Hundreds of activists jointly marched over two of New York City’s iconic bridges Tuesday to demand additional funding for excluded workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dubbed “Excluded No More,” the initiative is calling for the compensation of noncitizen workers who have lost a job or income amid the pandemic and are ineligible for unemployment insurance as well as permanent employment protections. The appeal, however, is not a cheap one.
After receiving more than $2.3 billion in aid last year from the state, the legion of primarily immigrant construction workers, delivery workers, laundry workers, medical professionals and others are asking for some $3 billion in additional funding in the New York State budget and a permanent program to provide unemployment to these excluded workers — and they are not taking no for an answer.
