Our union fights nonstop for the protections, benefits and opportunities our members deserve. But we cannot accomplish all that we do without our strong leaders and partners in government, such as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and the entirety of the New York State Legislature. Our union extends its gratitude to Gov. Hochul and our elected leaders for productive and successful budget negotiations, and for ensuring working New Yorkers were prioritized throughout the process.

Each year we see major victories as labor protections, career opportunities and funding for key infrastructure projects increase—and this year is no different. Our members take immense pride in building SUNY’s campuses, the clean energy infrastructure that will benefit New Yorkers for years to come and more—and they deserve the higher standards now applied to these projects and beyond. This budget is a direct investment back into the unionized workforce whose contributions to our state are innumerable.

We also applaud Gary LaBarbera, the NYC Building Trades, Gov. Hochul and the legislature for their tireless efforts to secure the passage of 485-X—legislation that ensures the men and women building New York City housing earn a living wage. 

We look forward to continuing our work together this session to ensure LIUNA members will build New York from the ground up and deliver the safe, reliable results that New Yorkers have come to expect out of our highly skilled workforce. 

New York continues to lead the way when it comes to creating and protecting good-paying, career-track jobs within the union construction industry—a benefit to all New York State residents.

Donato A. Bianco, vice president 
Laborers’ International Union of North America
Albany, NY