In the News We are all in this together. Pensions benefit the economy as a whole. Retirees spend their money in their communities supporting local businesses and supporting jobs. We need to think about pensions as an economic stabilizer for middle-class families and their local economies.
Unfortunately, a financially secure retirement is slipping away from American workers. More than half are at risk of not being able to maintain their standard of living in retirement, according to the National Retirement Risk Index. Not coincidentally, this retirement insecurity comes at a time when the number of people with defined benefit pensions is declining.
If we want to ensure that all workers can retire with dignity while at the same time supporting our economy, we must bolster wage replacement in retirement for all, not diminish retirement security for those who have some semblance of it through their pensions.
Finally, we must remember that what our state really needs is jobs, jobs, jobs. This is the shared agenda of all New Yorkers.
Adding yet another pension tier will not produce one job and is simply a distraction.
“Tell Albany the Truth About Pensions”
Call 1-877-255-9417
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Mario Cilento YNN Interview Mario Cilento, President of the NYS AFL-CIO
Sits Down with YNN Cap Tonight to Lay Out Priorities
 Recently, Mario Cilento sat down with Liz Benjamin host of Capital Tonight to discuss his priorities in harnessing the collective power of the labor movement’s 2.5 million members statewide. “Make no mistake about it, this is a statewide movement. From Buffalo to Montauk and everywhere in between we will create a groundswell of activism to educate our members on the issues of the day, and as a result, be better able to mobilize them.” Click here or the above image to watch the video. Working Families Need Indexation of the Minimum Wage  On Monday, January 30, 2012, Mario Cilento, President, NYS AFL-CIO joined Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblyman Keith Wright, Stuart Appelbaum, RWDSU and many members of the Assembly to call for an immediate increase & indexation of the minimum wage.
While we do need an immediate increase in the minimum wage, the fact is we need to change the discussion to make sure we lift all New Yorkers and their economic security.
Unfortunately, a simple increase in the minimum wage is not sufficient to do this. We need to do more because New Yorkers deserve better. Modestly increasing the minimum wage every 5 or 10 years makes for great sound bites, but the reality is these modest increases do very little to lift the working poor into a stable income and they do very little for the vast majority of working families.
We need indexation of the minimum wage benefit so that those at the lowest levels of the wage scale have reliable and recurring increases. This is a useful tool to make sure that the bottom rung of wage earners keeps pace with increases in the cost of living. More than that, it will help continually raise the floor, making sure all working New Yorkers are lifted up.
We are committed to working with the Governor, Assembly and Senate as well as the Department of Labor to address this issue to make changes in the minimum wage laws that are progressive and meaningful.
TWU Members Deserve a Fair Contract Now!  NYS AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento joined with TWU Local 100 President, John Samuelsen and TWU leaders in demanding contract justice for transit workers!
Local 100 President John Samuelsen, speaking on behalf of the Local 100 officers and staff in attendance, thanked the legislators for “standing with TWU.” He said that the union is vigorously resisting the MTA’s assault on full time jobs, and he said that the union would pursue its goal of a negotiated settlement that “allows us to continue to take care of our families.”
In responding to the MTA’s goal of part-timers in bus transportation, Samuelsen said, “transit worker don’t have part-time families, we don’t have part-time mortgages, and our children don’t go to school and college part time.”
Click the image above or here to watch the video.
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NYS AFL-CIO Press Release
| | For Immediate Release |  | January 17, 2012
| Contact: Ryan Delgado
| (518) 281-3962
| Statement from NYS AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento on the
Executive Budget and Tier 6
ALBANY, NY (01/17/2012)(readMedia)-- Creating jobs and strengthening the middle class is the number one priority of the labor movement. Much of the Governor's budget proposal advances that agenda and we look forward to working with him to that end provided appropriate labor protections are in place.
However, on the issue of Tier 6, we disagree with the contention that the current defined benefit pension is unsustainable. What is unsustainable is a society where each generation of middle class worker retires with less financial security than the one before.
Far too many workers have learned the hard way that a 401k is not the answer to long term economic security. After twenty or thirty years of work, the retirement security of nurses, teachers, firefighters, and others, should not be imperiled by the fluctuations of Wall Street.
This is not about whether or not working men and women have the ability to decide how to successfully invest their retirement savings. As we know, even the wealthiest employ a stable of bankers, accountants, and consultants to manage their retirement accounts.
Now, with a 401k, people of limited means will be forced to pay for financial advisors to hopefully sustain their income through retirement. They will have to add that burden to the cost of rent, utilities, and prescriptions.
We must keep in mind that Tier 6 will not create one job; it will simply hinder progress on our shared goal of turning the economy around.
The labor movement will fight to advance the financial security of workers, both active and retired, as an alternative to continuing the race to the bottom.
We will continue to review all aspects of the budget with our affiliates to identify other areas of interest to our 2.5 million members and are committed to working on their behalf with the Governor and the Legislature in the weeks ahead.
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Mario Cilento Elected President of the New York State AFL-CIO  December 16, New York, NY – Today, Mario Cilento was unanimously elected President of the New York State AFL-CIO by the organization’s Executive Council. He assumes leadership immediately. Cilento succeeds Denis Hughes who announced his retirement plans last month.
Upon taking office, Cilento said, “I am honored, humbled and feel incredibly privileged to have been elected President of the New York State AFL-CIO. The labor movement in this state has always risen to the challenges laid before us. Together, as one movement, we will once again meet those challenges, and provide a brighter economic future for all working men and women.”
Cilento said his focus will be harnessing the collective power of the labor movement’s 2.5 million members statewide. “Make no mistake about it, this is a statewide movement. From Buffalo to Montauk and everywhere in between we will create a groundswell of activism to educate our members on the issues of the day, and as a result, be better able to mobilize them.”
“The framework for our political campaigns is already in place. That framework will serve as a model for a year-round legislative action network to educate our members, as well as elected officials in their home districts on a regular basis, on the issues important to working men and women. We will use traditional methods like member-to-member initiatives, but also employ technology and social media to reflect the modern political landscape.”
President Cilento thanked the Executive Council and laid out some of his priorities. “The growing disparity between the haves and the have-nots is economically unsustainable. Our state and our country rises and falls with the strength of the middle class. We must create and retain good jobs that provide financial security both now and in retirement. We must also ensure that there is adequate state revenue to support economic development and new construction, education, health care, and other vital services upon which working people rely.”
“All too often the cynics will focus on what makes us different,” Cilento said. “We will focus on what unites us: the belief that all workers deserve a decent living for their hard and honest labor. When we work together, members from the public sector, private sector and building trades, and members from all regions of this state, we are an unstoppable force.”
Denis Hughes, who Cilento thanked for his leadership over the years, said, “Mario Cilento knows the labor movement inside and out. He has the knowledge, determination, and temperament to be a strong leader. He can listen and understand seemingly divergent needs and build consensus.”
Cilento, a member of the Newspaper Guild-CWA since 1990, has been with the NYS AFL-CIO for nearly twenty years. As Chief of Staff for the last twelve, Cilento coordinated the day-to-day and long-term political, legislative, communications, and grassroots strategies of the organization, as well as the overall policy development by its staff departments.
Click here to view Mario Cilento's biography. Click here to view Mario Cilento's appearance on Capital Tonight.
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NYS AFL-CIO Press Release
| | For Immediate Release | | January 4, 2012
| Contact: Ryan Delgado
| (518) 281-3962
| ALBANY, NY (01/04/2012)
Mario Cilento, President of the 2 ½ million member New York State AFL-CIO today issued the following statement regarding Governor Cuomo's State of the State Address: "Governor Cuomo is right to continue focusing on jobs, jobs, jobs. The path to strengthening our middle class and in turn our economy is creating and retaining good jobs throughout our state. Today, the Governor has laid out an ambitious and thoughtful plan to move New York toward that goal. A proposed convention center holds much promise for New York City. In addition, for far too long our highways, bridges and tunnels have been neglected and in need of repair, making investment in our infrastructure crucial. "The State of the State is just the beginning of the legislative session and the NYS AFL-CIO will actively promote and defend the rights and economic security of working families on a number of issues announced both today and in the coming months. Today, the Governor laid out a jobs agenda that furthers those goals."
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Occupy Wall StreetJoint Statement by NYS AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes and NYC CLC President Vincent Alvarez on Occupy Wall Street "The New York State AFL-CIO and New York City Central Labor Council unequivocally support the rights of the participants of Occupy Wall Street to express their point of view. As such, the labor movement strongly opposes any attempt to silence their voice, and by extension, the voice of 99% of working Americans dissatisfied with our current economic system and the unlevel playing field everyday working Americans are confronted with .
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STOP "WISCONSIN STYLE" ATTACKS ON WORKERS in NY Watch this MUST-SEE VIDEO to hear Nassau County workers and union leaders react to Nassau County’s anti-American proposal to break faith and tear up labor contracts. Help us spread the word and share it with your friends when you’re done! RALLY- Monday, October 17 at 11:30am, Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building, Mineola, NY  Click here for the rally flyer
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 CWA and IBEW still need our help in fighting back against Verizon's corporate greed. We must continue to send Verizon the message that there will be no business as usual until a fair contract is negotiated!
You can help by informational leafleting in front of Verizon Wireless Stores against their corporate greed.
Click here: www.cwa-union.org/adoptastore to sign up for leafleting at a Verizon Wireless store.
Download the NEW flyer here: www.cwa-union.org/vzw-d1-leaflet
Together, we can stand up to Corporate Greed and ensure that the Verizon workers win a fair contract!
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The Employee Free Choice Act The Employee Free Choice Act, supported by a bipartisan coalition in Congress, would enable working people to bargain for better benefits, wages and working conditions by restoring workers' freedom to choose for themselves whether to join a union. It would: - Remove current obstacles to employees who want collective bargaining.
- Guarantee that workers who can choose collective bargaining are able to achieve a contract.
- Allow employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation.
Joining together in a union to bargain for health care, pensions, fair wages and better working conditions is the best opportunity working people have to get ahead.
Today, good jobs are vanishing and health care coverage and retirement security are slipping out of reach. Only 38 percent of the public says their families are getting ahead financially and less than a quarter believes the next generation will be better off.
But workers who belong to unions earn 28 percent more than nonunion workers. They are 52 percent more likely to have employer-provided health coverage and nearly three times more likely to have guaranteed pensions.
All workers should have the freedom to decide for themselves whether to form unions to bargain for a better life.
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NYS AFL-CIO Events New York State AFL-CIO's
32nd Constitutional Convention
August 19-21, 2012
Sheraton NY Hotel & Towers,
New York City
NYS AFL-CIO COPE
Day at the Races
Thursday, August 2, 2012
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Working Theater 
Working Theater Announces 27th Season!
Click here for dates and ticket info.
Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex,
(312 West 36th Street between 8th & 9th Aves)
Since 1985 Working Theater has been producing high-quality affordable theater for and about working people. (Working people refers to the wage and salaried workers of modest means who work in factories, stores, offices, hospitals, classrooms and other workplaces throughout America) |
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Unemployment Resources
If you're out of work, you're not alone. In December, 2009, the unemployment in the United States remained at 10 percent, while in New York State it climbed to 9 percent. America's working families deserve better.
Increase Unemployment Benefits NOW!
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History of the NYS AFL-CIO The New York State AFL-CIO has a rich and proud history, which is deeply embedded in labor's continuous struggle for dignity and economic and social justice. This history is the story of the State Federation and its predecessor federations dating to 1865. Click here to view the full history of the NYS AFL-CIO
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