State Assembly Member Jon Rivera has introduced a new bill that would ban employers from receiving state aid if they violate labor laws, but one fellow assembly member says the legislation is redundant.
If the bill passes, it would prevent tax credits, grants or other state support from being granted to businesses that are in violation of the National Labor Review Act, which provides workers the rights to unionize and negotiate contracts.
It's a necessity for employees seeking equal footing with companies in contract talks, Rivera said.
"There are more than 2,000 unfair labor practice cases in New York open. That means thousands of workers from Buffalo to Brooklyn have had to fight just to be treated fairly on the job," he said. "Many of those workers are organizing for the first time, demanding better pay or safer conditions."
But there already are similar protections in place that prevent businesses with violations from receiving grants and other awards, or bidding on contracts, said State Assembly Member Angelo Morinello, who serves with Rivera on the assembly's labor committee.
"We have debarment, which means if you have labor violations, you can't bid on state ... Well, we have federal department so you can't bid on federal contracts," he said. "And we've passed legislation in New York that says if you're federally debarred, you're state debarred, so you can't bid on any contracts."
Despite the labor protections in place, there have been multiple attempts to unionize over the past two years in Buffalo that were met with major resistance by employers, and worker complaints of labor violations, including Starbucks, Dash's Market and the Hyatt Regency hotel.
