Council Member Francisco Moya Introduced Resolution 867 Urging NYS To Swiftly Pass & Enact Legislation Defining Public Work
Legislation Will Ensure Public Dollars For Construction Spur Economic Development That Uplifts Workers On These Projects With Prevailing Wages
NEW YORK, NY – Today, Council Member Francisco Moya introduced a resolution urging the New York State Legislature to pass and Governor to sign A1261/S1947, which would clearly define public work and ensure construction workers on publicly subsidized projects are paid area-standard wages. With construction spending expected to reach an estimated $24 billion in New York City in 2020, this show of support in the New York City Council demonstrates the Chamber’s understanding of the power these dollars can have to lift New Yorkers out of poverty and into the middle class. As the largest municipality and economic driver of the State, New York City’s support for this legislation is paramount to helping pass it before the legislative session wraps in Albany on June 19th.
“We have a responsibility as state and local lawmakers to make sure that when public funds help create jobs, those jobs guarantee workers a living wage, a pathway to the middle class, and dignity,” said Council Member Francisco Moya. “If we allow construction companies to take public subsidies only to turn around and pay workers sub-standard wages, we are enabling these employers to take advantage of working-class New Yorkers. We must close this public works loophole and prevent the exploitation of hard hat workers. I want to thank the Greater New York & New York State Laborers-Employers Cooperation & Education Trust and the New York State Laborers Political Action Committee for being allies in this fight and standing with our brothers and sisters in labor.”
New York State law simply hasn’t kept up with economic development in our state and the fusion of public and private capital that now dominates the construction industry. While there is currently a prevailing wage requirement for “public work,” ambiguity in the law as to what exactly is public work has allowed deep-pocketed developers to exploit this loophole, taking taxpayer-funded subsidies without paying workers on their projects these wages. The legislation currently before the Assembly and Senate will rectify this situation by clearly defining public work and including public funding in the definition, granting thousands of construction workers on subsidized projects a long overdue raise.
“The New York City Council understands that public subsidies must come with public responsibility,” said Patrick Purcell, Executive Director of the Greater New York & New York State Laborers-Employers Cooperation & Education Trust (GNY & NYS LECET). “Thank you, Council Member Moya, for spearheading the Council’s support for this legislation and introducing Resolution 867. The introduction and swift passage of Resolution 867 broadens the base of support for this bill and will help combat the opposition’s fire-and-brimstone advocacy that is misleading many to believe construction downstate will grind to a halt as a result of this legislation.”
“Thank you, Council Member Francisco Moya, for introducing Resolution 867 and joining us in the fight to give thousands of construction workers, upstate and down, a much-needed raise,” said John Hutchings, Executive Director of the New York State Laborers Political Action Committee. “This legislation has the power to lift thousands of construction workers out of poverty and into the middle class. Adding the New York City Council to the list of supporters will help assuage concerns from within the Legislature and in doing so advance the legislation, bringing it closer to becoming a reality before session ends on June 19th.”
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For more information, please contact Ryan Sit for Council Member Moya’s office at 646-957-5611 or RSit@council.nyc.gov; Tommy Meara for LECET at 718-309-3506