Workers’ Center of Central New York (WCCNY)

Call us at 315-218-5708.

Visit us at the Syracuse Center for Peace and Social Justice, 2013 E Genesee St.

The Workers’ Center of Central New York is a community based organization focused on building worker power and improving the immediate economic and workplace conditions of workers in low-wage sectors in our community.

Our work is focused on issues such as fair wages, workplace health and safety, building worker power through organizing, and winning long term structural and policy changes to benefit workers.

We are a membership organization that supports and empowers workers from all backgrounds to combat workplace abuses and organize. We have a base of urban members in Syracuse where we have our office, as well as a strong base among immigrant farmworkers throughout CNY and the North Country. We provide meeting space, trainings, leadership development, workshops on timely issues/campaigns, and hold monthly membership meetings.

Our trainings are heavily grounded in popular education techniques and cover topics such as workers’ rights, health and safety at work, campaign development, power analysis, and organizing tools. We also offer platforms, such as WhatsApp groups, member meetings and social gatherings, for workers to directly connect with and support one another.

The Workers Center grew out of an economic justice project originally initiated by the CNY Labor-Religion Coalition in 2005. In 2006, Rebecca Fuentes was hired part-time to organize with a focus on the issues facing low-wage and immigrant workers in the Syracuse area. Over time, membership was built, and wage theft fights were won. The WCCNY developed a reputation for advancing social justice, empowering workers, and carrying out sustained, worker-led campaigns. By 2013, WCCNY was incorporated as its own 501c3 entity. Since then we have grown to five staff people, with our offices based out of the Syracuse Center for Peace and Social Justice.

We have been a part of several historic victories in the past 5 years, including:

winning access to drivers licenses regardless of immigration status in 2019
supporting Crispin Hernandez, former undocumented farmworker (who since became a WCCNY organizer) as the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the State of NY to win the right for farmworkers to organize
a successful legislative campaign to pass the Farm Laborer Fair Labor Practices Act, giving workers the right to over-time pay at 60 hours, the right to a day of rest and the right to unionize
in 2021, we were an Upstate anchor of the Excluded Workers Coalition that won an historic $2.1 billion relief fund for NYS workers who were excluded from unemployment benefits during the pandemic
in 2022, we helped over 20 workers testify at hearings that resulted in a phase-in plan to lower the overtime threshold for farmers to 40 hours
in 2022, we helped workers recover over $30,000 in stolen wages

In 2023, we’re fighting for just housing for farmworkers, doing outreach to distribute over $300,000 in pandemic relief to farmworkers through the USDA Farm & Food Worker Relief Program, working with the NY Immigration Coalition to win access to state-funded representation for immigrations facing deportation in NYS, and building on the success of the Excluded Workers Fund to create a permanent Unemployment Bridge Program to cover several categories of workers currently excluded from traditional UI.

We’ll also be celebrating 10 years since our incorporation! You can learn more and get involved by coming to our volunteer orientation at our office on Thursday, June 8, 6-7PM, signing up for our monthly E-Blast at www.workerscny.org, following us on FaceBook (@WorkersCNY), participating in our annual soccer tournament fundraiser on July 30 or coming to our 10th anniversary celebration in the fall. Please feel free to reach out to our team for more information, we can all be reached at 315-218-5708:

Jessica Maxwell, Executive Director

Crispin Hernandez, Farmworker Organizer

Fernanda Uribe, Farmworker Organizer

Mina Aguilar, Campaigns and Membership Organizer

Victor Maria Chaman, Writer-in-Residence