| PRESS RELEASE |
6/15/2009
212-627-2227 x235
State Senate Chaos Threatens Key Immigrant Reforms
New York City. Immigrant community leaders held a press conference on the steps of City Hall in lower Manhattan today to decry the ongoing political chaos in the State Senate, which threatens to derail several important bills that are top priority for New York’s workers, students, parents, and tenants. Speakers called for a prompt resolution to the power struggle in Albany and demanded passage of the critical reforms before the end of the legislative session. “At a moment when so much is at stake for the people of our state, the political power plays that have ground the State Senate to a halt are jeopardizing crucial reforms needed to improve the lives of immigrant families and all New Yorkers,” said Ms. Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coaliton. “Too much is on the line to allow raw politics to derail these long-overdue policy reforms.” Prior to the chaos, Albany was set to take up several bills that are tremendously important to the state’s immigrant communities—legislation that would improve working conditions for farm workers and domestic workers, preserve rent-regulated housing, and improve New York City’s school governance system. The fate of these bills now hangs in the balance. “With the June 30th deadline on renewing mayoral control approaching, the State Senate must leave politics behind and put together a meaningful school governance proposal that addresses the big issues that have been raised by parents and communities,” said Leticia Alanis, co-director of La Union, a community group based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. “The state legislature has only two weeks left to deliver meaningful checks and balances, create a real plan for reversing the dropout crisis facing immigrant students learning English, and take an innovative and comprehensive approach to engaging parents and youth as partners in our schools—the first step of which should be to create an independent center for parent and student training.” Participants called on the State Legislature and Governor Paterson to enact the following legislation: Farm Workers Fair Labor Practices Act (A.1867 Nolan, S.2247 Onorato) (Farm workers perform necessary, arduous labor and are entitled to the same workplace protections as other workers. This act would provide protection under the workers’ comp, unemployment compensation, state disability, wage and hour and public health laws. It would grant collective bargaining rights, require sanitary compliance at farm and foold processing labor camps, mandate reporting of injuries, and guarantee at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week and 8 hour work days plus overtime rates.) Rent Regulation / Repeal Vacancy Decontrol (A.2005 Rosenthal, S.2237 Stewart-Cousins) (Rent regulation is the most effective means of preserving affordable housing. Under vacancy decontrol, however, more than 300,000 rent-stabilized units have been removed from regulation—in some cases by landlords withholding services, inflating or falsifying renovation costs, and harassing tenants to vacate units. Participants called for repeal of vacancy decontrol as a critical way to protect the state’s precious supply of affordable housing.) Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (A.1470 Wright, S.2311 Savino). (Many domestic workers are regularly forced to work six-day weeks and receive little or no pay. They are often abused, mistreated, and work under harsh conditions. This act would institute paid time off and a weekly day of rest, medical leave, health insurance, and an annual cost of living adjustment for domestic workers.) Better Schools Act (reforming mayoral control) (A.8478 Heastie, S.5576 Parker/Savino/Perkins). (Albany should amend the law governing mayoral control of New York City public schools to (1) improve check and balances over school budgets, policies, and large procurement contracts; (2) ensure meaningful structures for parent leadership and participation; and (3) establish transparency structures of the DOE.) NYC Tax Package (The mayor and City Council agreed on a package of taxes that will raise $887 million for the 2010 fiscal year. The State Legislature should approve this tax package to protect human services and critical programs for immigrant New Yorkers, such as adult literacy and affordable legal services.) The New York Immigration Coalition is an umbrella policy advocacy organization with 200 member groups in New York State that works for justice and opportunity for immigrants. For more information, visit www.thenyic.org |
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