Fearing federal cuts, unions ask Hochul for more DOL funding

In anticipation of federal budget cuts, nearly 20 prominent unions and other labor groups are asking Gov. Kathy Hochul to proactively set aside hundreds of millions of extra dollars for the state Department of Labor. But the governor, along with legislative leaders, have so far expressed reticence about using state money to cover federal cuts.

The groups sent a letter to the governor on Friday, asking that she include an additional $200 million in the state budget due April 1 to support the Department of Labor in the event of federal cuts. The letter, shared exclusively with City & State, describes three different funding streams that benefit the agency: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs, Employment Service grants and workplace safety funding. “Dedicating additional funding to NY’s DOL would ensure that New York’s workforce remains strong and supported up against any threats to union density, worker safety, workforce development, unemployment, and rights on the job,” the letter reads.

Among the 19 signatories are some of the state’s most politically powerful unions, including 32BJ SEIU, CWA District 1, TWU Local 100, the New York State Nurses Association and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Other labor groups that signed include the Alliance for a Greater New York (better known as ALIGN), Worker Justice Project and Northeast New York Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health.

Although the full extent of potential federal budget cuts are currently unknown, New York is already getting hit by pulled funding. Hochul announced on Friday that the Trump administration had terminated over $360 million in expected federal dollars to three state agencies impacting public health, mental health and addiction services. Providers of addiction treatment and recovery services who partner with the agencies and are losing out on federal grant money have already asked the state to step in to fill in the funding gap. 

But Hochul has repeatedly emphasized that New York could not possibly replace every federal dollar lost with state money. The state is expecting about $91 billion from the federal government for the upcoming fiscal year. “Here's the sad truth: there is no State in the nation that has the resources to backfill these sweeping cuts,” Hochul said in her most recent statement on Friday about the public health cuts. “It's up to New York's elected officials who serve in the House majority to stand up and fight back.”