Governor Hochul Reminds New Yorkers of Upcoming Minimum Wage Increase

 

Beginning January 1, New York’s Minimum Wage Will Increase to $16-Per-Hour in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County and $15-Per Hour in the Rest of the State

Part of Historic, Multi-Year Plan to Increase New York’s Minimum Wage Through 2027 Then Index it to Inflation

Minimum Wage for Home Care Aides Will Also Increase to $18.55-Per-Hour in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County and $17.55-Per-Hour in the Rest of the State

Minimum Wage Workers Who Do Not See Increase Reflected in Their Paychecks Are Encouraged to File a Wage Complaint With the New York State Department of Labor Here 

Governor Kathy Hochul today reminded New Yorkers that the state’s minimum wage will increase on January 1, 2024 as part of a historic, multi-year plan to increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation. Per an agreement between Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature, New York’s minimum wage will increase to $16-per-hour hour in New York City, Westchester, and Long Island, and $15-per-hour in the rest of the state. Additionally, the minimum wage for home care aides will increase to $18.55 an hour in New York City, Westchester, and Long Island and $17.55 an hour in counties in upstate New York. Raising New York's minimum wage to keep pace with inflation will benefit hundreds of thousands of minimum wage workers across the state.

“New York’s historic minimum wage increase will help to ensure that New Yorkers can continue to keep pace with rising costs,” Governor Hochul said. “Starting January 1, minimum wage workers who do not see the increase reflected in their paychecks are urged to file a complaint with the Department of Labor to make sure that they get the wages they are owed.”

New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said, "The elevation of the minimum wage serves as lifeline for New Yorkers struggling to make ends meet as costs rise. Steady, multi-year changes allow businesses time to adjust while providing low-wage workers the ability to better support themselves and their families."

As part of the FY 2024 Budget, Governor Hochul secured an historic agreement to increase New York’s minimum wage through 2026 and index it to inflation beginning in 2027. After the initial increase, the minimum wage will increase by $0.50 in 2025 and 2026. In 2027, the minimum wage will increase annually at a rate determined by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Northeast Region – the best regional measure of inflation. An "off-ramp" is available in the event of certain economic or budget conditions.

The minimum wage increases for the next three years are shown below:

Effective Date	New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County	Remainder of New York State
Current Minimum Wage	$15/hour	$14.20/hour
January 1, 2024	$16/hour	$15/hour
January 1, 2025	$16.50/hour	$15.50/hour
January 1, 2026	$17/hour	$16/hour

Indexing the minimum wage to inflation will help to maintain the purchasing power of workers' wages from year to year. Increasing the minimum wage overall overwhelmingly benefits low-income workers, particularly women and people of color who comprise a disproportionate share of minimum wage workers.

Eighteen other states either currently tie their minimum wage to inflation or some other economic formula or are slated to do so, including three states which have minimum wages at or above $15 in 2023. Economic research shows that raising the minimum wage can lead to reductions in poverty, reduced social assistance spending, stimulative spending, improved worker productivity, and other benefits.

The New York State Department of Labor is conducting a public awareness effort to remind New Yorkers about the minimum wage increase and encourage minimum wage workers to report missing wages. That effort will include digital outreach via social media, newsletters, and e-mail communications and direct outreach to distribute informational flyers with partnering organizations.

Minimum wage earners who do not see the increase reflected in their paychecks can file a wage complaint on the New York State Department of Labor’s website or by calling 833-910-4378. For more information about NYSDOL’s efforts to combat wage theft, visit the Department’s landing page.

NYC Comptroller Lander and City Pension Funds’ 2023 Shareowner Initiatives Postseason Report Highlights Leadership on Responsible Investment

 

Systems secured historic wins at Starbucks and Wells Fargo amid a challenging year for shareholder proposals and ongoing attempts to misinform about ESG

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and the boards of the New York City retirement systems (NYCRS) released the annual Shareowner Initiatives Postseason Report for the 2023 proxy voting season. The report highlights the field-leading work of the Bureau of Asset Management’s Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment team to confront systemic, sectoral, and company-level risks through engagement with the funds’ portfolio companies.

As investment adviser to NYCRS, the Comptroller’s Office is responsible for voting the pension funds’ proxies and implementing shareholder initiatives. New York City’s pension funds have a long history of active ownership and “systemic stewardship,” from opposing apartheid in South Africa to winning “proxy access” to give shareholders the right to nominate directors at U.S. companies.

“New York City’s pension funds are longtime leaders in meaningfully engaging with some of the largest companies to achieve real progress. By pushing companies like Starbucks to respect workers freedom of association, Wells Fargo to prevent harassment and discrimination, and Fox to stop defaming people, we are helping to raise corporate governance standards and ensure a more inclusively-thriving economy. That’s good for our retirees, and good for the economy as a whole. I am grateful to our Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment team for their work to drive sustainable change throughout our investment portfolio,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.

Proposals for more fair and equitable workplaces received the most support. Starbucks investors expressed their growing concern regarding the company’s labor relations and strongly supported the Systems’ proposal to request a board-commissioned assessment of the company’s adherence to its commitments to workers’ rights, including freedom of association and collective bargaining. The proposal received 52% support. Starbucks released the assessment earlier this month, showing that its actions deviated from its policies.

The Systems also secured majority support (55%) for a proposal requesting that the Wells Fargo Board of Directors prepare an annual public report describing and quantifying the effectiveness and outcomes of the company’s efforts to prevent harassment and discrimination against its protected classes of employees received a majority vote.

In addition to extensive corporate engagement, the Comptroller’s Office continued its work on myriad investor coalitions on human capital and workers’ rights and as founding members of the Climate Action 100+.

On behalf of the Systems, Comptroller Lander also penned letters to portfolio companies requesting increased disclosure and transparency on workplace concerns including 11 public companies named in a New York Times investigation as allegedly profiting from the use of U.S. suppliers that illegally employ underage migrant children.

During 2023, the Systems also sued the Fox Corporation for neglecting its duty to shareholders by opening itself up to defamation lawsuits from the persistent broadcasting of falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election.

This season, the Systems submitted shareholder proposals to 32 portfolio companies to address a broad range of risks to our portfolio companies and withdrew approximately 47% of their shareholder proposals, down from 85% in 2022. Of the proposals that went to a vote, voting support averaged 27%, down from 35% in 2022.

Overall, shareholder proposals experienced a steep decline in support across the board driven largely by the conservative backlash to environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing.

The Systems’ proposal on climate change received the least support from investors, averaging only 13% support. This included resolutions calling on JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanely, and Royal Bank of Canada to set and report on absolute emissions targets for their energy and utilities sectors, something other major banks have done.

“While we were disappointed by investors’ lack of support for common-sense climate resolutions that were entirely consistent with company performance and shareholder interests, we can’t back away from work to confront the systemic financial risks of climate change,” said Comptroller Lander. “We will be considering new options for corporate engagement and shareholder action in 2024 to insist that banks and other portfolio companies act to implement their net-zero commitments. We need to see action, backed by transparent reporting, not just words.”

In response to the backlash against ESG, Comptroller Lander joined with hundreds of private and public sector leaders to call on policymakers to protect the freedom to invest responsibly. This array of leaders reminded policymakers that building profitable businesses and investment portfolios demands an analysis of all material financial factors.  In a joint statement, the leaders argued that they should be free to consider material factors relevant to the sustainability of business: “Our consideration of material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors is not political or ideological. Incorporating these issues into financial decision-making represents good corporate governance, prudent risk management, and smart investment practice consistent with fiduciary duty.”

The Systems voted on 16,552 shareholder meetings in 70 markets globally. This includes 3,126 annual and special meetings for U.S. companies. In addition, the Systems voted against the election of 34.7% of directors in the U.S. market.

The annual postseason report covers proxy voting and shareholder proposal outcomes for the 12 months ending June 30, 2023. It includes detail on each shareholder proposal.

Proxy voting decisions for each of the Systems can be viewed here, and are available within 24 to 48 hours of electronic votes being submitted.

In addition to Comptroller Lander, the trustees of the aforementioned systems are as follows:

Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS): Mayor Eric Adams’ Appointee Bryan Berge, Director, Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments; Chancellor’s Representative, Dr. Angela Green, New York City Department of Education Panel for Educational Policy; and Thomas Brown (Chair), Victoria Lee, and David Kazansky, all of the United Federation of Teachers.

New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS): Mayor Eric Adams’ Appointee Bryan Berge, Director, Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments; New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Borough Presidents: Mark Levine (Manhattan), Antonio Reynoso (Brooklyn), Donovan Richards Jr. (Queens), Vito Fossella (Staten Island), and Vanessa L. Gibson (Bronx); Henry Garrido, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; Richard Davis, President Transport Workers Union Local 100; and Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

New York City Police Pension Fund (Police): Mayor Eric Adams’ Representative Bryan Berge, Director, Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments;  New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh (Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Preston Niblack; Andrew Ansbro, President, Robert Eustace, Vice President, Chris Viola, Treasurer, and Eric Bischoff, Staten Island Representative and Chair, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; Sean Michael, Chiefs’ Rep., Joe Camastro, Lieutenants’ Rep. and Liam Guilfoyle, (Chair), Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and Peter Devita, Marine Engineers Association.

New York City Fire Pension Fund (Fire):  Mayor Eric Adams’ Representative Bryan Berge, Director, Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments; New York City Finance Commissioner Preston Niblack; New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban (Chair); Chris Monahan, Captains Endowment Association; Louis Turco, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; Vincent Vallelong, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Paul DiGiacomo, Detectives Endowment Association; and Patrick Hendry, Daniel Terrelli, Albert Alcierno and Arthur Egner all of the NYC Police Benevolent Association.

Board of Education Retirement System (BERS): Schools Chancellor David C. Banks, Represented by Karine Apollon; Mayoral appointees Lilly Chan, Marjorie Dienstag, Gregory Faulkner, Anita Garcia, Anthony Giordano, Dr. Angela Green, Alan Ong, Phoebe Sade-Arnold, Maisha Sapp, Venus Sze-Tsang, Gladys Ward; CEC appointees Naveed Hasan, Jessamyn Lee, Thomas Sheppard, and Ephraim Zakry; Borough President Appointees Geneal Chacon (Bronx); Tazin Azad (Brooklyn); Kaliris Salas-Ramirez (Manhattan); Sheree Gibson (Queens); Aaron Bogad (Staten Island); and employee members John Maderich of the IUOE Local 891 and Donald Nesbit of District Council 37, Local 372.

COALITION OF CITIES CALL FOR MORE FEDERAL SUPPORT TO RESPOND TO NATIONAL MIGRANT CRISIS, MAYOR ADAMS ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER REQUIRING CHARTER BUS COMPANIES TO COORDINATE SAFE, ORDERLY MIGRANT ARRIVALS

 

Coalition of Mayors Call for Immediate Federal Support as Number of New Migrant Arrivals Increases Again 

 

As State of Texas Increases Number of ‘Rogue’ Buses Sent to New York City, Order Will Ensure Coordination, Protect Safety of Arriving Migrants and City Staff 

As Texas Governor Greg Abbott triples down on efforts to use asylum seekers as political pawns, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston called for additional federal support to manage the national asylum seeker crisis. With a record number of crossings at the border set yet again, New York City and other impacted cities have begun to see another surge of migrants arriving via buses. In response, Mayor Adams today issued Executive Order 538 requiring improved coordination from charter bus companies transporting new migrant arrivals into New York City, ensuring the safety and well-being of both migrants and city staff receiving them. Effective today, chartered buses bringing migrants into the city — many of which have been and continue to be sent by the State of Texas — will be required to provide 32 hours’ notice before arriving in New York City and information on the population they are transporting, as well as be required to drop passengers off at a designated location in Manhattan only during specified hours.  

 

New York City has seen a significant increase in chartered buses dropping off passengers at random locations throughout Midtown Manhattan in recent weeks, without any prior notice to city officials. This is hampering the city’s ability to manage this humanitarian crisis, including efforts to provide emergency services as needed to migrants. In the last month, the city has begun to see another surge, recording more than 14,700 new arrivals. Last week, 14 rogue buses with migrants arrived from Texas in a single night — the highest one-day total recorded by the Asylum Seeker Arrival Center since last spring — in addition to migrants still arriving via other modes of transportation. Today’s executive order will help ensure the city can continue to manage this humanitarian crisis in an orderly way. 

 

“New York City has begun to see another surge of migrants arriving, and we expect this to intensify over the coming days as a result of Texas Governor Abbott’s cruel and inhumane politics,” said Mayor Adams. “Just last week, 14 chartered buses with migrants arrived overnight from Texas, the highest recorded number in a single night, in addition to the hundreds of migrants who arrived that very same day via other modes of transportation. We are proud to have helped nearly 60 percent of the more than 161,000 migrants who have come through our intake system move out of shelter. But cities cannot continue to do the federal government’s job for them. We need federal and state help to resettle and support the remaining 68,000 migrants currently in New York City’s care and the thousands of individuals who continue to arrive every single week, and for Governor Abbott to finally stop the games and use of migrants as political pawns. I'm proud to stand with Mayor Johnson and Mayor Johnston and push for more federal support for cities impacted by this growing humanitarian crisis. This executive order will also ensure safe, orderly, and coordinated bus arrivals going forward, and will hold accountable those bus companies that refuse to coordinate with us.” 

 

"I am proud to stand with Mayor Adams and Mayor Johnston as we come together to advocate for viable solutions to this humanitarian crisis," said Chicago Mayor Johnson. "Chicago will always be a welcoming city, but we need collaboration at all levels of government and our federal partners to provide the necessary coordination and resources so that cities like Chicago, Denver and New York have what is needed to do this crucial work. We are united in our continued call for federal support to ensure that all those seeking asylum in this country are treated with dignity and humanity.” 

 

"As Denver continues to see an increase of newcomers arriving in our city, many of whom are families with children who arrive in the middle of the night in below-freezing conditions, it's clear that what the U.S. is currently doing is not working," said Denver Mayor Johnston. "Our cities are working shoulder-to-shoulder to support newcomers, but it's time for the federal government to increase work authorization, create a coordinated entry strategy, and provide more federal dollars to ensure cities can manage this crisis and help newcomers thrive.” 

 

“For more than a year and a half, chartered buses of asylum seekers have arrived across our city with mere minutes’ notice and no information on how many men, women, or children are on board, making our herculean task of caring for our newest New Yorkers even harder,” said Chief of Staff Camille Joseph Varlack. “This executive order will better allow us to coordinate arriving buses, so we can efficiently manage this crisis. But let’s be clear: this is not a substitute for the urgent federal action that New York City — and cities across the country — need. This is a national crisis, and it demands a national solution.” 

 

“Texas has been trying to manufacture chaos in our shelter system by sending bus after bus without letting us know when they’ll arrive or how many people are on the buses, and often dropping off passengers on city streets in the middle of the night,” said City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg. “Today’s executive order will allow us to better coordinate when and where chartered buses arrive and ensure that we get significantly more information about who’s on the buses, well ahead of their arrival. To be clear though, this isn’t a replacement for federal action.” 

 

“For more than a year and a half, New York City has responded to what is a national humanitarian crisis,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “More than 161,000 people seeking asylum have come through our system, without much lead time or coordination from other municipalities beforehand. Today’s executive order moves to change that by gathering information from charter bus companies on the number of passengers and other details to help us prepare most effectively to receive adults, children, and families. This crisis is not letting up as we are still receiving thousands of new arrivals each week, and we are continuing to act in the absence of other federal and state coordinated support.” 

 

“Bus companies that drop off thousands of people in need of assistance at random locations and times, often at night or on the weekends, are interfering with the city’s ability to manage this humanitarian crisis and provide emergency services,” said New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix. “This executive order, which requires companies to coordinate these unexpected arrivals with the city, is another urgent step we need to address this unprecedented emergency.” 

 

Effective immediately, all buses covered by the executive order must drop off their passengers at the loading zone on West 41st Street between 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhattan, unless the New York City Department of Emergency Management has designated or pre-approved a different drop-off location in advance. Furthermore, the chartered buses can only drop off migrants between the hours of 8:30 AM and 12:00 PM, Monday through Friday.  

 

Warning letters are also being sent to charter bus companies that New York City has identified as engaging in transporting newly arrived migrants from Texas to New York City. Under New York State law, knowingly violating a local executive order is a class B misdemeanor crime punishable by up to three months imprisonment and an up to $500 fine for individuals and an up to $2,000 fine for corporations. Additionally, companies that knowingly violate Executive Order 538 could have their buses impounded by the New York City Police Department.  

 

Since this humanitarian crisis began, the city has taken fast and urgent action, opening over 210 emergency sites to provide shelter, including 18 additional large-scale humanitarian relief centers; standing up navigation centers with support from community-based organizations to connect new arrivals with critical resources; enrolling thousands of children in public schools through Project Open Arms; opening application help centers that have helped submit over 23,000 asylum, Temporary Protected Status, and work authorization applications, and more. Earlier this spring, the city released “The Road Forward: A Blueprint to Address New York City’s Response to the Asylum Seeker Crisis,” detailing how the city will continue to manage the influx of asylum seekers and advocate for support from federal and state partners. 

 

As the Adams administration continues to prioritize helping migrants live independently, without significant or timely state and federal assistance, the city plans to pursue a 20 percent reduction in spending on the migrant crisis in the Fiscal Year 2024 Preliminary Budget, which will be released in January 2024.