One piece of legislation current in committee in the Assembly and the state Senate is S8277: (Ramos)/ A10414 (De la Rosa), aka the “Excluded Workers Disaster Income Replacement Fund”.
While two million New Yorkers are currently receiving or are eligible for up to $4,200 a month in unemployment insurance benefits, pandemic unemployment assistance, and pandemic unemployment compensation, undocumented workers, people recently released from incarceration and searching for work, immigrant families of deceased workers, and many in the “informal economy” are excluded.
The bill seeks to “establishes a billionaire mark- to- market tax taxing residents with one billion dollars or more in net assets and directs revenue from such tax into a worker bailout fund; establishes a worker bailout program providing workers traditionally excluded from wage protection programs access to unemployment benefits.”
What can we do?
Call NYS Senator James Skoufis: 567-1270, 518-455-3290 (Albany) and NYS Assembly Member Jonathan Jacobson: 562-0888 (Newburgh), 518-455-5762 (Albany) to urge them to support the bill. Make sure you have the bill number handy to tell the staffer recording your call.
Another piece of legislation that’s very close to making it to Gov. Cuomo’s desk is the New York Health Act (A.5248a / S.3577a), which seeks to provide comprehensive single-payer health coverage for all New Yorkers that would replace private insurance. Detailed information for it can be found here.
The League of Women Voters recent threw its endorsement behind the NYHA after over a year of research, chapter discussions, and increasing support.
What can we do?
1. Learn more about the New York Health Act and sign up for updates from the Campaign for NY Health.
3. Sign up to phone bank or text bank fellow New Yorkers.
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