Vincent Alvarez, President of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the benefits of joining a union and the need to protect immigrant workers.
Alvarez spoke about NYC unions that are organizing the non-union sector. During these campaigns, Local Unions are pushing the financial benefits of becoming a member of organized labor. Besides targeting non-union workers, some Locals continue to work with employees who have voted to join a union, but have yet to reach a Collective Bargaining Agreement with their company. A campaign led by the AFL-CIO is focusing on several industries, including digital media and music, to help them gain union membership.
He then talked about the fight by Climate Jobs New York City to help immigrant workers. This effort began with the passage of Carlos’ Law, which targets jobsite negligence when an employee suffers a workplace death. About 80 percent of workers who die on-the-job are immigrants who have no union representation, Alvarez said. As the first Latino president of the NYCCLC, he is determined to help immigrant workers better their lives by helping them join a union.
Alvarez also explained how a CBA could benefit employees in different industries. For example, non-union nursing homes are understaffed and their employees are overworked. A CBA can help create a happy medium by addressing the needs of workers and make the job more attractive, which in turn, will cause more people to want to work for that company.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more.