‘No More 24’ Advocates Vow to Surround New York’s City Hall
New York City home health aides and their supporters fighting for passage of “No More 24” legislation vow to encircle City Hall on May Day. Photos/Joe Maniscalco
By Joe Maniscalco
New York City home health aides fighting to pass legislation ending mandatory 24-hour workdays “paused” their five-day hunger strike outside the gates of City Hall on Monday, promising to keep coming back before finally returning with enough outraged workers to encircle the local seat of government on May Day.
“We will pause this hunger strike only to fight even harder, grow even larger, and unite more and more people across this city to liberate ourselves from exploitation,” Ain’t I a Woman campaign organizer Jihye Song said on March 25.
This past fall, the campaign supporting the mostly older women of color comprising NYC’s home health aide workforce put hundreds of people on the streets for a march around City Hall condemning City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ [D-28th District] refusal to allow a vote on Intro. 615 — the “No More 24” bill.
An increasing number of workers from other sectors — including many younger workers in tech and other professions — have joined the fight since then. Many local Democratic Party clubs around town have also joined home health aides in denouncing Speaker Adams’ ongoing obstructionism.
“Adrienne Adams, stop the violence.” Marchers at this week’s City Hall rally in support of home health aides call on the New York City Council Speaker to get out of the way of “No More 24” legislation.
“We will pause the hunger strike today, but we will be back next week, and the week after, and the week after that…and on May Day we will be back with thousands to surround City Hall to demand a city that does not treat workers as slaves…where all workers have time for our health, our families and our lives,” Song said.
On Monday, Marian Jones, political educator coordinator at the NYC-DSA Socialist Feminist Working Group, said it is “unacceptable that those who care for our loved ones are not given the same dignity and support that they give to others.”
“Council Woman Adrienne Adams has not addressed this problem claiming that it’s a state issue because the state regulates Medicaid funding — but we know this is a deflection,” Jones said. “We know that any effort to shove responsibility back to the state at this point is a waste of time. We know that people making this argument have hindered past state-level attempts to address this issue. We also know that City Council can, and has, passed bills in the past on state and federal issues, so long as they are relevant to New Yorkers.”
Speaker Adams’ iron grip over the New York City Council has forced the “No More 24” bill to languish in the Labor Committee since a hearing was last held on it in September 2022. Support for the measure has fallen off from 27 cosponsors — to just 13 council members, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
New York City workers in solidarity with home health aides denounce mandatory 24-hour workdays as “racist violence” against the industry workforce.
Last year, the New York State Department of Labor announced it was shutting down its probe of the home health industry despite finding “overwhelmingly corroborating” evidence of wage theft.
“My question for Speaker Adams is, how can you ignore the immigrant women of color you claim to support and uplift?” Jones continued. “We call on Adams to bring the “No More 24” act to the floor for a vote and stand up for the working women of New York City. It’s time to prioritize the well-being of caregivers and ensure everyone who relies on this system receives the care and support they deserve — and stop hiding behind the idea that the state alone should address this matter.”
Members of a coalition of New York City teachers called Educators Against Sweatshops said this week that the fight for “No More 24” is “our fight, too” and “as teachers, hours and hours of our labor is unrecognized and uncompensated.”
Beth Slade, New Kings Democrats director of Social Action, said that improving the working conditions of those who take care of our most vulnerable New Yorkers is essential to building a thriving and equitable healthcare system.
“As you all know, New York is the only state that schedules care workers for 24-hour shifts. That needs to change — and New York City needs to be at the forefront of that change,” Slade said. “New Kings Dems is here today in solidarity with all of you and with the strikers — and to tell Speaker Adams to bring this bill to the floor.”