Hillary Clinton and Governor Andrew Cuomo at the signing of legistation raising
the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour for workers in New York State.
Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law an increase in the minimum wage for workers in New York State at a signing ceremony at the Jacob J. Javits Convention center April 4, 2015. In attendance for the historic signing was Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Local 3 has endorsed Mrs. Clinton for president of the United States.
Governor Cuomo campaigned across the state for passage of the increase. Cuomo has taken a bold step to reverse the decline in real wages for New Yorkers. In addition to the minimum wage increase, the state budget this year includes $1 billion to make college more affordable and assist New Yorkers in bettering their future. It also includes 12 weeks of paid family leave. These are issues labor has lobbied on behalf of for many years.
Without the voice of the organized trade union movement such progressive measures would never come into being and the lives of all workers in New York State, both union and non-union would be worse off.
In an OP/ED that appeared in the Daily News April 2nd, ‘Governor Cuomo reflected on his own family’s American experience
writing, “It’s the place where a poor Italian couple who couldn’t speak English but worked seven days a week at their small grocery store in Queens could have their son become governor and then, one day, their grandson.”
By passing this progressive agenda, with the aid and assistance of organized labor, Governor Cuomo concluded, “New York has shown the way, with real progressive actions that allay people’s fears and restore hope for the future. It is time the rest of the nation follows.” California has passed similar legislation.
