2024: A Year in Review
In 2024, the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO strengthened our partnerships with our affiliates across the City, helped bring victories in tough contract fights, and advocated for policies that protect and uplift working people. We walked picket lines, lobbied for critical legislation, engaged voters, and more, and none of it would have been possible without you. Your solidarity and engagement are the heart of this Movement, and we thank you for everything you do.
We know there’s still much more work to be done. New York City’s workers face persistent challenges, among them wage inequality, the rise of unregulated technology, and employers who stubbornly refuse to come to the table in good faith. We know, too, that there will be unprecedented challenges brought by the incoming White House administration and Congress. The NYC CLC stands committed to empowering and protecting all working people, including the immigrant workers and their families who contribute so much to our City’s rich cultural fabric, economic strength, and Labor Movement.
Looking ahead, the CLC’s Executive Board has adopted a resolution launching the 2025 NYC Labor Votes! program, which will engage affiliates and coordinate collective resources to create a program that benefits all working families. Labor Votes! 2025 will ensure that our affiliates can access the necessary information, training, and shared resources to implement a successful member-to-member civic and political program for the upcoming Citywide and City Council elections. Learn more and plug in at LaborVotes.NYC!
You can also sign up here to let us know if you can join us on a picket line, help us support a strike, disseminate worker rights information, learn how to apply for your Community Board, or volunteer to assist with the largest Labor Day Parade in the country. We’ll continue to reach out with the latest news and ways that you can support workers in the struggle through Union Matters and our social media platforms. We encourage you to share those updates with others!
As we’ve seen time and again, when we come together, we can achieve incredible things. Together, we’ll keep building a stronger, fairer New York City for every worker and every family. On behalf of all of us at the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, we extend our deepest appreciation and gratitude again for your solidarity and partnership, and we wish you and your loved ones a bright, happy, and healthy 2025!
January-March
Our 2024 NYC Labor Votes! program swung into action early in 2024 to secure Rep. Tom Suozzi’s return to Congress in NY-3’s special election. New York City union members made more than 50,000 calls and knocked on nearly 10,000 doors in Queens alone! Through our member-to-member campaign, we saw action by 86 different NYC CLC local union affiliates.
We continued our work with Climate Jobs NY and the Climate Jobs National Resource Center, with labor leaders from across the country traveling to New York City to participate in CJNRC’s 2024 Climate Jobs Summit. It was an unprecedented gathering of hundreds of labor leaders, climate experts, philanthropists, and policymakers to discuss how the U.S. can lead in building an equitable, pro-worker clean energy economy.
NYC CLC President Vincent Alvarez and Staten Island Economic Development Corporation CEO Michael Cusick penned an OpEd in Crain's, calling on New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the body that oversees New York’s energy sector, to immediately issue a $200 million solicitation devoted to the development of offshore wind ports like Staten Island's proposed Arthur Kill Terminal, which will enable wind farms to create good union jobs and complete their construction in a safe, timely and cost-effective manner.
In February, the CLC co-convened a roundtable at SEIU 32BJ with Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, NYC Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon, and New York City labor leaders on building pathways to good jobs for newcomers. The roundtable focused on fostering connectivity and maximizing our strengths, assets, and resources to jointly implement solutions that support newcomers and all New Yorkers in accessing good jobs with robust worker protections.
We welcomed FIFA's announcement that the NY/NJ Host Region was awarded the rights to host the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final and seven other matches throughout the tournament at MetLife Stadium. Throughout the year, the CLC has been active in working with the Host Committee to ensure strong labor standards including good union jobs, fair living wages, local hiring, and meaningful health and safety protections for the thousands of workers who will make this historic global event possible.
In March, the CLC once again partnered with Workers United/SEIU (ILGWU) and the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition to commemorate the 113th anniversary of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the tragic event that took 146 young lives and marked a turning point in the labor movement’s fight for fair wages, workplace dignity, and safe working conditions.
The NYC CLC and UFT hosted a Labor Women's Power Breakfast as part of our celebration of Women's History Month. The session included lively panel discussions facilitated by our moderator, NYC CLC Secretary-Treasurer and UFT VP for Academic High Schools Janella T. Hinds, focusing on the importance of having more women engaged in our labor unions, politics, and public life.
The NYC CLC and NYCOSH launched our 2024 Safety and Health Series with a training on Recovery Ready Workplaces, in which participants learned about the impact of the opioid/substance use disorder crises on workers, families, and employers; the connection between hazardous and stressful working conditions and prescription opioids or self-medication with alcohol and drugs; and how to initiate a Recovery Ready Workplace.
Finally, the Office of the New York City Comptroller and the NYC CLC co-hosted a Workers’ Rights Convening at the CUNY School of Law. This inaugural event built on the recent surge of workplace organizing campaigns and focused on building worker power, bringing together organizers and advocates from across labor, workers’ rights organizations, academia, and government to network and share ideas.
More top headlines this quarter:
New York Rings in 2024 With a Pay Bump for Minimum-Wage Workers
Workers at City World Ford on Strike
Contract Faculty at NYU Wins Fair Election Agreement
UAW Local 2325 Announces Formation of AALDEF Union
She Wolf Bakery Workers File for Union Election With RWDSU
New York Daily News Journalists Walk Off the Job Over Hedge Fund’s Resource Slashing
Unionized Staff at Condé Nast Walk Off the Job
WGA East Members at Onion Inc. Reach Tentative Agreement
Meredith Union Members Rally for a Fair Contract
CBS News Digital Unionizes With WGA East, Demands Voluntary Recognition
Nitehawk Workers Unionize With UAW
Flight Attendants Take Action for Fair Contracts Covering 100k Crewmembers Including at LGA
NYCOSH Report: NYC Construction Worker Deaths Increase for Third Year in a Row
Starbucks Workers in NYC Metro Area Join Largest Single-Day Union Filing
More Than 1,200 Frontline Workers Rally for SUNY Downstate Hospital
AFM Secures Agreement With AMPTP, Delivering Historic Wins for Musicians
Mobilization for Justice, Inc. Employees Declare Indefinite Strike
Workers United and Starbucks Agree on Path Forward
WGA East Members at Spotify Studios and The Ringer Reach Agreements With Spotify
Academic Student Workers at the New School Reach Agreement After Three Days on Strike
Empire Justice Center Wins Election to Join UAW Local 2325
UWS Barnes & Noble Workers Vote Overwhelmingly to Join the RWDSU
Law360 Union Members Halt Work for 24 Hours After Colleagues Laid Off in Violation of Labor Law
Project Labor Agreement Signed by Building & Construction Trades and Offshore Wind Developers
MFJ Management Trying to Bust Union by Hiring Strikebreakers
April-June
Workers, labor leaders, elected officials, and community members gathered in City Hall Park to mark Workers’ Memorial Day, honoring workers who have died or suffered illness or injuries while on the job in our City over the past year. During the commemoration, organized by the CLC and NYCOSH, the names of 43 workers known to have died on the job since last Workers' Memorial Day were read aloud. Workers and advocates also called for action to prevent workplace violence, which continues to be a significant and worsening problem in the United States.
We joined Labor leaders, union members, and elected officials for a "COAL + ICE" climate change event and exhibit at the Asia Society and Museum, hosted by Cornell ILR's Climate Jobs Institute. At the event, union members and leaders from Climate Jobs New York affiliate unions spoke about their experiences on the job, both with the effects of climate change and innovative approaches to combat it.
At our annual Awards Reception, the CLC honored Manny Pastreich, President, 32BJ SEIU and Jonathan Smith, President, NY Metro Area Postal Union, APWU for their years of service in building and maintaining worker power not only within their industries but on behalf of working people and families across New York City. We also honored the Worker’s Justice Project for their groundbreaking achievements in organizing low-wage, immigrant workers who are fighting for and winning higher workplace standards in the construction, house cleaning, and app-based delivery industries.
In June, NYC CLC staff joined NYC's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, other agencies, unions, and worker groups to participate in a Workers’ Rights Day of Action. Stationing at transit locations across the five boroughs we were able to meet more than 10,000 New Yorkers and provide them with essential information about workers' rights. Employers in New York City must provide their employees with the multilingual "Know Your Rights at Work" poster, which refers them to the City’s Workers' Bill of Rights webpage.
The CLC co-hosted two more Safety and Health Series trainings with NYCOSH in the spring. The first, “Danger at the Nail Salon,” was a forum with experts to learn about the hazards nail salon workers face, the fight to improve the nail salon industry, and how unions and workers' rights organizations can support worker power. A second training focused on the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard and included a discussion of a common sense, worker-friendly strategy for unions to ensure their members obtain the required OSHA training and worker protection on the job.
We also testified in support of the FARE Act, sponsored by Councilmember Chi Ossé, which became law in December and will alleviate financial burdens on working families by ensuring that tenants are not forced to pay the fee for the services of a real estate broker they did not hire.
More top headlines this quarter:
Einstein Postdoc Researchers Forming Union With UAW
Association of Legislative Employees Reaches First Contract Agreement With the NYC Council
Workers at Partners Coffee in Brooklyn Join UFCW 1500
Sesame Workshop Writers Reach Agreement on New Contract
Fordham Graduate Student Workers Win Contract Agreement After 19 Months
Improv Instructors at Second City Unionize With UFT
‘Little Shop of Horrors’ Crew Joins IATSE, Becomes Fourth Off-Broadway Group to Unionize
MFJ Union Strike Hits Ten-Week Milestone, Marking Longest NYC Legal Services Walkout Since 1991
Fallen Construction Workers Remembered at Annual Hardhat Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral
Apple Illegally Interrogated NYC Retail Staff, National Labor Relations Board Rules
Musicians of “Severance” Win Union Contract
Condé Union Wins First Contract, Averting Work Stoppage Ahead of Met Gala
NYC Board Game Cafe Owners Tell Unionized Workers to "Burn in Hell"
MFJ Union Ratifies Contract Offer, Ending Historic 13-Week Strike
REI Union SoHo Workers Walk Out on ULP Strike
AFGE Rallies to Support SSA Workers Who Support America
Public Hospital Residents Win Contract Deal, Reaching Parity With Private Peers
Blank Street Coffee Workers Ratify First Contract With UFCW Local 1500
Harper's Magazine Staff to Form Union With UAW 2110
Writers Guild of America East Announces Voluntary Recognition at Lemonada Media
Social Policy Workers United Holds 3-Day ULP Strike at MDRC
‘National Sawdust’ Ushers Unionize With IATSE Local 306
Workers at Vera Institute of Justice Announce Intent to Unionize
Public Theater Workers Vote Overwhelmingly to Join IATSE, Become Fifth Off-Broadway Group to Unionize
American Folk Art Museum Staff Vote Unanimously to Join UAW 2110
Actors’ Equity Association Halts Future Development Contracts in Wake of Stalled Negotiations
Oxford University Press USA Guild Stages One-Day Strike in Response to Unfair Labor Charges
Union Win at the New York Film Academy
WGA East Members at iHeart Podcast Network Ratify First Union Contract
July-September
Throughout the summer, CLC staff and our affiliates planned and prepared for the nation’s oldest and largest Labor Day Parade, led this year by Grand Marshal John J. Murphy, United Association, and Parade Chair Fallon Ager-Norman, UFCW International. More than 85,000 workers and their families took to the streets in a powerful and vibrant display of solidarity and pride, marching twenty blocks past tens of thousands of spectators who turned out in support. Thank you to everyone who came out to make the day a success, and please save the date for September 6th, 2025!
The CLC and our partners testified before the NYC Council Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection in support of Intro 865, the Worker Fatality Bill, which would require the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to establish and maintain an online, publicly available database that compiles information related to workplace fatalities that occur in New York City. By gaining a clear understanding of where, how, and how many workplace fatalities occur, we hope that advocates will be better equipped to develop effective solutions to these critical and urgent issues.
In celebration of National Citizenship Day, the NYC CLC, Dominicanos USA (DUSA), and CUNY Citizenship Now! held a citizenship application assistance event. The event assisted more than 100 union members, their families, and friends, and was a unique opportunity for eligible applicants to receive free services aimed at helping them on their path to becoming United States citizens. Through our ongoing collaboration with the CUNY Citizenship Now! network, NYC CLC is able to coordinate free immigration consultations for union members and their families—click here to learn more!
During New York City Climate Week, we celebrated the passage of landmark legislation that will require New York City to install solar panels on public buildings, setting a nation-leading model for how big cities can develop clean energy on public buildings. Climate Jobs New York has long been a champion for building solar energy on public buildings, with labor unions advocating for this issue for years. Passing this legislation, which was introduced by Councilmember Sandy Nurse, was a primary goal of the coalition’s Carbon-Free and Healthy Schools campaign.
In August, the NYC CLC’s Executive Board adopted a resolution recognizing that workers in retail stores, pharmacies, and supermarkets in New York are vulnerable to verbal and psychological harassment, threats of violence, and violent crimes and assault; and that unsafe retail workplaces endanger workers and shoppers, presenting a serious threat to public safety. The CLC called upon New York Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the Retail Worker Safety Act, which she did in September.
Our Fall NYC CLC/NYCOSH Safety and Health Series training, entitled “Safety & Health for Gig Economy Workers,” focused on the gig economy landscape in New York and beyond, workplace hazards for gig economy workers, and how unions and workers' rights organizations can support gig worker organizing.
More top headlines this quarter:
Rideshare Drivers Hold Rally in Long Island City to Protest Uber’s Lockout Tactics
Contractors, Construction Unions Pushing Mental Health Reforms
Activists, Labor Push for Expanded Bus Lane Along Brooklyn’s Flatbush Avenue
32BJ Cleaners on Strike in the Diamond District
Worker’s Justice Project Leads Caravan to Confront Employers Over $100K in Unpaid Wages for Immigrant Workers
Prime Day Walkout Averted at Ziff Davis
Bronx Defenders Union Reaches Tentative Agreement, Averting Strike
Bird Union Members Hold Practice Picket for a Fair Contract
Local 1740 Members Tell School Construction Authority "Give Us a Raise!"
Actors’ Equity Association Begins Its Vital New Off-Broadway Agreement
Supporters Rally for UAW Member Illegally Fired for Organizing at Baco Enterprises in the Bronx
Laborers Condemn Use of Shady Demo Firm
Cleaners Rally Outside Con Ed HQ to Demand Utility Giant Provide Family-Sustaining Jobs
Audubon Society Workers Reach Tentative Agreement for First Union Contract After Two Years
Amazon Drivers in Queens Join Teamsters
Law360 Union Reaches Transformative Contract Deal, Ending Strike
Musicians of the New York Philharmonic Win Historic Agreement
October-December
Our 2024 NYC Labor Votes! program mobilized, organized, and empowered union voters, with thousands answering the call to phone bank and doorknock at union households in NYC and PA in the weeks and months leading up to Election Day. Though the outcome of the Presidential election wasn’t what Labor had hoped for, in New York State we passed Proposition One, the Equal Rights Amendment, and picked up three pro-labor congressional seats—and NYC union members helped make those wins possible.
In his role as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, CLC President Vincent Alvarez served as moderator at a half-day conference focused on the future of employment in New York City. Topics of discussion included how the composition of jobs in the city has changed since the pandemic; what’s needed to create jobs that pay family-sustaining wages and provide broad-based prosperity to the city; and how to develop and attract workers to fill those jobs. Watch video of the event here!
The CLC was proud to support the Safe Hotels Act, a critical bill to introduce basic regulations and worker protections to the hotel industry, with CLC President Alvarez penning an OpEd in amNY and Chief of Staff Brendan Griffith testifying before the NYC Council. The bill, sponsored by Councilmember Julie Menin and championed by the Hotel Trades Council, was overwhelmingly passed, bringing NYC in line with other large cities to protect guests, workers, and communities by ensuring that hotels live up to reasonable standards.
We again partnered with the UFT as well as the NYC Building and Construction Trades Council to host a Future in Focus: Exploring the World of Organized Labor and Unionized Careers event at Lehman College in the Bronx. The event continues to grow–this year we were joined by more than 40 affiliated unions and approximately 1300 high school students from more than 20 schools!
NYC CLC President Vincent Alvarez moderated a conversation between experts navigating New York City’s profound role and continuing resilience within the green economy landscape at the Association for a Better New York (ABNY). Topics included the NYC Economic Development Corporation's Green Economy Action Plan, released earlier this year–read more about the Plan here.
Working with the Worker's Justice Project, Los Deliveristas, and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, in November the CLC held a Legal Clinic on Deferred Action, assisting workers in filing Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement Applications, which provide temporary protection from deportation and work authorization based on participation in workplace violation investigations.
We also continued our participation with the New York Labor History Association’s Debra E. Bernhardt Labor Journalism Prize and Event committee, which awards an article that furthers the understanding of the history of working people. The event and the prize honor the vision of the late Debra E. Bernhardt—read more about the prize and this year’s winner, Kim Kelly, here.
The final NYC CLC/NYCOSH Safety and Health Series training of the year was titled “Artificial Intelligence: Worker Friend or Foe?” and focused on how AI can improve and enhance safety in the workplace, how we can incorporate a labor response to autonomous technology, and the impacts of generative AI on classroom learning and teachers' work. Stay tuned for info on our 2025 Series!
Finally, as we close out the year, let’s not forget about the workers at REI SoHo’s Ski Shop, now heading into their fifth week on ULP strike over health and safety issues at their workplace. You can help by emailing REI and demanding they start protecting their workers here and making a contribution to the union’s hardship fund here!
More top headlines this quarter:
Postal Workers Hold Nationwide 'Day of Action' in 90 Cities to Promote Vote-by-Mail, Demand First-Class Service Year-Round
ILA Reaches Tentative Deal on Wages, Suspends Strike After Three Days
300 Sinai Student Workers Win Their Union
City Council Passes Legislation to Create Responsible Procurement Practices That Work for Working New Yorkers
New Yorker Union Wins Contract After Strike Threat
$3.8 Million Announced for State-of-the-Art Wind Energy Training Facility
WNBPA Player Leadership Opts Out of CBA Early, Demands Transformative Changes
RadicalMedia Unionizes with the Writers Guild of America East
Drunk Shakespeare’s Cast and Crew Ratifies First Union Contract
Thousands of Union Construction Workers Rally Against Anti-Development Campaigns in NYC
PSC-CUNY Members Disrupt CUNY Trustees Hearing, More than 30 Arrested
Saturday Night Live Visual Effects Workers Unionize, Win Recognition with Unanimous Support
New York Times Tech Guild on ULP Strike
NLRB Bans Captive Audience Meetings
Weill Cornell Workers Form a Union with the TWU
Barnes & Noble Workers Rally with Fellow Bookstore Workers to Demand a Contract and Better Industry Standards
New York Times Tech Guild Shows Strength and Value to The Times in Election Week ULP Strike
Daily News Union Takes Legal Action Against Newspaper Owner Alden Global Capital
WGA East Members at WNET THIRTEEN Ratify New Union Contract
Noguchi Museum Staff Petition for a Union Election
Mercedes Service Technicians Call Out Anti-Union Firings
Unionized Journalists Walk Out on Forbes Magazine’s Biggest Day of the Year
International Rescue Committee (IRC) Workers Announce Unionization with OPEIU Local 153
New York Times Guild Wins Groundbreaking Contract Agreement
Strike Ends at the Strand as Union, Management Reach Tentative Agreement
PBS Writers Ratify Groundbreaking New Deal
Teamsters Launch Largest Strike Against Amazon in U.S. History, Including at DBK4 in Queens
No Contract, No Coffee! Starbucks Baristas Hold Five Days of Escalating ULP Strikes Nationwide Including NYC
PSC Reaches Memorandum of Agreement With CUNY