Climate change marchers at Union Square
BY DEAN MOSES
The doomsday clock is ticking for
climate change as environmentalists
started the spring season
by rallying on April 7 in front of the
digital Metronome just above 52 E 14th
Street in Union Square.
Protesters marched from Union
Square to Washington Square
Park, demanding that President
Joe Biden and other Congressional
leaders take a bigger and bolder
approach on a climate change
infrastructure package.
There is a famous Greek proverb
which states: “A society grows great
when old men plant trees in whose
shade they know they shall never sit.”
This quote goes a long way to demonstrate
the actions some will take
in hopes serving the next generation,
knowing they themselves will not
reap the benefits. Wednesday evening’s
demonstration was led by several
elderly activists hoping to do just
that—fight for future generations.
While there was roaring support
for Biden’s proposed American Jobs
plan, protesters want a more progressive
approach to fix the damages
caused during the Trump administration.
They are pushing for the
Protesters marched from Union Square to Washington Square Park.
Climate and Community Investment
Act (CCIA) to be passed on a state
level, as well as the Thrive Act on a
federal level.
The CCIA proposes fees to be
implemented and charged to corporate
polluters, companies who have
continuously dumped toxic waste
and produced enormous amounts
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
of greenhouse gasses and co-pollutants.
By charging for the importation
of fossil fuels in New York State
and $55 per ton of greenhouse gas
emissions, it is estimated that $15
billion would be collected and then
invested into developing green jobs,
renewable energy, and other climatefriendly
solutions.
Additionally, the THRIVE Agenda
focuses on economic renewal by
developing solutions through climate
change, racial injustice, public
health, and economic equity through
the creation of dignified jobs with
access to unions, investing in Black
and Brown communities, equal access
to healthcare, and more through
the $10 trillion plan.
Over 100 individuals gathered on
Union Square touting signs calling
for a stricter stance on climate change
as they listened to speakers like State
Senator John Liu, Assemblymember
Harvey Epstein, and others.
“It is a beautiful day—truly a gorgeous
day. We want many more days
like this, but if we don’t do something
about climate change we are going to
get fewer and fewer. We want to protect
our planet and we want to protect
the environment for our kids and
our grandchildren,” Senator Liu told
onlookers.
After speakers had concluded remarks,
rally organizers from Rise
and Resist, People’s Climate Movement
– NY, and more led a march
through the streets of Lower Manhattan,
spreading the word of their
cause from megaphones until they
arrived at Washington Square Park.
SWEAT and tears: Workers, pols rally against wage theft
BY DEAN MOSES
Advocates and elected offi cials
demanded the enactment of
the Securing Wages Earned
Against Theft (SWEAT) bill outside of
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Midtown
offi ce on April 13.
Tuesday morning, the SWEAT Coalition
— a group of 85 grass root
organizations — gathered alongside
unpaid workers, politicians, and others
to stand with banners and signs
outside of 633 3rd Avenue, chanting
“Pass SWEAT now!” The demonstrators
urged Governor Cuomo to put an
immediate stop to wage theft by supporting
the SWEAT bill currently in
the state legislature.
“Wage theft is running rampant, and
it affects all of us here. Some of us don’t
get minimum wage, no overtime or no
tip. Some of us are told, ‘It’s a pandemic,’”
said JoAnn Lum, a member
of the National Mobilization Against
SweatShop (NMASS) and SWEAT
Coalition, adding that some also work
24-hour shifts but are only paid for 12
hours.
“This is all wage theft. It’s a crime.
It’s the biggest crime in the country.
It’s more than armed theft and robbery
combined,” Lum added, explaining that
these crimes are committed and even
with rulings pushing for reimbursement,
Advocates shared that approximately $1 billion in wage theft occurs
annually in New York State.
the fi ndings are not enforced due
to businesses hiding their assets and
claiming they do not have funds.
Since the dawn of the pandemic, approximately
631,000 jobs were lost and
during that time those who were able
to hold onto their employment battled
rampant wage theft. Protesters say
some employers took advantage of the
PHOTO BY ZISHUN NING
economic downturn brought on by COVID
19 by refusing to pay their workers
minimum wage, overtime, and for
all of the hours worked.
The struggle of living paycheck to
paycheck became impossible, and as
workers turned to the Department of
Labor, advocates at the demonstration
state that rulings were weakly enforced,
leaving many empty-handed.
“We see this happen time and time
again. The workers are exploited. They
are not paid what they worked to earn.
The owners go out of business, bankruptcy,
or changes the name and you
can never track them down. So, the
money and the judgment you earn in
court is not worth the piece of paper
it’s written on. This has been going
on forever. Today we say enough is
enough,” said Assembly Member Linda
B. Rosenthal outside of Governor Cuomo’s
offi ce.
Rosenthal explained that in the past,
Cuomo has vetoed a version of the
SWEAT bill, but elected offi cials are
not letting this deter them from fi ghting
for workers who are being shortchanged.
She shared that she has seen
cases over the past year of food delivery
workers who’ve put their lives on the
line during the pandemic and yet still
had their tips stolen from them by their
employers, and much of this money
makes the difference between paying
rent and putting food on the table.
We reached out to Cuomo’s offi ce
for comment, but did not receive a response
prior to press time.
16 April 15, 2021 Schneps Media