Hunger Strike in Westchester Continues …Day 20–Agudelo Calls Out Paulin & Abinanti
On April 3, progressive democrats and advocates for excluded workers and the undocumented community in NY State marched through Yonkers in support of a $3.5 billion fund for excluded workers in the New York State budget. At the event excluded workers who have been on hunger strike for 19 days joined elected officials and community allies to call out Governor Cuomo for leaving excluded workers behind and to call on Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to hold the line and stand firm on raising revenue and passing economic relief that excluded workers have been demanding for more than a year.
Governor Cuomo failed to include any funding for undocumented and other excluded workers in his executive budget proposal, despite the fact that nearly 275,000 New Yorkers haven’t received a cent of federal or state aid from the start of the pandemic. In their one house budget bills, the Assembly and Senate proposed a $2.1 billion excluded workers fund, short of the $3.5 billion that workers have been demanding but still a step in the right direction. In negotiations with the legislature, the Governor has tried to put up additional roadblocks to the funding by proposing onerous eligibility requirements which would lock out many excluded workers.
Supporting those who marched through Yonkers were: County Legislator Christopher Johnson, County Legislator Ruth Walter, Yonkers City Council Member & Majority Leader Corazon Pineda, Yonkers City Council President Mike Khader, Peekskill City Councilmember Vanessa Agudelo, Giovanna Carreno, Community Resource Center, Inocente Ruiz, President of Obreros Unidos in Yonkers, Diana Sanchez, Yonkers Sanctuary Movement, Cecilia Sanchez, Don Bosco Center, Henry Agustin, United Community Center, Evelyn Campos, Neighbors Link, Murad Awawdeh, New York Immigration Coalition, Nadia Marin-Molina National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Evelyn Campos, Mujeres en Acción
Excluded workers began a hunger strike, now in day 20, to demand a $3.5 billion fund that would provide excluded workers with economic relief on par with other workers who have lost jobs or income. Workers have also urged lawmakers to establish flexible application requirements, which are essential to let excluded workers get access to the funding. Governor Cuomo has been pushing unworkable restrictions that will cut many workers out, such as requiring pay stubs, bank records, and ITINs that many excluded workers don’t have.
275,000 New Yorkers would be impacted by the fund, including 87,000 recently incarcerated persons. Payments would be about $500 per week, and the average beneift woud be $12,600 if they were unemployed for 24 weeks from March 2020 to April 2021. The maximum benefit would be more than $28,000.
Councilperson Agudelo posted on social media, “EMERGENCY PROTEST IN SCARSDALE
Assemblymember Amy Paulin is leading a coordinated effort in the State Assembly to KILL the Fund for Excluded Workers and we need your help now! Join us 6:30pm TODAY in front of her office located at 700 White Plains Rd., Suite 252, Scarsdale, NY 10583and demand she support the hundreds of thousands of excluded workers who haven’t gotten a penny of relief during a global pandemic.#FundExcludedWorkersUpdate: We will also be caravaning to Assemblymember Tom Abinanti ‘s office in Tarrytown after our rally in Scarsdale. Hope you can join us!”
and, “Sen. Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Senators Alessandra Biaggi, Peter Harckham, Shelley Mayer, and Assemblymembers Steve Otis and Chris Burdick are standing strong with us #FundExcludedWorkers! Where are you Amy Paulin and Tom Abinanti! How long will you ignore our labor in Westchester? How long will you pretend our labor didn’t save Westchester’s economy?”
Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, AOC, a graduate of Yorktown High School in Westchester, supported the cause. “Team AOC is thrilled to announce a new fundraising initiative for The New York Immigration Coalition, a policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York. All proceeds from the sale of this limited edition hoodie, designed in collaboration with renowned street artist Johanna Toruño, will go directly to NYIC as they work to improve the lives of immigrants and all New Yorkers 
This is the first installment of our Artist Series, a seasonal collaboration with artists of color in NY-14 and around the country whose work is thought-provoking, inspiring, and tells a story of community. Official Team AOC Shop products are union-made in the USA, ensuring fair wages and opportunities for workers throughout the production process.https://shop.ocasiocortez.com/collections/artist-series. The sweatshirts cost $88 each.
