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NYC Teachers Criticize Massive School Budget Cuts

At the end of the school year, Annie Tan, a special education elementary school teacher in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, New York, said teachers typically have a party. This year, however, that celebration was mired by the loss of 16 teachers from her school who are being excessed (ie, moved to different schools and positions) as a result of massive public education budget cuts that are being enacted by the New York City Board of Education and Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.  The loss of those teachers, and the resulting vacancies that will remain unfilled, means that Tan’s students will continue to not have an art program, and dual-language programs will be limited for students who are still learning English. 

Renters Are Being Fleeced With Huge Rent Hikes And Evictions

Gerardo Vidal, who has lived in the same apartment in Queens, New York, with his family for 9 years, recently received a $900-a-month rent increase this year. “It means having to uproot my entire family, given the fact we’re still having a difficult time earning money due to the pandemic and loss of jobs,” said Vidal. “It’s unfair that we are being basically forced out of places we lived in for nine years and that landlords can get away with this.” Vidal is one of thousands of tenants in New York and countless others around the US who are currently experiencing drastic rent increases—a trend that has been decades in the making but, combined with an inflation squeeze and systemic shortage of affordable housing, is causing havoc for renters. These rent hikes are effectively serving as evictions by landlords who know full well that tenants will likely have to move as a result, enabling the landlords to rent out units to new tenants at greater rates.

‘No Justice, No Tacos!’

Midtown, New York City, New York - SEIU Local 32BJ held a rally and march yesterday in support of Chipotle workers seeking unionization, reliable scheduling and a raise in pay to $20 dollars an hour. The purple-clad procession gathered at 6th Ave. and 48th St., near the NewsCorp headquarters and Fox Square. Leaders of the local, including Executive Vice President Denis Johnston, addressed the crowd, alongside members of the New York City Council, the State Senate and the State Assembly. Councilwoman Julie Menin (District 5) and Councilman Lincoln Restler (District 33) voiced their support for the $20 dollar wage. “You all led the fight for $15; now we’re going to lead the fight for $20,” said Councilwoman Julie Menin.

Brooklyn’s Maison Jar Is One Of Many New Zero-Waste Grocery Stores

New York City, New York - At Maison Jar – a new grocery store located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in New York City – silos of dry goods line one wall. Dried beans, grains, pasta, nuts, and coffee are beside bins of cooking staples like flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar. A refrigerator on the wall opposite holds industrial-sized jars of olives, racks of eggs, and metal trays of fresh produce, and a freezer is stocked with plastic bins of frozen fruit and vegetables. Prepared snacks like dried mangos, wasabi peas, gummy bears, and chocolate-covered nuts fill glass jugs on the center tables. The back of the store has shelves of metal dispensers filled with oil and liquid condiments – like soy sauce and vinegar – glass jars of loose spices, and a table of multi-gallon pump bottles of laundry detergent, shampoo and conditioner, body lotion, and other personal care products.

Filipinos Fight For Democracy

New York City, New York - Starting the morning of Monday, May 9, Filipinos and allies across the tri-state area began hosting a vigil outside of the Consulate General of the Philippines. They committed to stay until the results of a historic election were announced. The Northeast Vigil for Democracy was one of dozens across the U.S. calling for a fair election as Filipinos voted for a variety of different positions. All eyes are on the presidency as two main candidates fight it out - Bongbong Marcos and Leni Robredo. While Marcos ran on a robust social media campaign based on rewriting history of his family, Robredo brought forward the people in effort to affect positive change. At 7 p.m. that day, a rally began with close to 100 protesters.

Apple Retail Workers At The Grand Central Store Are Trying To Unionize

New York City, New York - From Activision to Amazon, historic union elections are changing the way that Americans think about work. Now, Apple is the next tech giant to reckon with an employee-driven labor movement. Calling themselves the Fruit Stand Workers United (FSWU), employees at Apple’s Grand Central Terminal retail location launched a website designed to educate their fellow workers about why they want to unionize their store. “Year over year, the cost of living in New York City has not kept pace with our wages,” the FSWU’s mission statement reads. “Meanwhile, Apple has grown to be the most valuable company in the world. Why should its retail workers live precariously?” The collective will be affiliated with Workers United, the same group that has helped over 20 Starbucks locations form unions since December.

New York Luxury Building Workers Rally And Authorize Strike

Thousands of porters, doorpersons, superintendents, concierges, and handypersons with SEIU Local 32BJ gathered on Park Avenue in Manhattan on Wednesday for a rally to demand a fair contract. These essential residential workers are currently in contract negotiations with the Real Estate Advisory Board and are demanding wage increases and fully employer-paid health insurance for their families. The workers also raised the slogan of “no givebacks,” in response to bosses demanding they pay into their own health insurance and take cuts to paid time off. These workers deserve what they have already — and far more.

Grassroots Unionism: Lessons From The Victory At Amazon

Amazon workers in Staten Island defeated one of the wealthiest and most anti-union corporations in the world. Their victory is a repudiation of the failed strategy of the labor bureaucracy and shows the power of real rank and file organizing.

Beyond Con Ed: For New York, Public Power Is The Past And The Future

In the past year, Elsa Martinez has seen utility bills from New York energy monopoly Con Edison soar to as much as $300 per month. The costs seemed inexplicable to Martinez, a disabled Harlem resident. “​​Half the time I wasn’t home! That’s what threw me off.” Martinez mentions that the high bills may stem from her grandkids watching television. And the fact that she has to leave her hallway light on to make sure she does not miss steps when she gets up in the night — things she fears giving up. Martinez had to turn to Adult Protective Services to keep her lights on, though Con Ed has shut off her power multiple times since the start of the pandemic. “They’re the pits to me, I call them a bunch of crooks,” said Martinez about Con Ed.

Workers Used Amazon’s Captive Audience Meetings Against Amazon

Amazon workers in Staten Island, N.Y., astonished the world last week when they voted to form the first-ever U.S. union at the e‑commerce behemoth, which is known for ferociously opposing its workers’ efforts to organize. The Amazon Labor Union (ALU), which won the effort at the JFK8 fulfillment center, had been targeted by such anti-union efforts, and its co-founder, Chris Smalls, had been called “not smart or articulate” by Amazon officials. (Smalls co-founded the union after he was fired for organizing for safer conditions during the pandemic.) Workers and organizers across the country are looking to this campaign for lessons on how to overcome such aggressive tactics from Amazon, which has long proved difficult to organize.

Amazon Workers In Staten Island Clinch A Historic Victory

It’s the magical stuff of Disney movies. But yesterday, the improbable became the most probable when the scrappy band of workers who make up the Amazon Labor Union took the lead in a union election at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, putting within reach a historic labor win at the corporate behemoth. Before the vote count most reporters had dismissed the independent union’s chances, treating the organizing as a curiosity at best. “I think we have been overlooked,” said ALU Treasurer Madeline Wesley Thursday night. “And I think that that ends tomorrow when we are victorious.” The ALU clinched a decisive victory today, winning by a wide margin to create the first unionized workplace in Amazon’s extensive network of fulfillment, delivery, and sortation centers across the U.S.

Staten Island Amazon Workers Vote On A Union

New York City (Staten Island), New York - As the country cheers on Starbucks workers organizing, the votes will be counted this week in two big union drives at Amazon warehouses—one in Alabama and one in New York. Voting concluded March 25 in Bessemer, Alabama, after mail-in ballots were sent in early February to more than 6,100 workers who are deciding whether to join the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. This is a re-vote after Amazon’s interference tainted the first election, a landslide defeat last April. Meanwhile in an in-person election at the sprawling Amazon warehouse known as JFK8 on Staten Island in New York City, more than 8,000 warehouse workers will decide whether to unionize with the Amazon Labor Union, an independent union formed there last year.

Adams Says He’s Kicking Homeless New Yorkers Out Of Their Encampments

At a fundraiser on Friday, Adams told The New York Times that city agencies would identify the encampments, offer residents homeless outreach services, and then “dismantle” their makeshift shelters — all within a two-week period. On Saturday, a spokesperson for the mayor said the initial sweep has already begun, led by the New York Police Department, as well as the sanitation, social services and parks departments. The task force aims to clear 150 or more makeshift shelters on its first pass, which began on March 18th. “We are breaking down siloes and working together across government to keep New Yorkers safe and our streets clean,” Adams told Gothamist in a written statement.

Excluded Workers Shut Down Brooklyn And Manhattan Bridges…Again!

New York City - This, hundreds of excluded workers, elected officials, and allies took over the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. They raised the heat on the demands for an additional $3 billion for the Excluded Workers Fund in the state budget and the first ever “Excluded Worker Unemployment Program” in the country which would provide compensation to workers who have lost a job or income and are ineligible for unemployment insurance. More than 130,000 people across New York State had their lives transformed after receiving funding from the Excluded Workers Fund. Yet many New Yorkers were left out due to insufficient funds. A recent Immigration Research Initiative report estimated that 175,000 New Yorkers would be eligible for funding if the Excluded Workers Fund was expanded according to our proposal.

Student-Community-Labor Coalition Grows In New York City

A growing student-community-labor coalition held a large rally March 6 on demands related to New York City educational institutions. After gathering at Brooklyn Borough Hall, participants marched over the Brooklyn Bridge to Foley Square in Manhattan. Key organizers of the rally and the coalition were the Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York (American Federation of Teachers Local 2334), United University Professions (AFT Local 2190) and CUNY Rising Alliance, a coalition of 30-plus student, worker and community organizations “fighting for free and high-quality CUNY.” About 600 people heard James Davis, president of PSC-CUNY, and Fred Kowal, president of UUP, explain the needs of students and workers they represent at various institutions and how the pending New York state budget should recognize these needs.
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