Several labor unions want the state Legislature to include $5 million in the next budget to improve warehouse worker safety and curtail negligent abuse, as recent state worker injury data shows warehouse employees suffer injuries four times more than the average New York worker.
Several workers and organizations are leading an effort to push lawmakers to include legislation in the FY 2024-2025 budget to mandate warehouses in the state have a safer design, and require experts annual identify potential hazards and needed repairs to reduce injuries.
“When a worker gets injured, it does not just destabilize their life, it ripples out to the lives of their communities and the people who depend on them," bill sponsor and Senate Labor Committee chair Jessica Ramos said. "Mega-corporations like Amazon have been allowed to accumulate profit literally off the back of workers."
The bill would cost $5 million to implement of the state's $233 billion spending plan.
Alliance for a Greater New York led several groups including the Retail Wholesale & Department Store Union, New York Teamsters and others, to rally for the bill in the state Capitol on Wednesday in wake of this week's release of Gov. Hochul's executive budget proposal.
To read the full article, visit Spectrum 1