The Newsletter for the Movement for
Economic, Climate, and Racial Justice
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There is nothing that the billionaire class fears more than workers coming together demanding dignity and respect in the workplace. On International Workers’ Day, ALIGN joined tens of thousands of workers on the streets of New York City to show Trump that there are more of us than them. Trump’s executive orders stripping collective bargaining and union rights from more than 1,000,000 federal workers is only the beginning of his assault on workers’ rights. Who will be next? Now is the time to prepare: build strong coalitions, talk to your neighbors and form tenant unions, and organize your workplace. In the last month of the NYS legislative session, ALIGN and our partners will be fighting for state policies to protect workers and our planet. When we build strong communities and win legislation that shifts the balance of power towards workers, we can defend our communities from Trump’s ongoing attacks and win a world that works for all of us.
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Worker Safety Week 2025:
Safety Over Profits!
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Last year, New York worker safety coalitions united for our inaugural Worker Safety Week in Albany. Together, we called on state leadership to take action and hold employers accountable for workers’ safety while creating the conditions for safe, healthy, and sustainable workplaces. The Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act and Retail Worker Safety Act was signed into law later that year. This year, Worker Safety Week is back with unions like Amazon Labor Union, Teamsters, and DC 37, to make sure our wins become reality and that new worker safety issues are addressed urgently. This year we are fighting to ensure the passage of the TEMP bill, which would protect workers from dangerous heat in the workplace, as well as legislation that prevents workplace violence. We are also making sure that major wins from last year, including the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act and the Retail Worker Safety Act, are implemented and enforced. With hundreds of workers dying every day across the country due to workplace hazards, we’re fighting to ensure that worker safety week is every week.
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It’s a tale of two buildings. 140 Broadway is cutting pollution by investing in energy efficiency. 28 Liberty is an energy-wasteful super-polluter. With 70% of NYC’s dirty emissions coming from buildings, we need to fight to ensure that all buildings are following the lead of 140 Broadway and complying with NYC’s Dirty Buildings law, Local Law 97. This landmark climate and jobs law aims to reduce building emissions 80% by 2050. However, under the direction of real estate, Mayor Adams is pushing for loopholes that would allow landlords to essentially bypass Local Law 97, allowing their buildings to pollute more than they should. That’s why we need to pass Intro 1180, championed by Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa, so that real estate won’t be able to utilize those loopholes and New Yorkers can have lower utility bills, good jobs, and clean air.
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Welcome Emily Knies,
Our New Development Director!
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Emily Knies (she/her) is the Director of Development for ALIGN, leading the organization’s fundraising strategy and donor engagement initiatives. With over a decade of non-profit programming and fundraising experience, Emily has focused her career on connecting people to their passions through philanthropic giving. Before joining ALIGN, she served as Senior Director of Development at the New York Immigration Coalition and has worked with organizations focused on voting access, women’s philanthropy, LGBTQ rights, and education. Emily is a strategic thinker, dedicated advocate, and unabashed bookworm. She is an alumna of the University of Washington and is based in Brooklyn, NY.
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ALIGN at the social justice photobooth at the Northstar Fund Gala
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Lisa Thomas and Jenille Scott at the City and State NY Clean Energy Trailblazers Gala
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Theodore Moore at the NYCC gala along with their executive director, Olivia Leirer, and RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum
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ALIGN at the NYC Central Labor Council’s May Day March and Rally
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