2025 Labor Power Players

Karen Ignagni serves as EmblemHealth’s executive chair. Ms. Ignagni previously served as EmblemHealth’s chief executive officer, successfully leading a full-scale turnaround and modernization. Prior to that, Ms. Ignagni led the Washington D.C. trade association for the nation’s health plans. She also served at the AFL-CIO and was a staffer in the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

What are your organization’s goals for 2025?
In 2025, our goals are to bring high-quality, affordable coverage options to our labor and employer partners and to public programs. EmblemHealth remains committed to addressing care gaps and expanding access to affordable health care. We will continue to drive innovative, neighborhood-focused solutions that improve health outcomes for the people we serve. 

How can policymakers support your organization?
Policymakers have been invaluable partners in our work to close care gaps by supporting the well-being programming at our 15 Neighborhood Care centers throughout the city. Continued support can help us build upon the progress we’re making in addressing social determinants of health and improving health outcomes. Together, we can work towards ensuring the communities we serve have access to the care and resources they need to lead healthier lives. 

What is your favorite part of your job?
EmblemHealth is New York’s local health plan. I’m honored to see our work in action throughout the city, knowing we are supporting the health journeys of the working men and women who power our city.

Senator Robert Jackson, a dedicated advocate for New Yorkers, secured $16 billion for NYC public schools. During his tenure as a city council member, he sponsored the Small Business Jobs Survival Act. As a state senator, he champions public education, worker’s rights, climate justice, and public safety. Currently chairing the Civil Service and Pensions Committee, with 23 years of labor movement experience, including roles with the Department of Labor and PEF, poised to deliver results.

What are your organization’s goals for 2025?
Our workers deserve security, our tenants deserve stability, and our youth deserve opportunity. I’m fighting for stronger pensions, real tenant protections, and fully funded public schools. Affordable childcare and higher education should be within reach for every family. And as our climate changes, we must hold corporations accountable for clean air, fair energy, and a livable future. This isn’t just policy – it’s about protecting the people who make our communities strong. That’s my goal for 2025.

How can policymakers support your organization?
My colleagues can support these goals by championing legislation that protects workers, strengthens tenant rights, and ensures every child has access to a fully funded public education. In unity lies our strength – we must work together, across districts and party lines, to uplift those we represent and build a more just, equitable future for all.

What is your favorite part of your job?
Since stepping into this role, I’ve come to deeply appreciate the transformative power of unity. What makes my job most fulfilling is helping my community – fighting for the resources, policies, and opportunities our families deserve. Seeing real progress, whether it’s securing funding for schools, protecting tenants, or expanding workers’ rights, reminds me why I do this work. It’s about building a future where every voice matters and every neighbor thrives. That’s what brings me joy.

Pat Kane, RN, CNORe, is a longtime member and leader of NYSNA. She has served as NYSNA’s executive director since December 2019 and is a passionate advocate for nurses. She worked as an RN for over 30 years at Staten Island University Hospital/ Northwell Health and has been active in her North Shore Staten Island community for decades, working to address disparities in access to care, and fighting for social, economic and climate justice.

What are your organization’s goals for 2025?
This year, nearly 20,000 NYSNA nurses at 12 hospitals will negotiate new contracts and will fight for quality patient care, wages and benefits that respect nurses, and a voice in patient care. NYSNA nurses and health care professionals will continue to be leaders in the fight for health equity and health care for all by advocating for the NY Health Act, fair funding for public and safety net hospitals, and for the future of our profession.

How can policymakers support your organization?
We are guided by a vision of health care justice for workers and patients, and our fights – whether the goal is safe staffing or to protect public and safety net hospitals – follow that commitment. By listening to the nurses, who are experts in patient care, policymakers can help ensure that every New Yorker has access to quality care.

What is your favorite part of your job?
I strive to promote and achieve the highest possible level of professional nursing practice, quality of patient care, and health outcomes for patients. At NYSNA, we do this by building up and empowering nurses to assume leadership roles as advocates in the profession, our workplaces, the broader health care system, the political process, and our local communities.

Mike Keogh, partner at Bolton-St. Johns, assists clients with issues before government, public authorities and corporations. His experience enables him to assist clients interested in partnering with New York business, labor, academic and nonprofit communities.  Before joining Bolton St-Johns, Mike was a principal lobbyist and legislative counsel to District Council 37, the largest municipal employee union in New York. He also served as NYC Council’s director of finance, specializing in budget and pension areas.

What are your organization’s goals for 2025?
We’re looking forward to helping our clients navigate the changes that are coming this year to create stronger public and private sector partnerships with labor, businesses, nonprofits and organizations to grow opportunities for all of New York’s communities.

How can policymakers support your organization?
We look forward to working with policymakers to ensure all voices are heard as they negotiate budgets, pass legislation, draft regulations and implement laws.

What is your favorite part of your job?
Working in and with New York on behalf of our great clients is the best part of my job!

Daniel Kroop’s new role as chair of the Solidarity Committee of the NYC Council staff union (ALE) follows three years of service as the union’s first president. Dan helped ALE win union recognition and a historic first contract raising the minimum wage to over $30/hour. Last June, ALE became the city’s first public sector union to call for pension divestment from the Israeli government and industries profiting off the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.

What are your organization’s goals for 2025?
ALE is fighting for a fair first contract for Legislative Division titles accreted into the union last fall, and to continue growing our membership. The union is also committed to winning our grievance with the City over unfairly calculated bonuses for part-time workers. Finally, ALE remains focused on building the Palestine solidarity movement and challenging the Trump administration’s attacks on trans, immigrant, and all working people. An injury to one is an injury to all.

How can policymakers support your organization?
Elected officials who say they support labor need to walk the walk if they’re going to talk the talk. That means embracing staff unionization efforts, creating positive working conditions, and paying living wages. Most of our union’s members are on the front line. We serve constituents in every corner of the five boroughs. The Council should invest in supporting the staff who support our neighbors and communities.

What is your favorite part of your job?
Seeing ALE members volunteer their time to stand up for each other and win battles no one thought we could. ALE is the largest union of legislative staffers in the country and is led entirely by our membership, from the president to our over 35 shop stewards. We believe our model of rank-and-file-led unionism – cohered by a strong sense of solidarity with workers around the world – is the future the labor movement needs.

Gary LaBarbera is president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, an organization comprising local affiliates of 15 national and international unions representing 100,000 working men and women in New York City. In 2021, Mr. LaBarbera was elected president of the New York State Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents 200,000 tradespeople across the entire state.

What are your organization’s goals for 2025?
Continue our role in advocating for project labor agreements and development that create union careers and provide hard-working New Yorkers more opportunities to pursue the middle class and support their families while also doing our part to ensure that workplace safety, competitive wages, and workforce development remain priorities for all parties involved in pushing key projects forward.

Under the leadership of President Daniel C. Levler, Suffolk AME has become a key player among lawmakers, community leaders, and other unions. Having started his career with Suffolk County in 2006, Levler was first elected to the Executive Board in 2015 as executive vice president. Levler has since been re-elected to the Board three times and has served as Suffolk AME president since 2017. Levler also serves as co-chair of NYSPEC, a statewide leadership role.

Mark Longo brings more than 25 years in government affairs and building trades public affairs to the ELEC825. He served as director of government affairs and political action for IUOE Local 825 from 1999 to 2012. There, he was responsible for legislative and political education programs in Trenton, Albany and Washington, DC, and for administering the Political Action Committee.

William Lynn is the business manager and financial secretary of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30 based in Whitestone, New York and the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Local 30 Benefit Funds. Bill joined Local 30 in 1990 as an apprentice and was a shop steward before rising to dispatcher, business representative and recording-corresponding secretary. Lynn has held the position of business manager and financial secretary since 2014. In October of 2019 he was elected international vice president after having served as an International Trustee since 2017. Bill also holds leadership positions at several labor organizations, including the Long Island and Westchester-Putnam AFL-CIO, Nassau-Suffolk Building Trades, Municipal Labor Council, New York State Public Employee Conference, Long Island Labor Advisory Council and the James Connolly Irish American Labor Coalition. He is a graduate of the Cornell Leadership Institute.

Jose Maldonado is the president of UNITE HERE Local 100 in New York and New Jersey. Maldonado is an elected member of the Executive Committee and of the General Executive Board of UNITE HERE International Union. Maldonado is an executive member of the Retirement Fund. He also holds a seat at the Unite Here Health Interim Investment Committee.  Under Jose Maldonado’s leadership, the union opened its first ever training center. Jose Maldonado, along with the union, has gained major contract negotiations success including Compass, Sodexo and Aramark securing between $8.00 to $10.00 an hour in most of the contracts. Under his leadership, the union has grown from 18,000 to 25,000 members.