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Uninsured Young Adults in NY - Forum Oct. 14, 2008September 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.Fiscal Policy Institute says: A combination of revenues are needed to fix MTA's financing crisisSeptember 15th, 2008 A combination of funding measures are needed, including periodic (but modest) fare increases, restoration of the inflation-adjusted value of state and New York City subsidies, more federal assistance, expansion of some of the existing dedicated revenues, and one or more new dedicated taxes.Read the entire document: Fiscal Policy Institute American Cancer Society Releases New Video - Harry and Louise are back!September 12th, 2008 Harry and Louise are back and they are urging the next President and Congress to put health care at the top of the domestic agenda. ACS CAN and four partner organizations are sponsoring this national television ad campaign, which will air throughout the Democratic and Republican conventions.The Harry and Louise campaign is just one of ACS CAN's many advocacy initiatives at the federal level designed to improve access to quality, affordable health care. The Working Theater joins BALCONYSeptember 2nd, 2008  The Working Theater has recently joined our coalition and as a courtesy we are offering our members the opportunity to enjoy their latest theatrical production (at a discount for BALCONY members): King of Shadows which runs this month (September). We urge you to attend the performance. Cuts share $427M of painAugust 21st, 2008  State budget reductions are broad and, critics maintain, far too deep by Rick Karlin Hundreds of programs are sharing the pain of $427 million in cuts from the present state budget as Gov. David Paterson and legislative leaders Wednesday congratulated themselves on the effort. NYSUT praises Assembly for offering 'real relief' to New York familiesAugust 20th, 2008  ALBANY, N.Y. August 19, 2008 – New York State United Teachers today praised the Assembly for protecting public education and for helping senior citizens and working families by passing 'circuit breaker' legislation that would actually reduce property tax bills for those New Yorkers who need relief the most. Circuit Breaker, Millionaire's Tax - No Cap - Pass AssemblyAugust 20th, 2008 As expected, the Democrat-controlled Assembly approved its answer to Gov. David Paterson's property tax cap bill, which was a combination circuit breaker and millionaire's tax.The vote was 118-24, which means about half of the Assembly Republicans joined the Democrats in voting "yes." The millionaire's tax in this case has two tiers - one for people earning $1 million and another for super-millionaires, those who earn $5 million or more... New York Business and the Wealthy Should Pay Their Fare ShareAugust 14th, 2008 Statement by BALCONY Co-Chairman Bruce Ventimiglia,Chairman of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC "BALCONY – the Business and Labor Coalition of New York, is concerned that the New York State budget is being balanced by Governor Paterson disproportionately on the backs of workers who are middle and low income wage earners. The governor’s approach will result in a loss of essential services, social services, and cuts in Medicaid funding for health care, all of which could further damage our State’s economy." News from BALCONY Archives SUNY expands leave time for familySeptember 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 NeededAugust 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 overtimeAugust 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 SiteAugust 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 EmployeesJuly 24th, 2008  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. Rethinking CapsJuly 16th, 2008  Anew Siena Research Institute poll shows that when it comes to local taxes, New Yorkers are more savvy than many politicians might think. Yes, they are upset about the growing burden of local taxes, particularly school taxes, the largest component of that burden. But when asked in a poll what they would do to ease the burden, a large majority of them were not taken in by the lure of a tax cap. Instead, when given the choice between a cap and a so-called circuit breaker approach, 75 percent chose the latter. Elected officials support Saint Vincent planJuly 15th, 2008  by Kira Bindrim Several crucial elected officials gave their support Tuesday to Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers’ plan to tear down the O’Toole Building to make way for an $835 million, 21-story hospital tower. Labor Needs to Improve Conditions for Nonunion Workers, Official WarnsJune 23rd, 2008 By Steven Greenhouse Ed Ott, the executive director of the New York City Central Labor Council, an umbrella group for the city’s labor unions, has an unexpected and unnerving warning for New York’s more than one million union members. Labor unions ready to start operating (their cranes)June 20th, 2008  By Albert Amateau Labor union representatives and community leaders from Chelsea and Chinatown spoke out in support of the revised St. Vincent’s/Rudin redevelopment plan at a June 10 Community Board 2 forum. But preservation advocates and close neighbors remained adamantly against the project. News from our Members Archives Small Businesses Feeling the ChillOctober 2nd, 2008 by Louis Uchitelle Some small companies say they are no longer able to get loans from newly cautious banks as credit tightens across the country, and even those who do qualify are increasingly reluctant to borrow and expand, fearful of overextending themselves in the midst of the financial crisis. Alan Petrucci, whose small factory near Chicago makes metal molds that other manufacturers buy to form plastic parts, says his bank recently offered him an additional loan. Though orders for his molds are still plentiful, Mr. Petrucci says he will borrow only to upgrade existing machinery, not to expand. New State Panel to Study Privatizing Public AssetsOctober 1st, 2008 By Danny Hakim ALBANY — Facing a recession, Gov. David A. Paterson’s administration said on Tuesday that it would set up a commission to explore ways to privatize public assets, including the lottery system and bridges like the Tappan Zee. Proposal for Tappan Zee Bridge & I-287 Corridor UnveiledSeptember 27th, 2008 Team Recommends Bridge Replacement, Addition of Bus Rapid Transit & Commuter RailThe leaders of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the State Thruway Authority and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Metro-North Railroad (MNR) were joined today by Westchester County Executive Andrew J. Spano and Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef when the agencies announced their recommendations for the Tappan Zee Bridge/I-287 Corridor. The three-agency team has recommended that the bridge be replaced with a transit-ready bridge and that bus rapid transit and commuter rail transit be added to the corridor. Tappan Zee Bridge Will Be Replaced, Not FixedSeptember 26th, 2008  TARRYTOWN, NY (AP) -- State planners recommend spending $16 billion to build a new Tappan Zee Bridge capable of carrying a commuter railroad line. New York City Wants Cuts by Agencies Across BoardSeptember 24th, 2008 By Michael Barbaro and Fernanda Santos With an eye on Wall Street’s turmoil and New York City’s fragile economy, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg ordered city agencies on Tuesday to cut spending by about $500 million this year and $1 billion next year. Downturn Drives Up New York’s Jobless RatesSeptember 19th, 2008 By Patrick McGeehan The unemployment rates for New York City and State shot up in August as the rapidly spiraling economic downturn left more people without jobs, the state’s Department of Labor said on Thursday. The city’s unemployment rate rose to 5.8 percent from 5 percent in July — the largest monthly increase in more than 30 years — as about 5,200 private-sector jobs were eliminated, the department reported. Many of the layoffs came in the tumbling financial sector, which is one of the city’s biggest employers and the provider of nearly one-fourth of its annual wages and salaries. Skelos Seeking Phaseout Of Empire Zone ProgramSeptember 18th, 2008  By Peter Kiefer The state Senate majority leader is seeking the dissolution of the state's Empire Zone program, the $600-million-a-year economic stimulus effort that has been widely criticized as inefficient. Comptroller Thompson opposes any new fare hikesSeptember 15th, 2008 COMPTROLLER THOMPSON TESTIMONY BEFORE RAVITCH COMMISSIONNew York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., today provided the following testimony at the Ravitch Commission on MTA Financing at New York University’s Kimmel Center Time for federal government to invest more in mass transit systemSeptember 15th, 2008
By Hillary Clinton New York City puts the mass in mass transit. Our rails, buses and subways carry nearly one- third of the nation's transit passengers. They provide 8.5 million rides each day and more than 2.6 billion rides a year. The system is larger than the next 10 transit systems combined. GOVERNOR PATERSON LAYS OUT CONDITIONS FOR STATE INVESTMENT IN MOYNIHAN STATIONSeptember 15th, 2008 Calls for Improved Intercity Rail Service; Moynihan Station Significant Infrastructure Priority for the State
Friday September 12, 2008 : Governor David A. Paterson announced conditions related to the future of Moynihan Station. In a speech to construction and real estate executives hosted by the New York Building Congress, Governor Paterson called on his colleagues to work together to invest in our State’s infrastructure and increase intercity passenger rail transportation capacity. BALCONY Issues in the News Archives |
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| Maintained by Kevin R. Weaver
| Sitemap