We took our fight to Governor Cuomo’s office to once again ask this simple question: “Whose side are you on, Cuomo: billionaires, or excluded workers?”

The New York Times featured the story of our member, Gerardo, a street vendor fighting to #FundExcludedWorkers. See the visually stunning piece here!

Gerardo is part of a new wave of street vendors in Jackson Heights, Queens. After losing his job as a tour guide, Gerardo had to find other ways to support his family during COVID. “There’s no work anywhere,” Gerardo says.

Gerardo is one of 1.2 million New Yorkers who have been excluded from federal or state aid.

For months, we have been calling on Governor Cuomo to enact a “Mark to Market” billionaire wealth tax. In its first year, it will raise $23 billion, more than enough to fully fund excluded worker replacement income benefits, and leave $20 billion for rent relief, and to stop further cuts.

As we prepare for a second wave of COVID-19 cases in New York, excluded workers like Gerardo will continue to face income instability and struggle to put food on their tables if New York State doesn’t take any action to help them get through the pandemic. Read Gerardo’s powerful story in The New York Times today!

In solidarity,