ALBANY – Governor Cuomo took time on Labor Day to celebrate the contributions of organized labor to the foundation of New York and future successes.
In the video address, Cuomo said “Of course, we would have all liked to be together in person on this great day, but we are still together in the spirit of solidarity, and we always are. I want to congratulate Mario Cilento and Vinny Alvarez for the great job they do, and for all the women and men who dedicate themselves to keeping the labor movement strong. We need it now more than ever.”
The governor praised union forces, saying “We should start by taking a moment to celebrate the historic work that we have done together in New York. We are fulfilling our destiny of making the labor movement the nation’s vehicle for progressive change and for social justice. We’ve led the nation in raising the minimum wage, the best-paid family leave program, protecting public sector service workers after the Janus decisions, protecting farm workers, and all workers’ rights to organize.”
On the day set aside to honor organized labor, Cuomo also honored essential employees during the COVID pandemic. “But we have something else to celebrate today. This nation has been at war, the war fighting COVID. New York State was the place where COVID ambushed this nation, and New York State will go down in the history books as the place that beat back COVID. And when they write those history books, the heroes of the battle will be the hardworking families of New York. It’s the hardworking families that we now call the essential workers. They had to show up every day so that everyone else could stay home and be safe.”
The full address can be viewed here.
