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Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition
Upcoming Monday, March 5 through Wednesday, March 7, 2007 Questions?
News Archives Congratulations to GNYLRC for being selected as one of the 2005 UNION SQUARE AWARD winners for "notable contributions to social justice in New York City!" Immigrant Communities in Action sponsored a Day of Dialogue on February 21, 2004 at the 32BJ office building. The Greater NY Labor-Religion Coalition was one of the conference organizers. Rally
and Festival for Immigrant Rights was held on October 4, 2003 at the Unisphere,
Flushing Meadow Park, Queens. Click here to learn more about this culminating
event of the national Immigrant
Worker Freedom Ride. New York Daily News religion
column featured Rabbi Michael Feinberg in late August. Click here to read "Labor
and religion work well together." The Justice for New York State Farmworkers Gala Dinner and Fundraiser brought NYS Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and farmworker justice supporters to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on May 15, 2003. As part of the Annual 40-hour Fast, the Coalition cosponsored an Interfaith Vigil to Support Low-waged Home Healthcare Workers on March 13, 2003. Fasters met at the offices of the Allen Healthcare Corporation, Jamaica, Queens. The event was cosponsored with District Council 1707, AFSCME. Allen Home Health Care Corp., the parent company of Health Acquisition Corp., doing business as Allen Home Health Care Services, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and in 2002 made $82 million, a record amount. The starting wage for home health aides is $5.75 per hour. The company has been in negotiations with District Council 1707, AFSCME for two years. A Closing Interfaith Service and Breaking of the Fast with readings, liturgy, song, food and inspiration was held at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Harlem at March 14, 2003. The Living Wage Campaign has achieved partial success when a modified ordinance was passed by the New York City Council on Nov. 7, 2002, and later signed by the mayor. It requires agencies with city contracts providing day care, home care and help for people with cerebral palsy to pay workers $9.60 an hour without health insurance or $8.10 an hour with health insurance. According to the ACORN Living Wage Resource Center, the law will apply to about 50,000 employees , covering more workers than any other such law in the country. Coalition Coordinator, Michael Feinberg participated in "The Corporate Crime Wave and the Faith Community, a One-Day Seminar" along with Judy Nutter, Chair of the Section on Christian Social Responsibility, Women's Division, the United Methodist Church. Panelists included the authors of The Great 401(k) Hoax. Faith leaders testified at a hearing on the living wage before two City Council committees in New York City on April 23. Over 150 attended. For details see the testimony submitted by the Brennan Center for Justice. Already 44 of the 51 Council members support the bill which would raise the wages of over 70,000 workers. The Coalition sponsored summer interns through the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice Seminary Summer program and provided resources to clergy as part of the national "Labor in the Pulpits/ on the Bima/ in the Minbar" program. Campaign to respect immigrant workers rights: The Coalition is working with SEIU-Local 32BJ on the national campaign to collect and deliver one million postcards to President Bush. Over 130 attended the lunch forum for religious leaders about the living wage in late February 2002. In the
fall of 2001, the living wage steering committee decided to change its approach.
Since the city will have a large deficit because of Sept. 11, the proposed ordinance
will exempt non-profits. This means that fewer workers will be covered, but there
is a better chance of winning. With a high moral message, "A Living Wage--Rebuild
with Dignity" union allies will be easy to rally. This approach ties nicely
with other campaigns such as Justice for Janitors. 3/4 of New York City Council
members were newly elected in November. The LW steering committee will work to
establish coalitions by January when new Council members and the new mayor take
over. Michael also reported a contract settlement with SEIU 32BJ (involving 25,000 service workers such as doormen) and a campaign to promote apparel made in NYC. Up to 1/3 of the workforce in the garment industry in lower Manhattan has been laid off. A coalition (elected officials, UNITE, manufacturers, retailers) is promoting holiday shopping with hang tags on garments saying "UNITE! Proudly Made in NY". Check www.uniteunion.org or the Garment Industry Development Corporation www.gidc.org for more information. The Coalition participated in a public candlelight vigil on the Day of the Dead sponsored by the Coalition of Human Rights of Immigrant Workers. As part of a coordinated effort to rebuild the apparel industry in New York, the Coalition provided packets of "Proudly Made in New York" buyers guides to over 700 congregations. Garment workers, many of whom are immigrants, have been battered economically by lost jobs and lost work since September 11. For more information about the campaign to encourage consumers to buy clothing made in New York factories, visit the web sites of UNITE or the Garment Industry Development Corporation .
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