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February 6, 2012 
Are New York Voters of Color Getting a Fair Shake?
By
Mike Clifford
/ Public News Service
Brentwood, NY (New York News Connection) - Do new state voting districts accurately reflect recent growth in local populations of color? Long Island is the focal point today in the statewide controversy over districts being proposed by a legislative task force.
The Legislative Task force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment released proposed voting district maps 10 days ago.
The maps, says Daniel Altschuler, coordinator for the Long Island Civic Engagement Table [a project of Make the Road NY], follow a familiar pattern of leaving downstate New Yorkers at a disadvantage compared with voters upstate. He says that’s particularly true of the proposed Senate districts on Long Island.
“For instance, in Suffolk County, we know that all of the demographic growth has been in communities of color – and yet we see that the map is strikingly similar to what it was before, suggesting that those who are making the map did not take those demographic changes into account.”
Suffolk County’s population, Altschuler says, would have dropped in the latest U.S. census were it not for the influx of tens of thousands of Latinos and people of color, and the county’s Senate districts should have shifted as a consequence. His group is co-sponsoring a forum tonight in Brentwood to help community members respond to the proposed redistricting plans.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants an independent commission to draw the new political boundaries. Cuomo may have to follow through on a threat to veto lines the Legislature is proposing, says Luis Valenzuela, executive director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, because those lines heavily favor incumbent lawmakers.
“It coincides with voter suppression and disenfranchisement, so Cuomo is going to have to deliver on his statement to veto any lines that have a negative impact.”
To listen to the program or read the original article, click here.
More on: Expanding Civil Rights 
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 Historic Paid Sick Days Victory in NYC!New York City just became the largest city in the U.S.to win paid sick days! On May 8, 2013, the City Council passed legislation to require paid sick days for one million New Yorkers. Without this critical legal protection, workers risk losing their jobs for taking a sick day. When workers go in to work sick, they put the public and their co-workers at risk of disease.
Starting April 2014, all workers will be protected from being fired if they must take a sick day to care for themselves or a sick family member, and workers at larger employers will receive 5 paid days of sick leave each year.
This major workplace justice and public health victory is the product of a four-year campaign led by courageous workers and small businesses who stood up for what’s right. We thank our partners at the Working Families Party, the NYS Paid Family Leave Coalition, SEIU 32BJ, the Progressive Caucus, Speaker Quinn and Council Members Brewer and Ferreras, for standing with us for NYC’s workers. 
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