fund excluded workers

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged communities of color across New York City and forced thousands of people out of work. The future of undocumented workers was bleak: no income, dwindling savings and no help on the way. While eligible workers flooded the state’s unemployment program and the federal government deposited stimulus checks in bank accounts, undocumented laborers and other workers were excluded. They would not suffer in silence: a coalition of immigrant groups and worker centers from across the state came together to demand that then-Governor Cuomo establish a fund to provide direct cash payments to these workers. I had the privilege of coordinating this historic campaign.

In 2021, after a grueling session in the state’s capital and a 23 day hunger strike in New York and Westchester, we won. The New York Department of Labor established a $2.1 billion Excluded Worker Fund which delivered direct economic assistance to more than 130,000 eligible workers across the state. 99.87% of recipients received a one time payment of more than $14,000.