We Can Do Better:
Policies and Priorities for
Working Families in New York

United Federation of Teachers Building
52 Broadway, New York NY
December 7th, 9am-3:15pm

Co-Convenors:
The Center for NYC Affairs at the New School
Demos
Drum Major Institute
Fiscal Policy Institute
Pratt Center for Community Development
Progressive States Network
The Public Policy & Education Fund of New York

*Conference materials for download are marked with an asterisk.
For photos, click here.

New York Observer on CWF Conference:

Silver Declares ‘Hard Fights Ahead' on Budget, 12/7/07

"Sheldon Silver today told a luncheon for the newly formed Center for Working Families ... that the upcoming budget season might not be all that cheery. 'Historically, economic downturns are the impetus for major policy disagreements -- we expect some hard fights ahead next year,' he told the crowd of more than 100, which included a handful of Democratic electeds.

"He also opened the door for raising taxes on the wealthy, and in the process, seemed to take a jab at Governor Spitzer’s vow to never raise taxes while he is in office.

"'On the subject of taxes, I have never believed in making pledges, not given our economy, or the fact that no elected leader operates in a vacuum,” he said. “Ultimately if one idea is on the table, everything must be on the table, including the expectation that our wealthiest citizens should shoulder a greater share of the tax burden.'"

Agenda

Opening Plenary:  9:00 – 10:50 am

Getting Started: Lisa Donner & Deirdre Schifeling
                            Co-Directors, Center for Working Families
*Welcome letter from the Center for Working Families (CWF doc)
   Biographies of panelists (doc)

Welcome: Randi Weingarten, UFT
Introduction of Keynote Speaker: Bertha Lewis, ACORN
Keynote Speaker: Paul Krugman
Respondent Panel:

 

Bob Master & Paul Krugman
speak in Plenary
  • Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith
  • Assemblyman Darryl Towns, Chair of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, & Asian Legislative Caucus
  • NYC Central Labor Council Executive Director Ed Ott
  • Community Service Society President David Jones

Moderator and Summary Remarks: Bob Master, CWA
What the Polls Say: Rick Johnson, Vice President, Lake Research Partners

*Materials:
 Research on National Trends & Progressive Messaging (Lake Partners ppt)

Panel Discussions I:  11:00 am- 12:15 pm

Restoring Fairness to New York State Taxes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moderator: Andrea Batista Schlesinger, Drum Major Institute
Opening Presenter: Frank Mauro, Fiscal Policy Institute
Panelists:

  • Senate Deputy Minority Leader Jeff Klein
  • Assemblywoman Sandra Galef, Chair, Real Property Taxation Committee
  • Alan Lubin, Vice President, NYSUT
  • Nassau County Legislator David Mejias

*Materials:
Progressive Tax Policy Memo (CWF doc)
Restoring Tax Fairness (FPI powerpoint presentation)
Circuit Breaker Bill - A1575 (legislation authored by Assemblywoman Galef)
Blue Ribbon Commission - A9239 (legislation authored by Assemblywoman Galef)

Affordable, Quality Health Care for All
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moderator: Adam Thompson, Progressive States Network
Opening Presenter: Richard Kirsch, Citizen Action of New York
Panelists:

  • Senator John Sampson, Ranking Member, Senate Health Committee
  • Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, Chair, Assembly Health Committee
  • Michael Fishman, SEIU Local 32BJ
  • Jessica Shearer, SEIU Local 1199/Greater New York Hospital Association Healthcare Education Project
  • Ana Maria Archila, Make the Road New York
Panel Discussions II:  12:20 – 1:20 pm

Affordable Housing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moderator: Brad Lander, Pratt Center for Community Development

Panelists:

  • Senator Liz Krueger, Ranking Member, Senate Housing Committee
  • Assemblyman Vito Lopez, Chair, Assembly Housing Committee
  • Bertha Lewis, ACORN / New York is Our Home
  • Jim Morgo, Suffolk County Commissioner of Workforce Housing
  • Paige Bellebaum, Director of Advocacy, Habitat for Humanity-NYC

 

 


Paige Bellenbaum talks about New York State Housing Trust Fund campaign

*Materials:
"Losing Ground: How Middle Class, Working & Poor New Yorkers Are Being Priced Out" (NY Is Our Home pdf)

Economic Development and Good Jobs
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Moderator: Adrianne Shropshire, Jobs with Justice
Panelists:

  • Senator Bill Perkins, Ranking Member, Senate Corporations, Authorities & Commissions Committee
  • Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, Chair, Assembly Corporations, Authorities & Commissions Committee
  • James Parrott, Fiscal Policy Institute
  • Kevin Doyle, SEIU Local 32BJ
  • May Chen, UNITE-HERE
  • J. Phillip Thompson, Associate Professor of Urban Politics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

*Materials:
Economic Development & Good Jobs in New York State's Economy (FPI doc)
Getting Our Money's Worth (JWJ pdf) Full Report / Key Findings / Summary

Democracy and Public Financing of Elections
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Moderator:Kevin Powell, author and activist
Opening Presenter:Karen Scharff, Citizen Action
Respondents:

  • Senator Eric Schneiderman, Ranking Member, Senate Codes Committee
  • Assemblywoman Ann-Margaret Carrozza, Chair, Assembly Election Law Committee
  • Connecticut Majority Leader Chris Donavan
  • Suzanne Novak, Brennan Center for Justice
  • Regina Eaton, Demos


Remarks by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver 1:20 – 2:15pm


Lunch

 

NYS Assembly Speaker Silver addresses CWF on policy.

Panel Discussions III 2:15 - 3:15pm

Work-Family Balance
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moderator: Andrew White, Center for NYC Affairs at the New School
Opening Presenter: Janet Gornick, Baruch College
Respondents:

  • Senator George Maziarz, Chair, Senate Labor Committee
  • Assemblywoman Susan John, Chair, Assembly Labor Committee
  • Ana Polanco, Center for Working Families / UNITE HERE
  • Michelle Bodden, UFT
  • Linda Lisi Juergens, National Association of Mothers Centers

Clean Energy / Green Jobs
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Moderator: Emmaia Gelman, Senior Policy Organizer, Center for Working Families


Panelists:

Energy & Jobs panel hears about green economic transformation.
  • Senator Kevin Parker, Ranking Member, Senate Energy Committee
  • Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr., Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee
  • Jeff Jones, Coordinator, NY State Apollo Alliance
  • Michael McGuire, Mason Tenders District Council Political Action Committee
  • Majora Carter, Sustainable South Bronx
  • Adam Friedman, Executive Director, New York Industrial Retention Network

*Materials:
CWF Proposal: A NYS Residential Retrofit Fund (CWF doc)
Manufacturing a Susainable New York (NYIRN pdf)