In This Section

Memorandum in Support 

New York’s “Twenty-First Century Antitrust Act” 

S933A (Gianaris) A1812A (Dinowitz) 

Dear Members of the New York State Legislature, 

We are writing to express our strong support for the Twenty-First Century Antitrust Act (S933A/A1812A), which would empower enforcers and private actors to rein in anti-competitive and abusive tactics corporations use against small businesses and workers. The Twenty-First Century Antitrust Act would provide workers and small businesses with significant new protections, putting New York at the vanguard of the national push to ensure that dominant corporations can’t use their power to unfairly drive down wages or block competitors from accessing markets. 

For decades, courts have undermined antitrust laws by re- and mis-interpreting them, making it too difficult to hold corporations accountable when they abuse their market power. This has allowed economic markets to become increasingly concentrated, resulting in reduced competition, innovation and quality in many areas of the economy. Similarly, increasing concentration in labor markets has negative impacts on worker pay, conditions and mobility. Research shows that where firms are able to exercise outsized labor market power – or “monopsony power” – wage growth is limited, and workers are often forced to accept onerous working conditions that they would otherwise not accept if more employers were vying for their services. 

The Twenty-First Century Antitrust Act is designed to reverse that. By passing this legislation, the New York legislature would reaffirm that the goal of antitrust laws is to prevent the abuse of power by monopolies, stop anti-competitive conduct, and keep labor markets open and fair. Specifically, the Twenty-First Century Antitrust Act will: 

  • Cover anti-competitive acts by a single firm harming competition, not just multiple firms acting together
  • Establish the lower standard of “dominance,” rather than monopoly, as the threshold for when corporate conduct may harm competition. The market share threshold for dominance is 40% — compared to 70-80% usually required for monopoly. 
  • Provide that the Attorney General receives notification of, and reviews, proposed mergers above a certain size, and also require that the Attorney General consider how a proposed merger will affect labor markets. 
  • Include groundbreaking protections for workers, including allowing action to address overly concentrated labor markets or “monopsony,” a lower threshold for showing dominance of a labor market at 30% market share, and an exemption for collective bargaining agreements. 

With these labor provisions, the bill provides strong new protections for workers by explicitly naming monopsony power – which is the ability of corporations to use their buying power to lower wages in concentrated labor markets – as worthy of antitrust scrutiny. It also specifically names the ability to impose non-compete and no-poach restrictions on workers as evidence of corporate power. These provisions will help ensure that workers have the ability to access fair wages and freedom of job movement, and don’t have to accept substandard pay or other restrictions in order to provide for themselves and their families. 

Corporate interests will undoubtedly claim that this bill will harm small businesses and workers. But that isn’t true. This bill would provide the chance to level the playing field for smaller businesses, so that they can compete on the merits of their ideas and products, rather than be subject to the whims of dominant gatekeepers that use their power to block out competitors. 

There is national momentum behind reforming and updating antitrust law to deal with the challenges presented by today’s monopolists. Passing the Twenty-First Century Antitrust Act would be a major step forward in that fight, and we urge you to do it as soon as possible. For these reasons, we ask that all members of the NYS Senate and Assembly champion the Twenty-First Century Antitrust Act (S933A/A1812A): become a co-sponsor, raise the bill in conference, and vote yes when it comes before you. 

Signed, 

ALIGN 

New York Communities for Change 

Make the Road New York 

Teamsters Joint Council 16 

American Economic Liberties Project 

Family Farm Action 

STOP 

Fight Corporate Monopolies 

Future of Music Coalition 

Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition 

Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Small Business Rising

Main Street Alliance 

Public Citizen 

People’s Parity Project 

Tompkins County Workers’ Center 

National Employment Law Project 

DRUM – Desis Rising Up & Moving 

United Auto Workers Region 9A 

American Booksellers Association 

Independent Office Products and Furniture Dealers Association 

North American Hardware and Paint Association 

Westchester Independent Business Alliance

Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU)

Retail Action Project

New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health

Jews for Racial and Economic Justice

Tech Workers Coalition

Strong Economy for All

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Music Workers Alliance

Boening/Oak

NY State Coalition Hispanic Chambers of Commerce

LGBTQS Chamber of Commerce

National Association of Latino State Chambers of Commerce

Save My Mom and Pop Business Coalition

NY NJ Regional Joint Board, Workers United/SEIU

CWA District 1

Athena Coalition

Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE)

Open Markets Institute

Center for Popular Democracy

Jobs with Justice

Mobilization for Justice

United for Respect

Teamsters Local 210

Teamsters Local 808

Teamsters Local 812

Teamsters Local 456

Teamsters Local 804

Teamsters Local 533

Teamsters Local 445

SEIU 32BJ

Towards Justice

Empire State Indivisible

Teamsters Local 813

Alliance for Quality Education

Restaurant Opportunities Center – New York

Professional Staff Congress, AFT Local 2334

Public Rights Project

VOCAL-NY

Jobs to Move America

Citizen Action of New York

Community Voices Heard

Laundry Workers Center

Tech Oversight Project

American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA)

UAW Local 2325

UAW Local 2320

UAW Local 2110

UAW Local 7902

UAW Local 4100

UAW Local 259

Teamsters Joint Council 46

Teamsters Local 449