WORLD WORLDWIDE US USA - New York NY - New York City NYC - the city THE CITY - Union gains, construction worker’s $25M settlement, isle of dogs

 

Dear New Yorkers,

Workers are petitioning for elections for union representation — and winning them — more than any other year in a decade.

More than 75% of all private-sector organizing attempts from mid-2023 to mid-2024 resulted in victories, according to the just-released State of the Unions report from the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.

This year, the annual report spotlighted the surge in successful union elections since the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend buoyed by young people and college-educated workers in a tight labor market.

Nationally, the growth in petitions with the federal National Labor Relations Board reversed a decade of decline.

In New York specifically, new organizing was driven by academic and health care workers. In February, hundreds of full-time, non-tenure track faculty at New York University voted to join the United Auto Workers. Private-sector workers also waged successful election campaigns, from Barnes & Noble to bakeries and even a local pizzeria.

Read more here about the findings from the State of the Unions report.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Thursday’s Weather Rating: 6/10. MUCH cooler, with high temperatures only in the-mid 70s. Still a bit cloudy and humid but we’ll avoid rain for most of the day. The vibes are gradually improving!

Our Other Top Stories

A worker who suffered a serious head injury during the renovation of a Brooklyn warehouse that is now an Amazon shipping facility has won a $25 million settlement. After the worker fell through the roof during a renovation of the warehouse, a contractor filed logs with signatures of a site safety supervisor — who said they were forged. For this week’s summer newsletter, THE CITY hung out with Aspen and Reed, canine employees of Governors Island. Their job is to shoo flocks of geese away from the island’s expansive lawns — often on overnight shifts.

Reporter’s Notebook

City Wins Money for EV Charging

Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday that the city has won $15 million from the feds that will allow it to build 600 advanced charging stations for electric vehicles, half of which will be built in low-income and disadvantaged neighborhoods.

An additional 32 solar-powered charging ports will be installed in eight parks.

In all, the federal Department of Transportation this week handed out $515 million across 29 states to expand the nation’s EV charging network.

The infrastructure task force led by deputy mayor Meera Joshi has captured more than $850 million in competitive grants created by the Biden infrastructure law, including funds to buy 394 electric school buses. Billions of dollars in grants are expected to be announced in the coming months.

— Greg David

Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Thursday, Aug. 29: Plaza Performance: sexdeathvoid, an outdoor improvised musical event. Free from 7 to 8:30 p.m. outside of the Brooklyn Public LIbrary’s Central Library. Saturday, Aug. 31: A “warrior bootcamp” hosted by Gladiators NYC. It is a family-friendly event with foam swords to, well, practice being a gladiator. Free from 5 to 7 p.m. at John Paul Jones Park in Brooklyn. Monday, Sept. 2: The Queens Botanical Garden is open on Labor Day, with free admission, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

THE KICKER: In a twist right out of Journalism 101, a man was arrested for biting a dog yesterday in Manhattan, reports PIX11.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Thursday.

Love,

THE CITY

PS. Love THE CITY? Our nonprofit newsroom runs on support from readers like you. Donate here.

Want to view Scoop in your web browser? Click here.

THE CITY's work is made possible, in part, through the support of our sponsors. Interested in becoming a sponsor of THE CITY? Contact us here.  Copyright © 2024 THE CITY, All rights reserved.