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Here’s Every Bill Hochul Hasn’t Signed

The governor has three weeks and 265 potential laws to consider. New York Focus compiled them all.

New York Focus   ·   December 12, 2022
Mayor Issues Ultimatum on Retiree Health Care, Seeking End to Standoff

The City Council must enable budget-cutting new health insurance options for retirees, warns Eric Adams’s chief labor negotiator — or City Hall will eliminate existing insurance plans.

Sam Mellins   ·   October 31, 2022
Home Care Workers Battle Their Own Union on 24-Hour Shifts

1199 SIEU says it wants to end 24-hour shifts - but it has opposed city and state bills that would do so, and some question the sincerity of its objections.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   September 28, 2022
Adams and Unions Strike Deal on Shift to Cost-Cutting Medicare Plan

The mayor and major city unions plan to press the City Council to clear a path for a privatized Medicare plan for retired city workers.

Sam Mellins   ·   September 8, 2022
Medicare Standoff Threatens Cuts to Current City Workers’ Benefits

The cancellation of a proposed cost-saving health plan after retired city workers sued could drain a special fund City Hall and unions use to pay employee benefits.

Sam Mellins   ·   August 10, 2022
Amazon Likely To Win Nine-Figure Tax Break To Build Western New York Warehouse

The deal has been two years in the making, but it’s been a secret for most of that time.

Julia Rock   ·   August 9, 2022
Is Eric Adams About to Gut the Nation’s Most Important Local Climate Law?

Enormous pollution cuts and tens of thousands of jobs depend on how Adams implements New York City’s landmark climate law in the coming months.

Pete Sikora   ·   July 26, 2022
Health Insurers Just Killed The Medicare Plan City Retirees Railed Against

With the plan tied up in court, insurers Elevance Health and Empire BlueCross BlueShield pulled out of a controversial deal to switch retired city workers to privately run health insurance.

Sam Mellins   ·   July 19, 2022
A New Conservative Majority on New York’s Top Court is Upending State Law

A new four-judge bloc has consistently voted together in its most recent term, impacting criminal defendants, workers and people suing police.

Sam Mellins   ·   July 7, 2022
Robert De Niro’s Astoria Film Studio Backs Out of Promise to Hire Union Construction Workers

“We’re basically being blocked out in the process of even trying to bid on the work,” said one union leader.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 22, 2022
City Employee Health Plan Could Switch to Lower-Cost Company Under New Proposal

Hundreds of thousands of city workers and their dependents could have their healthcare shifted to a cheaper plan by 2024, documents show.

Sam Mellins   ·   June 15, 2022
Our Group of Freelancers Took on Albany’s Byzantine Legislative Process. Here’s How We Won.

An organizer for the Freelance Solidarity Project describes how getting a bill passed through Albany takes “running into a brick wall repeatedly, waiting for a tiny crack to show.”

Eric Thurm   ·   June 15, 2022
Electrical Workers Union Fights to Expand Fossil Fuel-Powered Crypto Mining in New York

The IBEW opposes a bill awaiting signature by Gov. Kathy Hochul that would put a moratorium on new fossil fuel power plants for the crypto industry.

Paige Oamek   ·   June 14, 2022
New York Labor Bills Are Stuck in Limbo

The Assembly Labor Committee has emerged as a bottleneck for unions’ top legislative priorities.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   May 31, 2022
Why Starbucks Workers Had To Wait Six Months To Get Help From The US Labor Board

Buffalo workers were the first to unionize - but labor law went unenforced during their elections.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   May 17, 2022
Construction Industry “Flaggers” Report Pervasive Wage Theft

Black and Latino nonunion flaggers on public construction projects say they’re paid just a third of wages they’re legally entitled to.

Amir Khafagy   ·   May 11, 2022
Workers Accuse Ultra-Fast Delivery Startup of Wage Theft

Before the Russian-funded delivery startup collapsed, Buyk sold itself as a way for workers to escape the gig economy. Former workers say it failed to deliver.

Amir Khafagy   ·   May 5, 2022
Labor Experts Dismissed the Quixotic Amazon Union Drive on Staten Island. Then They Won.

“I told the workers beforehand that they would lose based on the ‘numbers.’ They said they knew the workers. They were right!”

Luis Feliz Leon   ·   April 13, 2022
Striking Workers Say Brooklyn Oil Terminal Is ‘Playing Russian Roulette’ with Safety

Striking employees of United Metro Energy say management replaced them with workers who weren’t certified to operate the Brooklyn oil terminal, increasing the risk of an oil spill.

Inci Sayki   ·   March 28, 2022
Retired NYC Workers Celebrate Medicare Switch Court Win

The court ruled retirees who opt-out of the switch to Medicare Advantage plans can keep their current insurance free of charge. The Adams administration is appealing the ruling.

Sam Mellins   ·   March 3, 2022
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