Union Strong

Protecting Firefighting Services

An executive budget proposal aimed at improving the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters may have good intentions, but could have unintended consequences that jeopardize public safety. On the latest Union Strong podcast, Sam Fresina, President of the New York State Professional Firefighters Association explains why paying volunteer firefighters a “nominal fee” is a bad idea.

See the NYS AFL-CIO oppose memo.

Labor’s Legislative Priorities

With well over 10 thousand bills introduced during the two-year legislative cycle in New York State and a $227 billion budget, there is a long list of issues that impact workers and the union movement. On this podcast, New York State AFL-CIO Legislative Director Mike Neidl explains how the state federation formulates our legislative agenda and discusses some of our top priorities for this legislative session.

See our legislative agenda, support/oppose memos and more.

Stay up to date on minimum wage lobbying efforts.

Seed to Sale: How to Cultivate Your Career in Cannabis

The adult-use cannabis market is open for business in New York State and it's expected to create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs. On this podcast, we learn about the Cannabis Workforce Initiative and how it's helping people navigate this emerging industry from seed to sale.

Visit the Cannabis Workforce Initiative’s website: https://www.cannabisworkforce.org/

Connect with them on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn:

https://www.instagram.com/nycannabisworkforce/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086750882307

https://www.linkedin.com/company/cannabis-workforce-initiative/

How to Buy Union and Buy American this Holiday Season

We know from a recently released survey that 76 percent of consumers prefer to buy American-made products, but where do you find them? Our guest from the Alliance for American Manufacturing has an entire holiday gift guide of Made in America items.  And we’ll tell you where to find union-made gifts, food, and drinks to make it a holiday that not only supports workers but will help create good union jobs.

AAM's 2022 Made in America Holiday Gift Guide

AAM's Made in America Directory

AFL-CIO's Union-Made Resources

So You Want To Start a TikTok Account

TikTok is a powerful communications tool, but getting started can feel intimidating. On the latest Union Strong podcast we discuss how TikTok works, tips and tricks for unions who want to use it to get their message out, and why you shouldn’t be afraid to dive in.

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Download the “Captions” app to get a teleprompter for your TikToks

Follow @NYSAFLCIO and @Local802AFM on TikTok

The Union Strong Vote

Candidates seeking the endorsement of the New York State AFL-CIO must meet a high threshold of support. 

On the latest Union Strong podcast, we break down the endorsement process with our guests; Ryan Delgado, Political Director and Chief of Staff at the federation and Jenn Puja, the Executive Director of the Westchester/Putnam Central Labor Body. 

We also discuss what’s at stake in the general election and how union members are making their voices heard.

Get voter info and find out how you can get involved

NYS AFL-CIO 2022 Endorsements

HEART 9/11 – Turning Tragedy into Triumph

Union construction workers and members of the fire and police departments in New York City developed a strong bond working together on New York’s 9/11 recovery mission. Years later, many of them now retired, are putting their knowledge and skills to use to help those in need. On the latest Union Strong podcast, Bill Keegan, founder and president of HEART 9/11 talks about the mission of the organization and what drives workers to pay it forward.

 

Visit the HEART 9/11 website. You can find details about their 9/12 Tribute event here.

 

Stay up to date with HEART 9/11 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Legislative Wrap Up 2022

Workers won big in the 2022 legislative session. The list of victories includes workplace health and safety protections, improvements to labor rights and pensions, and the creation of good-paying jobs as we address climate change.

On the latest Union Strong podcast, New York State AFL-CIO Legislative Director Mike Neidl breaks it all down for us to explain what these changes will mean for working people and their families.

See the 2022 End of Session Report

Get tickets for Union Strong Night at The New York Yankees (July 29th)

Get tickets for Union Strong Night at The New York Mets (September 3rd)

Nurses On The Brink

When nurses were forced to work mandatory overtime during the COVID pandemic, it was understood that we were dealing with an emergency.

The emergency has passed, yet mandatory overtime is back with a vengeance and it’s reached a crisis level in many of our hospitals.

Overworked nurses are pleading with lawmakers to do something about it.

On the latest Union Strong podcast, we will hear from nurses and their unions on why they are so passionate about strengthening mandatory overtime laws.

Here are the bills we discuss in the episode, which will improve the prohibition on mandatory nurse overtime law:

S8063A Ramos/A8874B Joyner
S4885A Savino/A181A Gunther
A286A Gunther/S1997A Jackson

Prioritizing Buy American Rock Salt

The concept of Buy American is simple: Our tax dollars should be used to create jobs and advance production here at home.

On the latest episode of the Union Strong podcast, we discuss the importance of prioritizing Buy American legislation and in particular, Buy American Rock Salt.

Our guest, Dave Wasiura, Assistant to the Director for the United Steelworkers, District 4 explains what the legislation would do and its impact on the New York State economy.