Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs Hosts an Immigrant Media Roundtable for May Day

For Immediate Release: May 1, 2024

Contact: Shaina Coronel, scoronel@cityhall.nyc.gov

Immigrant media roundtables are part of MOIA's efforts to city resources available to immigrant New Yorkers.

New York, NY - May 1st, 2024 - Today, The Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) hosted an immigrant media roundtable in honor of May Day to discuss the newly expanded Workers' Bill of Rights, a multilingual and comprehensive guide to rights in the workplace in New York City.

May Day is International Worker's Day, which commemorates the struggle of worker's unions and labor movements to fight for to a free and fair workplace. Immigrants are a key component of this advocacy and consistently have been on the front lines fighting for better wages, safer working conditions, and equal rights. Immigrant workers continue to be among the most vulnerable to workplace violations due to their race, religion, gender, status, language, and country of origin.

Workers' Bill of Rights

This new version of the Workers' Bill of Rights summarizes additional city laws, and now also includes state and federal laws that protect workers and job applicants in New York City, regardless of immigration status.

"Today, we commemorate International May Day by not only honoring the invaluable contributions of immigrant workers in shaping New York City but also by emphasizing the critical need to safeguard their rights across various industries, including health, safety, and other fields." said Manuel Castro, Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs. "We extend our gratitude to DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga for collaborating with our agency to cohost this immigrant media roundtable, engaging with NYC's immigrant media, who serve as our trusted liaisons, bridging local immigrant communities with city agencies. Together, we ensure that all New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status, are informed about and have access to essential city services."

"This May Day, we're celebrating the progress we've made together as a city over the last few years to help working New Yorkers realize their rights and create more just workplaces," said DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga. "Making sure that workers are treated fairly is a constant effort and we are proud to support them. Thank you to Mayor Adams for prioritizing the needs of working New Yorkers and their families, and to Commissioner Castro for partnering with us to help educate our neighbors, especially those who are new to our country and city, about their worker rights."

This roundtable is part of MOIA's monthly activation to share information on the available city resources and services. In New York City, workers have rights regardless of their immigration status. For additional resources available to NYC workers, visit Delivery Workers, Paid Safe and Sick Leave, What Employees Need to Know, Fair Workweek or call 311 and say "worker".