Res. No. 447 Title Resolution calling upon the appropriate committee of the Council of the City of New York to hold a hearing on the issues and concerns of immigrant day laborers. Body By Council Members Sears, Avella, Baez, Barron, Comrie, Fidler, Gioia, Gennaro, Katz, Quinn, Recchia, Sanders, Stewart and Brewer Whereas, New York City is proud to say that it is a city of immigrants, without whose workforce this City would be the poorer in many respects; and Whereas, The quality of life in this great City is of utmost importance to its inhabitants, whether they be citizens of long-standing, or whether they be new arrivals; and Whereas, This City and this Council is profoundly concerned with issues of fairness and justice for all its inhabitants throughout all its boroughs and neighborhoods, each district with its unique concerns, but all united in a desire to act fairly; and Whereas, The United States Congress needs to address the issue of minimally skilled or unskilled workers in this Country, many of whom are undocumented or who have only recently emigrated to this Country; and Whereas, Some unscrupulous employers may use these workers and then deny them their lawful wages, exploiting their undocumented state, particularly in the aftermath of the United States Supreme Court ruling this year in the case of Hoffman Plastic Compounds v. NLRB, where the Supreme Court held that undocumented workers are not entitled to back pay remedies under the National Labor Relations Act; and Whereas, This is an issue of global, national, regional and local concern, inasmuch as a large influx of immigrant day laborers congregating on public streets and awaiting contractors to drive by and hire them for the day has become a potential crisis throughout the City of New York, as to cite only one example, in the Borough of Queens, on Roosevelt Avenue, hundreds of men stand around throughout the day awaiting offers of employment; and Whereas, This constant milling about has caused complaints from community residents and local businesses, as customers are deterred from shopping and residents have complained about penal law violations; and Whereas, It behooves the Council to address the humanity of this very complex issue as well as its legal ramifications, inasmuch as we cannot lawfully endorse illegal immigration and we do not wish employers to exploit these workers; and Whereas, This issue cannot and should not be addressed solely as an illegal immigration issue, but is one of federal import, which may be addressed by Congress; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the appropriate committee of the Council of the City of New York hold hearings regarding the issues and concerns of immigrant day laborers. |10
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