A Bill of Rights for Immigrant Workers

CWE Education Director Darly Corniel testifies before the City Council

“We need to protect our most vulnerable workers.”

That was the message that the Consortium for Worker Education’s Director of Education Darly Corniel had for the City Council’s Immigration Committee at a recent hearing. The committee was debating legislation that would enshrine an immigrant workers’ bill of rights in the city. Many federal, state, and local labor laws cover immigrant workers. But misinformation or fear of immigration enforcement prevents workers from accessing the full protection of these laws. With many asylum seekers coming to New York, the legislation is needed now more than ever. 

“These immigrants don't have the same connections as previous waves,” says Corniel, “so they can become targets that unscrupulous employers will go after.” 

Immigrant workers often face wage theft, dangerous workplaces, and union busting -- all violations of labor law regardless of immigration status. Fear of retaliation, however, means that these crimes often go unaddressed. 

The immigrant workers’ bill of rights aims to change that. Under the legislation, Intro. 569, sponsored by Council Member Shahana Hanif, the City would compile the labor protections from all levels of government that protect immigrant workers into one document, and require employers to post it in the workplace and distribute it to employees. It builds on the work that New York’s immigrant community organizations and labor unions have been doing for years to support immigrant workers. 

CWE created the Immigration Protection Group (IPG) in 2018 to coordinate a response among New York unions and community organizations to the anti-immigrant policies of the Trump administration. Partners including Make the Road New York (MTR), New York Communities for Change, ANSOB Center for Refugees, Center for the Integration and Advancement of New Americans (CIANA), and the Yemeni American Merchants Association (YAMA) have come together in the years since to coordinate services and advocacy for New York’s ever-changing immigrant communities. 

“Our focus would be to ensure that Int. 569-A is implemented with feedback from our partners,” Corniel said in her testimony to the City Council. “This bill is critical for our immigrant communities as it affirms the educational work that CWE and our partners are doing around immigrant rights. The bill will deeply impact the recent influx of asylum seekers and recently arrived migrants bused to NYC from other states.”

The IPG receives funding from the City Council to provide Know Your Rights training, English classes, citizenship preparation, and other programs to help immigrants thrive in New York. Unions have worked with IPG to train their members on immigrant rights and to incorporate protections into their collective bargaining agreements. Corniel envisions the immigrant worker bill of rights becoming part of the core curricula for these programs. 

More asylum seekers are expected to arrive in New York in the coming months, challenging New Yorkers to make true on our reputation as a city that welcomes immigrants. 

“These new immigrants are in a state of limbo, uncertainty, and fear,” says Corniel, “but the support they are receiving is giving them hope.”