ALIGN

The Newsletter for the Movement for Economic, Climate, and Racial Justice

New Yorkers who are concerned by rising cost-of-living prices, an authoritarian federal government, and rapidly accelerating climate emergency will find little to no relief by a long delayed budget delivered by Governor Hochul and the state legislature. Despite months of pushback from grassroots organizations, Hochul signed off on changes to New York’s Climate Law written by and for fossil fuel interests. Childcare funding and the pied-a-terre tax are promising steps forward in tackling the affordability crisis and taxing the rich. Modest funding for Thermal Energy Networks and the Sustainable Future Fund will bring us closer to the green transition that our people and economy need. But the scale of the economic and climate crisis demands much more than piecemeal reforms. The answer to an out-of-touch government will be found in a growing movement that is discontent with New York State’s leadership. As Governor Hochul operates behind closed doors, the people will continue to voice our truths from the streets to the halls of power to fight for a future that belongs to all of us.

Email the State Legislature to Pass the 2026 Climate, Jobs & Justice Agenda

Send a letter to your NYC Council Member: Pass the Delivery Protection Act for Safe Jobs, Safe Streets, and Corporate Accountability

We need your support to sustain our movement and keep winning in 2026. Can you make a donation to fight for our vision for economic, climate, and racial justice?

On a scorching 90 degree day, students , parents, workers, labor unions, and environmental justice advocates gathered on the steps of City Hall to demand that Mayor Mamdani and the City Council invest in Green, Healthy Schools in this year’s City budget. The rally comes as the Mayor releases his Executive Budget without adequate funding allocated for Green, Healthy Schools, despite deteriorating conditions across New York City public schools and extreme heat and flooding in May. Our proposal would not only improve student health and educational outcomes, but also reduce emissions, cut long-term energy costs, and create over 321,000 good, green union jobs across New York City. We are gaining momentum for Green Healthy Schools with 19 Council Members and 75+ organizations now supporting our campaign. We need Mayor Mamdani and the City Council to invest in clean air, safe work, and healthy learning right now.

Amazon Delivers Poverty, ICE, War, Surveillance

This May Day, or International Workers’ Day, we joined Amazon workers, community groups, and labor unions in midtown Manhattan to march on Amazon, one of the biggest corporate threats to our communities and our democracy. Our message was loud and clear: Amazon cannot build its empire on exploitation, surveillance, and displacement without resistance. Amazon actively makes every New Yorker’s life worse by delivering poverty, layoffs, price hikes, surveillance, and more. Not only that, Amazon Web Services (AWS – Amazon’s largest profit center) is also the digital backbone for ICE, Palantir, and government surveillance.

In New York City, ALIGN is working to pass the Delivery Protection Act, which would stop Amazon’s practice of using third-party contractors, or “Delivery Service Providers” to evade accountability for worker injuries, pollution, and traffic crashes. You can take action with us by using our one-click tool to send an email to your NYC Council Member urging them to pass the Delivery Protection Act for safe jobs, safe streets, and corporate accountability.

Climate and Labor Organizer Faiza Azam tabling at the Make Justice Normal Career Fair

ALIGN rallies with Waffle House workers to demand $25/hour and safe working conditions

ALIGN at the Jobs with Justice National Conference in Atlanta. Group photo with Nina Turner (left) and Julie Su, New York City’s Deputy Mayor of Economic Justice (right)

Guardian – Thousands in US join ‘no school, no work, no shopping’ May Day protest and economic blackout

Time Magazine – What to Know About the May Day Protests Bringing Out Demonstrators Around the U.S.

The Hill – ‘May Day Strong’ rallies taking place across US: Why are people protesting?

Mother Jones – Amazon Powers ICE. Its Workers Aren’t Happy.

AP News – May Day rally in New York targets Amazon

ABC7 – Protests underway across NYC’s five boroughs for May Day

PIX11 – May Day protests to take over New York City

Al Jazeera – May Day rallies sweep US, demanding reforms for working-class rights

CBS2 – May Day demonstrators pack NYC’s Washington Square Park for workers’ rights rally

We need your support to sustain our movement and keep winning in 2026. Can you make a donation to fight for our vision for economic, climate, and racial justice?