Call For Additional Funding as State Budget Deadline is Near

NEWBURGH – On Sunday, March 20th starting at 3:00pm, the Fund Excluded Workers coalition, made up of grassroots organizations including For the Many, hosted a march across the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge followed by a press conference at Safe Harbors Green in the City of Newburgh. The march and press conference is part of a statewide series of actions with the goal of securing funding for excluded workers in the final state budget.

Last year, lawmakers allocated $2.1 billion for a fund for excluded workers who lost income during the pandemic, but were ineligible for other unemployment benefits due to their immigration status. However, the money allocated was used up after just nine weeks, with an estimated 175,000 New Yorkers still eligible for funding. This year, New York lawmakers released one-house budget resolutions that excluded any additional funding. This is wholly unacceptable to immigration communities and their advocates. Marchers are calling for $3 billion in the state budget to fill the existing fund, and for the establishment of a permanent program to support excluded workers who lose work. This march and press conference is part of a multi-week march and rolling series of rallies from New York City to Albany that the Fund Excluded Workers Coalition is embarking on to call attention to their demands.

The legislative demands include: an additional $3 billion to replenish the Excluded Workers Fund, Coverage for All to give low-income undocumented people access to state-funded affordable health insurance, and Excluded No More to create an unemployment fund for undocumented workers, people paid in cash, and self-employed workers in low-wage industries.

“Immigrant communities were promised much needed relief last year by the state legislature – but the funding ran out,”said Rene Mejia, Newburgh Community Organizer at For the Many. “We work with people every day, many of whom provide essential work that allow our communities to function, who desperately need this money. The legislature and Governor need to act to allocate $3 billion to provide relief to those who lost work during the pandemic, and enact a permanent fund to finally close the gaps in our social safety net and uplift all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status.”

“Excluded workers deserve full inclusion in this state,” said Ana Maria Archila, an immigration activist and former Co-Executive Director of Center for Popular Democracy. “They are marching all the way to Albany to demand that Governor Hochul and state lawmakers recognize their humanity and their needs. The Excluded Worker Fund, which offered a lifeline for those able to access it, must be replenished, and immigrants shut out from health coverage must be given access to life-saving care through the inclusion of Coverage for All in the final budget.”

“Our undocumented and non-traditional working class families deserve economic relief too. We all lived through the same pandemic, experienced some kind of hardship and continue to contribute to the same economy. Our excluded workers risked their lives during the pandemic to provide their labor. Their work is essential and we must now ensure that everyone who is eligible receives aid,” said Giselle Martinez, Newburgh City Council member, Ward One.

“We must eliminate the stereotypes of immigrants, especially of those from certain countries. What has made this country so great throughout the years are the contributions made by immigrants,” said Anthony Grice, Newburgh City Council member, At-Large. “New York State has already shown a commitment to helping out friends and neighbors with the Excluded Workers Fund, and just like we have done with help for other groups, we need to close this gap. I urge the state to pass the Exclude No More bill.”

“It is time that excluded workers are given the benefits and rights they are deserving of,” said Genesis Ramos, Orange County Legislator, District 6. “These are our neighbors, our families, and our friends who have risked themselves throughout the entirety of this pandemic to keep our communities afloat. I urge Governor Hochul and our state legislature to seriously consider the excluded workers fund in the budget to ensure that some of the hardest working members of our communities are treated with dignity and aren’t left without the resources and supports they need. It is not enough to say they are essential while not providing them benefits that are essential to their wellbeing.”

“The reason I am involved in this struggle is because there are so many of us who still haven’t gotten any kind of help. I was out of work for many months during the early part of the pandemic, and I still have lots of bills I need to pay. We’re going to keep on fighting until we get the help we need,” said Carlos, an impacted New Windsor resident and Worker Justice Center member.

Now that the legislature has released their one-house budget priorities, legislative leadership and Governor Hochul will finalize the actual appropriations bills.