BALCONY - Business and Labor Coalition of New York
ACS/BALCONY Sign the Health Care Petition Watch the ACS Videos See the NYSUT Video - Circuit Breaker See UNINSURED YOUNG ADULTS
News from BALCONY

BALCONY Co-Chair Alan Lubin honored

November 14th, 2008


BALCONY Co-Chair Alan Lubin was honored for his work on behalf of the Medicare Rights Center Wednesday Night November 12th in New York.

Lubin is seated in middle of photo along with other BALCONY supporters, Peter Slocum of the American Cancer Society (lower left) and attorney Jeffrey Krinsk ( lower right) . Joining them are: Adria Linehan BALCONY Health Care Advocacy Coordinator, Lou Gordon BALCONY director, and Eleni Delimpaltadaki of Opportunity Agenda and a member of the BALCONY issues advisory council.

OVER 200 NON PROFITS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, UNIONS AND FAITH-BASED GROUPS TO GOVERNOR PATERSON: CUTS ALONE WILL DEVASTATE NEW YORK’S FUTURE

November 12th, 2008
Groups Providing Critical State Services Call on Paterson to Stop Exempting Wealthy New Yorkers from Budget Pain and to Use the Tax Stabilization Reserve Fund to Fill the Gap!

(Albany, N.Y)— On the day Governor Paterson is announcing billions in budget cuts, the Better Choice Budget Campaign and the One New York: Fighting for Fairness joined together to call on the Governor and legislative leaders to abandon a budget policy that calls on working families and vulnerable New Yorkers to bear the burden of the state’s fiscal crisis.

Working Men and Women Must Not Bear the Burden of NYS Budget Crisis

November 11th, 2008
Statement by Alan Lubin and Bruce Ventimiglia, Co-Chairmen of BALCONY, The Business and Labor Coalition of New York.

The Wall Street Meltdown was not created by working men and women and they must not be forced to bear the brunt of New York State’s Budget Crisis.

Destruction of the public workforce, schools, state services and health care would leave our state with a terrible economy, hasten our decline and dramatically impact the ability of small businesses to survive.

The state must be more realistic in its solutions to repair the budget shortfalls. Just as the federal government has moved quickly to support the financial sector with almost a trillion dollars, so too must Washington provide the assistance necessary for New York State and other states.

NY public worker unions oppose reopening contracts

November 11th, 2008


By Valerie Bauman

Three of New York's most powerful public employee unions say they won't reopen contracts to any concessions despite the state's fiscal crisis, delivering an early blow to Gov. David Paterson's plans to fill a $2 billion deficit next week.

Landmarks Vote Is a Victory for St. Vincent’s Hospital

October 29th, 2008
NYT Logo 300px

By Glenn Collins

In an emotionally charged decision that some preservationists warned would set a precedent weakening protection for the city’s historic structures, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 6 to 4 on Tuesday to approve the so-called hardship application of St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan.

Uninsured Young Adults Forum Report Released...

October 27th, 2008

(left to right) Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, Catherine Abate, Arthur Cheliotes (left to right) Bill Hohlfeld, Sara Horowitz, Roslyn Yasser,Troy Oechsner, Peter Slocum, Britta Riley

Daunting demographics, splintering private sectors and crippling costs stand in the way of a solution to the problems of gaining affordable health insurance for young adults in New York.

Read the full report (PDF file): Uninsured Young Adults Forum Report

800,000 Uninsured Young Adults in New York

October 10th, 2008
October 14th Forum Will Discuss Health Care Crisis and the Solutions



There is a time bomb silently ticking in New York State, a potential crisis that seems to have escaped the notice of many of our political leaders and social planners. In New York State alone, there are approximately 800,000 young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 without health insurance. These individuals hold jobs in environments such as fast-food franchises, small businesses and freelance work.

The Business and Labor Coalition of New York BALCONY, in partnership with the American Cancer Society, Demos, Freelancers Union, and the NYU Wagner Alumni Association, is sponsoring a forum on this pressing issue by providing an in-depth examination of the financial and medical consequences of the majority of our young workers not having health insurance. This forum will be held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at the NYU School of Law in the Greenberg Room, First Floor, 40 Washington Square South, Manhattan. It will run from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM and feature a wide array of health care experts. The public is invited.

Uninsured Young Adults in NY - Forum Oct. 14, 2008

September 30th, 2008
800,000 YOUNG ADULT NEW YORKERS DO NOT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE! WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS? A FORUM SPONSORED BY BALCONY, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY, DEMOS, FREELANCERS UNION and NYU WAGNER ALUMNI ASSOCIATION.
News from BALCONY Archives
News from our Members

PEF joins hundreds at “Better Budget” rally

November 18th, 2008
Albany-Members of the New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) carried signs that read “We’re All In This Together,” as they listened to speeches from groups concerned about how the state intends to close a growing multi-billion dollar budget gap.

Full Story: Better Budget

Fired day care workers fighting hard to get their jobs back

November 4th, 2008


By Clare Trapasso

Workers at a chain of city-supported Queens day care centers who said they were fired after forming a union are fighting to get their jobs back.

But a company official denied they were let go due to union activities.

Union leaders meet with governor

October 22nd, 2008


Session on savings draws some optimism amid budget problems.

By Rick Karlin

Leaders of three major state employee unions met with Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday for what was described as a freewheeling discussion of how the state can save money to deal with its growing budget deficit.

New York City Construction Spending Forecast to Reach $33.8 Billion in 2008 and $93 Billion over Three Years, According to New York Building Congress Construction Outlook

October 14th, 2008
Continued Strength May Be Seen in all Building Sectors Through 2009; Economic Downturn Creates Uncertainty for 2010 and Beyond

NEW YORK, October 14, 2008 – For the second time this decade, New York City’s construction industry has proven its resilience while helping to bolster a struggling local economy, according to New York City Construction Outlook 2008-2010, an annual forecast and analysis prepared by the New York Building Congress. The report was released today at a Construction Industry Forum featuring New York City Planning Commission Chair Amanda M. Burden and New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky.

SUNY expands leave time for family

September 2nd, 2008


The more than 30,000 people who work at the State University of New York and are represented by United University Professions got a long-sought benefit recently: In addition to their new three-year labor contract, finalized last month, the workers received an extension of family leave time.

Port Authority Exec Says Infrastructure Improvements Needed

August 22nd, 2008


By Bob Hennelly

Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward says the region must find a new way to finance tens of billions in essential transportation infrastructure needs.

WNYC's Bob Hennelly has this report.

Building costs are up and tax revenues are down. New York and New Jersey are already deep in debt. The Port Authority's Chris Ward told the New York Construction Congress raising capital for badly needed upgrades to the region's airports was difficult because airlines are in a tail spin.

PEF hails Gov. Paterson for signing bill restricting nurse overtime

August 19th, 2008


ALBANY – Leaders of the New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) today commended Gov. David Paterson for signing legislation that will finally set limits on mandatory overtime for nurses.

NYSUT: Cuts to higher ed are 'inconceivable'

August 13th, 2008


ALBANY, N.Y., August. 12, 2008 — Higher education union leaders today ripped Gov. David Paterson’s proposed cuts to the CUNY and SUNY systems, calling them “inconceivable” and saying their devastating toll could limit the ability of many New Yorkers to attend college.

PEF 'Exploring Options' Over See Through Site

August 5th, 2008


The Public Employees Federation, New York's second-largest state employees union, is sounding an alarm over the Empire Center's new information clearing house Web site, SeeThroughNY, suggesting that while the information available there is indeed public, making it so easily accessible could be a threat to their members' safety.

Union Dues Now Permanently Mandatory for Public Employees

July 24th, 2008
NYT Logo 300px

By Jeremy W. Peters

ALBANY — As political rituals go, it was one of Albany’s most predictable.

Every two years, a state law that required public employees to pay their unions’ dues regardless of whether they joined would near expiration. And every two years, the Legislature would renew the law. For more than three decades, unions pushed to make it permanent. But lawmakers, mainly Republicans in the State Senate who wanted the Legislature to have some degree of leverage over the state’s powerful public sector unions, blocked those attempts, arguing that a permanent extension of the law would amount to a big giveaway to organized labor.
News from our Members Archives
BALCONY Issues in the News

Political gridlock persists

November 19th, 2008


By Irene Jay Liu

Gov. David Paterson may have sounded the alarm on the state's fiscal crisis, but it was drowned out Tuesday by partisan bickering and political rhetoric from state leaders, who did nothing to address the state's looming $1.5 billion budget deficit in what was supposed to be a special session.

No budget fix as Gov. Paterson, pols only bicker

November 19th, 2008


By Kenneth Lovett and Glenn Blain

A special fix-the-budget session fizzled Tuesday as Gov. Paterson and legislative leaders fought and bickered, but did nothing to remedy the fiscal crisis.

Uninsured Young Adults Forum - PSAs available for viewing

November 14th, 2008
View these important PSAs: Insurance

Sharing the pain in $2B cuts

November 12th, 2008


Paterson's plan set for release today has "reductions across virtually every area of state spending"

By Casey Seiler and James M. Odato

Gov. David Paterson will unveil $2 billion in budget cuts this morning, less than a week before the Legislature returns for a special session to address the state's ballooning deficit. The proposal will include "reductions across virtually every area of state spending," said Risa Heller, the governor's communications director, in a statement.

Paterson Says Schools and Medicaid Face Cuts

November 10th, 2008
NYT Logo 300px

By Danny Hakim

SAN JUAN, P.R. — Gov. David A. Paterson said in an interview on Sunday that he would almost certainly seek billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid, as well as midyear reductions in school aid, to address New York’s worsening fiscal condition.

POLS POISED TO BUST GOV'S BUDGET CHOPS

November 10th, 2008


By Frederic U. Dicker

Gov. Paterson is heading for his first major defeat, as lawmakers appear likely to reject his $2 billion in proposed state spending cuts aimed at containing a ballooning budget deficit, The Post learned yesterday.

'Waitress Moms' now need real help, not just more promises

November 6th, 2008
By Teresa Heinz Kerry and Jeffrey Lewis

Political consultants and the media began creating labels for women voters eight years ago. First, it was the Soccer Mom, a symbol of the stress and rewards of prosperous women raising active children. Next was the Security Mom, a symbol of our nation's fears after 9/11.

NY gov opposes borrowing to bolster budget

November 4th, 2008


By Valerie Bauman

New York Gov. David Paterson is ruling out borrowing as state leaders try to close a $1.5 billion budget gap in the last five months of the fiscal year. Paterson says he fears rating agencies would downgrade the state's credit standing if New York used loans to address the financial crisis.

Governor calls for federal help

October 30th, 2008

Paterson, testifying before House committee, says government must pass an economic stimulus package to provide financial relief to states

By Juliann Vachon

As New York faces mounting budget shortfalls and a national financial crisis, Gov. David A. Paterson called on Congress yesterday for immediate aid, saying the federal government should help states cope with widespread economic turmoil.

Lawmakers Mull Stimulus Investment in Infrastructure

October 29th, 2008
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee staff were expected Wednesday to start piecing together the infrastructure investment component of a pending stimulus package.
BALCONY Issues in the News Archives