In Support New York Laborers Local 79’s Campaign to Challenge Labor Broker Practices

On April 19, 2021, NELP testified before the New York City Council on Consumer Affairs and Business Licensing in support of New York Laborers Local 79’s campaign to challenge labor broker practices that target New Yorkers under parole supervision (and other forms of court-related surveillance) for underpaid and dangerous work. Requiring transparency, registration, and greater reporting (including disclosure of hourly wage and benefits, demographics of workers, and worker classification) from opaque and unregulated body shops and labor brokers–as Local 79 demands–is a modest but important common-sense first step towards dismantling structural racism built into both the criminal legal system and the labor market.