebrated the incredible impact of NCLEJ's committed attorneys fighting for fairness and justice in partnership with vulnerable communities. Thanks to all for making it such a special night of connection and generosity.
The National Center for Law and Economic Justice advances racial and economic justice through ground-breaking impact litigation, policy advocacy, and support for grassroots organizing. We have provided legal representation and support since 1965.
