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City Hall Expands Summer-Youth Program to Offer 100,000 Jobs
Jobs & Recession City Hall Expands Summer-Youth Program to Offer 100,000 Jobs
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced New York City will, this summer, support a record 100,000 summer job opportunities annually for young people ages 14-24, with 90,000 of the opportunities stemming from the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) and 10,000 opportunities coming from other city programs. The 90,000 opportunities through SYEP is the largest number of jobs ever made available in the program’s 60year history. The record number of opportunities — an increase from the previous record of nearly 75,000 — is possible in part due to a $79 million investment that will be made in the mayor’s upcoming Fiscal Year 2023 Preliminary Budget. This expansion is a key part of an overall strategy to keep the city’s youth engaged and active over the summer months when crime spikes — and is a preventive action outlined in Mayor Adams’ Blueprint to End Gun Violence. “Young people in this city should have the opportunity to work or learn this summer, and this historic investment will help secure a better future for tens of thousands while helping to make our city safer,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “We owe it to our children to give them every opportunity to thrive, and this expansion will do just that.” The city’s SYEP program, which is the largest in the country, typically runs for six weeks in July and August. SYEP provides participants with paid opportunities to explore potential career interests and pathways, allowing participants to engage in learning experiences that help develop their professional, social, civic, and leadership skills. Research shows summer jobs save lives, cut crime, and strengthen communities. A 2021 study found that SYEP participation lowers participants’ chances of being arrested that summer by 17 percent and by 23 percent for felony arrests. Other research has found that SYEP youth are significantly less likely to be incarcerated in New York State more than five years after their participation in the program. Beyond the public safety implications, summer jobs can offer life-changing experiences for participants who discover a passion, connect with a mentor, and gain the confidence that comes from successfully navigating the world of work. As the program has evolved over its six-decade history, the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) has put greater emphasis on youth development. City officials are also working with private sector partners, non-profit organizations, and others to help place participants. Applications for New York City’s SYEP CareerReady and Special Initiatives tracks opened on February 14, and the general community-based application period for all youth opens on March 1. The CareerReady track is designed for students between the ages of 14 and 21 from select DOE schools, while the Special Initiatives track offers tailored opportunities for youth aged 14-24 who are: sResidents of select New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments; sHomeless or have run away; sJustice- or court-involved; In foster care; sReceiving preventative services through the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS); sNew York City Human Resources Administration participants receiving Cash Assistance via Business Link; sStudents from Access and alternative schools; or sHave experienced gender-based violence.p
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Local 802 Musicians Perform for Hospital Workers and Patients Nearly 200 American Museum of Natural History Workers Move to Unionize
Even as the pandemic continues to wind down, our hospital workers are still working tirelessly. Local 802 musicians are lifting the spirits of NYC hospital heroes and their patients with #MusicForTheSoul, a daily union gig powered by Local 802, New York Health + Hospitals and the NYC Mayor's Office for Media and Entertainment. Mark Gross recently performed a special Black History Month edition of #MusicForTheSoul that was beamed to a live audience in Elmhurst Hospital in Queens. Mark says, "As we continue to transition back into socializing and gatherings in public places, there are still folks who may not be able to do so. It is my hope that opportunities such as this provide an opportunity for us to gather virtually and celebrate and appreciate one another. It has always been my aim to have music serve as a catalyst for unity, peace and light." Live performances from Local 802 members take place Monday through Friday from 12 noon to 1pm, livestreamed at www.facebook.com/nychealthsystem.p
Photo courtesy NYC Health +Hospitals/Elmhurst)l
Drivers and Delivery Workers Kick Off Justice for App Drivers Campaign
On Tuesday, February 2, drivers and and delivery workers from across the city kicked off the Justice for App Drivers Campaign with a rally in Foley Square in Manhattan. The workers have six core demands: living wages; a safe working environment; an end to unfair account deactivation; quality healthcare benefits; reliable, safe bathroom access; and the right to form a union. Nine app-based worker advocacy organizations representing nearly 100,000 New York rideshare drivers and delivery workers, including Machinists Union affiliate the Independent Drivers Guild, have joined ranks to take on Uber, Lyft, and other big tech giants to win dignity at work. These are the working people who keep communities running, getting our neighbors what they need and where they need to go. At Tuesday's rally, bicycle and car delivery workers stood side-by-side with rideshare drivers as they railed against billionaire bosses in Silicon Valley, and called on all workers across the industry to mobilize together and join the fight.p Workers at the world-famous American Museum of Natural History filed a union petition last week to organize with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) District Council 37, the city’s largest public-sector employee union, which already represented dozens of workers at the museum. The new union will encompass 184 employees in a range of positions, from museum educators and post-doctoral fellows to curators and visitor services representatives. "I think for all of us, top concerns were COVID safety, especially for visitor-facing staff, and issues of compensation and benefits," American Museum of Natural History employee and union member Alexandra Walling told Patch. "Many staff were on the extended furloughs at 80 percent of 60 percent pay for many months since the start of COVID." p
Leaked Messages Reveal NYT’ Aggressive Anti-Union Strategy
Internal documents and Slack messages obtained by the Guardian this week revealed that senior executives at the New York Times are heavily leaning on workers to vote no in a union election for more than 600 tech employees. Meredith Kopit Levien, the chief executive of the New York Times Company, wrote a memo circulated to staff titled “Why a Tech Union Isn’t Right for Us.” She emphasized the "relationship" between management and workers, baselessly alleging it would be disrupted by a union, and that the New York Times’ diversity, equity and inclusion goals would also be disrupted. If successful, the New York Times Tech Guild would form the largest bargaining unit of tech workers in the nation. The National Labor Relations Board previously rejected the New York Times’ attempt to stop the election. Kopit Levien wrote: “This is an unproven experiment with permanent consequences.” New York Times editorial workers have been part of the same union the tech workers are organizing to join for 80 years.p
Editorial credit: PriceM / Shutterstock.com
Photo courtesy NYC Central Labor Council
The new LaGuardia Airport in Queens is one of the most complicated construction projects in American history and it is being completed two years ahead of schedule and 100% union built. "Building a modern, world-class airport while maintaining and operating the existing one — one that served New York but unfortunately had seen better days and needed an upgrade — was certainly a challenge. The IBEW and the NYC Building Trades have accomplished something extraordinary that will honor former Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia's legacy for decades to come," said Local Union No. 3, IBEW Business Manager and IBEW International Executive Council Chairman Christopher Erikson. Approximately 2,400 professional and trade workers represented by more than two dozen unions have been working under a Project Labor Agreement. All the work there is scheduled to wrap up by 2025.p
