2025 NYS Legislative Agenda: What We Won

Our 2025 Campaign to Strengthen New York!

1. One Week Unemployment Insurance Striking Workers - INCLUDED IN FY2026 BUDGET!

In NYS, most workers eligible for unemployment insurance only have to wait one week before being eligible for benefits. Striking workers must wait two weeks. This creates an unfair financial burden on striking workers for exercising their legal rights to organize, bargain collectively, and strike.

  • WHAT WE WON: Reduced the waiting period for striking workers to receive unemployment to just one week.

2. Pole Attachment Enforcement (S6997 C. Ryan / A7544 Magnarelli) - PASSED and SIGNED INTO LAW!

Make-ready pole attachment work is complex, and when done incorrectly, can lead to unsafe conditions for both workers and the public. This work is best done by company employees who know their equipment best and have been trained to properly do this work. 

  • WHAT WE WON: Pole owners will be required to publish information about the contractors and subcontractors who do work on the poles, and the bill gives the PSC power to create a mechanism to make complaints about violations of OTMR and safety concerns. This is an important victory to ensure we hold companies who violate our collective bargaining agreements and existing OTMR laws and regulations accountable.

2. Requiring Safety Standards and Transparency in Tower Climbing Industry (S2709 May / A4938 Levenberg) - PASSED and SIGNED INTO LAW!

Tower climbing is an essential yet dangerous industry, where tower climbers work on towers between fifty and two hundred feet tall. However, there are few regulations and safety standards in place. 

  • WHAT WE WON: Requirement for the State to create training standards for tower climbers who work under state contracts; requirement for contractors to provide proof that tower climbers have received the required training. This bill will ensure tower climbers receive necessary training and give more transparency in a notoriously opaque industry!

3. CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies- INCLUDED IN FY2026 BUDGET!

SLU is specifically dedicated to public service and social justice, providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs that prepare the next generation of labor and community leaders. In order to cover the increase in enrollment, additional funding is needed. 

Unfortunately, we also had some legislative priorities that did not pass this year, but we'll be continuing the fight on in 2026:

  • Protecting All Healthcare Workers from Mandatory Overtime (Mayer / Paulin) - Did not pass
    • Frontline healthcare workers like nursing assistants, patient care technicians, respiratory therapists and MRI technicians are critical to patient care. Yet, unlike RNs, these workers do not have any protections against mandatory overtime. Too many workers are forced to work beyond scheduled hours, leading to fatigue and burnout—and increasing the likelihood of medical errors.
    • What we’re fighting for: preventing healthcare employers from mandating that direct patient care workers work beyond their regularly scheduled hours.
  • Codify Fee Waiver Language for SUNY Graduate Student Workers (S3458 Stavisky / A5457 Solages) - Not signed into law
    • In 2022, we won a commitment to fund phasing out mandatory broad-based fees for SUNY graduate student workers, the backbone workforce of the SUNY system. While we’ve successfully obtained the first two installments, we need to codify this language to ensure graduate students are protected in perpetuity.
    • Our bill was vetoed, but we have a firm commitment from the Governor that this program will be fully funded in next year's budget. Our fight on this isn't over, but graduate student workers remain on the path to have mandatory fees fully phased out by next year, as planned, and we'll keep fighting for as long as it takes to codify this language!
  • Keep Police Radio Public Act - Not signed into law
    • While this bill was not signed into law, the New York City Council recently passed similar legislation; in New York City, critical incidents will be required to be broadcast over unencrypted channels, and journalists will have access to encrypted radio channels. This law will ensure journalists have the information they need to do their jobs and are able to continue reporting an unbiased view of events in NYC. We’ll continuing pushing for a Statewide version.