Blog | Page 2 of 53 | Upstate United

Jul 13 2022

22 Assembly Democrats Call on Governor Hochul to Tackle New York’s Unemployment Insurance Crisis

In a letter sent to Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday, July 11, 22 members of the New York State Assembly’s Democratic conference requested that the governor use higher-than-expected revenues to pay down New York’s $8.1 billion UI debt to the federal government. This letter signals a new movement in the fight for UI relief which […]

Jun 7 2022

The 2022 Legislative Session is Over. Now What?

Last week, members of the New York State Senate and Assembly wrapped up the 2022 legislative session. During the course of the session, both houses of the Legislature passed more than 1,000 bills. Last month, in partnership with NFIB of NY, we identified a package of bills that we dubbed The Excessive Seven that would […]

May 19 2022

Guest column: New York’s climate plan is unaffordable, unreliable

The following op-ed was originally published in the Auburn Citizen on Thursday, May 19, 2022 As the public input period regarding New York’s climate plan comes to a close, I want to highlight two commonsense issues that were raised during the recent public hearings hosted by the Climate Action Council: affordability and reliability. These may […]

May 13 2022

Upstate United Speaks Out Against All-Electric Building Act

Yesterday, members of the New York State Assembly held a hearing regarding the All-Electric Building Act. If you’re not familiar with this proposal, here’s a description of the measure via the New York State Senate website: Enacts the “all-electric building act”; provides that the state energy conservation construction code shall prohibit infrastructure, building systems, or […]

Apr 28 2022

Another Voice: New York’s $9.6 billion hidden tax on consumers is coming

The following op-ed was originally published in The Buffalo News on April 27, 2022 Given the staggering size of this year’s $221 billion budget, it stands to reason that Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders would have enacted some unemployment insurance relief for employers across the state. After months of intense advocacy efforts by our […]

Apr 1 2022

Speak Out Against New York’s Flawed Climate Plan

New York State’s Climate Action Council have announced a schedule of 10 public hearings to receive public feedback on its Draft Scoping Plan. As we’ve previously written, this plan has a very big price tag but will have a very little impact on the global climate. We encourage you to register for an in-person meeting […]

Mar 28 2022

Elected Officials and Business Leaders Call for Unemployment Insurance Relief in State Budget

ALBANY, NY – Several employer-based organizations including Upstate United, NFIB of NY, the Business Council of New York State, New York Farm Bureau, the Capital Region Chamber of Commerce, the Business Council of Westchester, the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, New York Association of Convenience Stores, the New York […]

Mar 9 2022

New York is Awfully Quiet About Public Input on its Climate Plan

As we’ve previously written about, New York is preparing to unleash a climate plan that comes with big changes and an even bigger price tag. The state’s Climate Action Council (CAC) has released a 341-page draft scoping plan that highlights some of these changes and has an online form where you can comment on that […]

Feb 3 2022

New York’s $340 Billion Plan to Go Green Will Have New Yorkers Seeing Red

In July 2019, New York passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The sweeping plan is designed to reduce New York’s carbon footprint and create new jobs in the process. While that sounds good on paper, the cost and end result of the CLCPA are eye-opening. Legislative testimony from The Empire Center, an independent, […]

Jan 28 2022

Upstate United Offers Testimony About New York’s Agriculture Overtime Threshold

The following testimony was provided by Upstate United executive director Justin Wilcox to the New York State Department of Labor Farm Labor Wage Board on Friday, January 28, 2022. Members of the wage board, I want to start by thanking you for the opportunity to speak about this important issue. My name is Justin Wilcox. […]