Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Labor Union

Labor Union

  • Prevailing Wage Extension Would Kill Jobs and Limit Housing for New Yorkers

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    (photo: governor's office)


    If there’s one thing that New Yorkers can agree on, it’s that we should always strive to create new jobs, not take them away. Amazon’s recent decision to withdraw its planned “HQ2” from Long Island City is an example of us failing on this front. However, public officials still have an opportunity to redeem themselves by protecting local workers from a proposed prevailing wage expansion.

    Discussions are currently underway in Albany to extend prevailing wage requirements to private construction projects and could cost New

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  • Anti-Union Amazon is Not Welcome Here

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    Jimmy Van Bramer, the author, at a rally (photo: @TeamstersJC16)


    Let me be clear: if Amazon is anti-union, it is not welcome in New York City.

    This is a union town. It is wrong to subsidize Amazon’s arrival after the company has proudly proclaimed to the world that it is anti-union and will fight any effort on the part of Amazon employees to unionize.

    Our city and state would be contributing to economic inequality by allowing Amazon to increase the pool of New York City workers who are not in a union.

    Unions have always been the great

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  • New York City Is Still a Union Town and That’s a Great Thing for Our Future

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    New York City - a beacon of the labor movement - has a duty to stand up for construction unions and serve as a model for rest of country

    The labor movement is under attack. Over the past few years, assaults on unions and labor have escalated at a breakneck pace. From recent court cases like Janus v. AFSCME to right to work legislation creeping through state legislatures, one

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  • New York City is No Longer Just a Union Town; Open Shop Construction Workers are Finding Their Voice and Must Be Heard

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    (photo: Demetrius Freeman/Mayor's Office)


    We’ve all heard that old refrain: “New York City is a union town.” In some cases, that’s still true, as many unions remain both politically influential and dominant in their industries.

    But the truth is that New York City is no longer a union town when it comes to construction, as the vast majority of private sector work is being done by the open shop. A review of New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) pulled permits shows that most private construction work across the city –

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  • Infrastructure Planning Should Not Include Vilifying Workers

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    Development and infrastructure are among the most widely discussed topics in New York City. Over the last few weeks, for example, City & State hosted the Rebuilding New York Summit focusing on infrastructure, financing, and policy; an article came out regarding MTA contracting reform; and ...

  • ‘It’s Really a Race’: Supreme Court Ruling Intensifies High-Stakes Battle for Public Workers

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    Gov. Cuomo supports labor unions (photo via the Governor's office)


    On a recent morning, Pam Stemberg tiptoed toward an open doorway. "My job is to stalk people," she said. 

    That's not quite her job. An English professor at City College in Upper Manhattan, Stemberg chases down colleagues in her second role as a union organizer. But her union pitch hasn't emphasized pocketbook issues like wages or benefits; it’s been focused on the threat posed by a Supreme Court case called Janus v. AFSCME, which concerns whether millions of public sector workers

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  • The Fallacy of Janus at The Supreme Court

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    photo: @UFT


    The Supreme Court of the United States will shortly rule on the Janus v. AFSCME case. Janus contends that any and all union activity is inherently political, that no one should have to contribute anything to union activity, and that we should therefore become a “right to work” nation. That’s an interesting concept.

    My union, the United Federation of Teachers, has a political fund called COPE, and I contribute. I frequently disagree with UFT candidate endorsements and decisions, but I believe it’s important to empower our union.

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  • More Than 400 City Workers Have Utilized De Blasio Paid Parental Leave Policy

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    De Blasio signs parental leave order, Jan. 2016 (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    In the nearly two years since Mayor Bill de Blasio made six weeks of paid parental leave available to about 20,000 city employees, more than 400 have taken advantage of the added benefit.

    The number through September 30 was 436 individuals, including an almost even split among men (203) and women (221), according to city data (12 who have utilized the program were “unknown” in terms of gender). The policy, announced by de

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  • Voters to Fill Vacant Bronx Council Seat in Special Election

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    Rafael Salamanca meets voters before Tuesday's election (via @JohnJrBX)


    Residents of District 17 in the Bronx will vote for a new City Council Member on Tuesday in a special election to fill the vacancy left by former Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo, who resigned and the end of last year. As with all special elections for the City Council not held on regularly scheduled election days, it is a nonpartisan contest, meaning no candidate will appear on the major party ballot lines. Instead,

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  • Labor Leaders Declare State of Unions Strong, At Least in New York

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    Mayor de Blasio at a UFT conference (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Four of New York's top labor leaders assembled recently to give a state of their unions, and to assess the broader union climate in New York and elsewhere.

    Each sounding like a determined boxer in the middle rounds of a grueling fight, they decried attacks on unions across the country, but indicated that they are pleased with the strength of the labor movement in New York. They credited intra- and inter-union solidarity for much

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