Long Island’s faith leaders are front and center speaking up against ICE and fighting for a solidarity economy for all communities who call our region home. Read on for two events taking place soon where you can stand with them and join the movement rolling back the billionaire-backed authoritarian overreach currently robbing Long Islanders of their ability to thrive!

Day of the Disappeared Vigil & Rally – November 23

For years, day laborers gathered peacefully to find work in front of the CVS on Depot Road in Huntington Station. Their peace was shattered this year by the Trump Administration’s cruel deportation policies. Since March, about 25 of these workers have been abducted by ICE – disappeared.

We don’t know their names; we don’t know where they were taken; we can’t find their families to notify them that their loved one has disappeared. This is happening all over Long Island and around the country.

We need you to stand with our disappeared immigrant neighbors on Sunday, November 23rd, 3PM, for an interfaith prayer vigil. ALL ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE – this event is for all people of goodwill, religious or non-religious.

Human Rights Luncheon – December 10

Long Island Jobs with Justice invites you to join us and many other friends from LI’s labor, faith, and community organizations for our 2025 Human Rights Luncheon on December 10th. We are living through a moment of immense challenge for all those dedicated to the struggle for justice. The authoritarian escalations and skyrocketing insecurity of working people over the last year are driving home the fact that fundamental changes are needed. We need a solidarity economy that provides for everyone, rather than an extractive system that rewards the wealthy at the expense of working people!

We will be convening to discuss just how to do that, and honor one of the people helping make it happen right now, Susan Steinmann!

We hope you’ll be there to commemorate Human Rights Day and honor Susan for her determination in fighting for justice for all on Long Island.  Click here or the flyer below for tickets!

The day will begin with a press conference, “Why We Speak for Solidarity With Immigrants,” where Long Island faith leaders will speak out against the inhumane deportations sweeping through our communities, and will be followed by a luncheon, “Building a Solidarity Economy on Long Island,” where we will celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, honor Susan and dream together as we fight for a more just, solidarity-based economy.

Our goal is to raise $20,000 to keep this work alive and our organization strong! As fear and intimidation threaten both our communities and our funders, we’re turning to the strength and generosity of our friends and allies. Stand with us and attend, sponsor, or donate to ensure we can keep fighting for justice on Long Island.  

We hope to see you there on December 10th!

In Solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice

Long Island Jobs with Justice invites you to join us and many other friends from LI’s labor, faith, and community organizations for our 2025 Human Rights Luncheon on December 10th. We are living through a moment of immense challenge for all those dedicated to the struggle for justice. The authoritarian escalations and skyrocketing insecurity of working people over the last year are driving home the fact that fundamental changes are needed. We need a solidarity economy that provides for everyone, rather than an extractive system that rewards the wealthy at the expense of working people!

Click here or the flyer below for tickets!

We will begin with a press conference titled “Why We Speak For Solidarity With Immigrants,” where Long Island faith leaders from across traditions will speak out against the unjust and inhumane deportations sweeping through our communities and the harmful actions being committed by our federal government.

Following the press conference, we invite you to a luncheon, “Building a Solidarity Economy on Long Island,” where we will celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by honoring a community advocate who lives out its values in their daily work (honoree will be announced soon). At the heart of the luncheon will be the sharing of economic justice principles shaped by leaders across faith, ethical, and secular traditions.  

While decision-makers at every level stand by as ICE terrorizes our communities and working people struggle under the crushing cost of living, this event will bring together seekers and fighters of justice. Immigration and corporate greed are two sides of the same coin – systems that profit from displacement and division. Our struggle for justice must confront both to build a future where people always come before profit!

We’ve set an ambitious goal to raise $20,000 so that we can keep our organization running and doing the necessary work! The fear and intimidation used against our communities have also reached our funders, making it urgent that we build community-based support. We’re asking our friends and allies across Long Island to stand with us by attending, sponsoring or donating to ensure we can stay in the fight another year.

We hope to see you there on December 10th!

In Solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice

We had an amazing and memorable 2025 Awards Dinner in September and surpassed our $45,000 fundraising goal with a final total of $48,342.85 raised! Thank you to everyone who joined us at Captain Bill’s and those who supported but weren’t able to attend! We’d also like to extend a special thanks to our dinner sponsors and all the individuals and others who made the event so special.

Much of the dinner’s focus was on transparency and accountability on LI school construction projects involving the collaboration between honorees Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages and Vincent Alu of Laborers Local 66. We debuted a video that goes into detail about the exploitation currently taking place across LI as unscrupulous contractors skirt existing law to underpay their workers and expose them to unsafe conditions. Watch the video here and stay tuned for things you can do to support Project Labor Agreement Legislation that will bring union-led accountability to LI school construction!

Starbucks Workers Still Going Strong and Fighting!

Starbucks Workers United workers are ready for a fair contract and *will not* back down until they win what they deserve! Recently LIJWJ joined friends from CSEA Local 830 and others at a practice picket in Oceanside to show solidarity with local Starbucks workers.

Baristas know how best to run their stores and serve their customers! Their collective knowledge is worth many times more than the tens of millions Starbucks pays its CEO each year. The company would do well to sit down, negotiate a fair contract, and start treating their workers like partners.

Follow this link to sign the No Contract? No Coffee! pledge today and let the workers know you’re with them!! And stay tuned for more calls to action from Starbucks Workers United in the near future!!

Support Local CWA Workers!

The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program was supposed to fund a major broadband expansion across New York — prioritizing strong labor standards and creating good union jobs for CWA members.

But the federal government just changed the rules — stripping labor protections and the fiber preference we fought hard to win. Now, 25% of the work — the largest portion — is being given to Elon Musk’s Starlink, 44% is going to fixed wireless, while union employers like Verizon are left building out fiber to only a handful of locations. This slashes the work our members were counting on and lines the pockets of the richest man in the world.

Take action now: Tell the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to reinstate the fiber preference and labor standards in the BEAD program.

Our Broadband Brigade — made up of CWA telecom workers across New York — has spent years pushing for reliable broadband and union job creation through BEAD. We’ve passed key legislation to ensure this work is subject to strong labor standards, pays prevailing wage, and prioritizes reliable, durable fiber technology and we secured support from county governments across New York for union employers to get this funding.

But unless we act now, those gains will be wiped out.

👉 Sign the petition here to demand the NTIA stop this attack on good, union jobs and invest in reliable, high-speed fiber broadband

Petition to Restore South Shore University Hospital’s Department of Language Access Services

South Shore University Hospital’s Department of Language Access Services was abruptly closed recently in a unilateral decision made by hospital administrators. The skilled interpreters who staffed the department are 1199 SEIU members.

The closure of the department represents a deep loss for local residents and for the health professionals who serve them. This comes at a time when many immigrants and their families are experiencing heightened levels of stress due to immigration enforcement, economic instability, and the loss of critical support systems. This has had a great impact on their health and wellbeing, particularly in the Latino community, which comprises nearly half of the hospital’s patient population. It is essential that all community members be able to trust their healthcare providers and that any barriers to timely and professional service be removed. Eliminating the hospital’s interpreter unit is detrimental to maintaining that trust and to meeting those professional standards.

To let the hospital administration know you support the reinstatement of the department, and the importance it holds for the community SSUH serves, click this link or the image above and sign the petition today!

In Solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice

RSVP for LIJWJ’s 2025 Awards Dinner Here!

We’re just about a week away and time is running out to secure your spot at the 2025 LIJWJ Awards Dinner!  As of this email we’ve raised $40,850.00 of our $45,000 goal, which is amazing! We’re really close to our goal, and your ticket purchase, sponsorship, or donation can help us reach the finish line!  Be sure to join us to connect with others, celebrate our honorees and experience an energizing, movement-strengthening, and worker-centered evening.

To hear about the importance of LIJWJ’s coalition building around transparency and accountability in school construction, check out this video of 2025 honorees Assem. Michaelle Solages and Vinny Alu!  

And help us reach our $45,000 fundraising goal by getting your tickets now using this link!

Emergency Call on Recent Supreme Court Decision! Tonight at 7PM EST!

From our friends at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (register here):

“The Supreme Court has lifted a lower court order that had temporarily halted the Trump Administration’s terrorizing raids in Los Angeles. The decision paves the way for racial profiling, false arrests, and unchecked violence against immigrant workers.

Join us for an emergency national call to organize, strategize, and mobilize.

We must protect our communities and hold the line where the courts have failed. Immigrant workers need solidarity—not tomorrow, but TODAY.

The call will include:

1. Updates from the ground in Los Angeles
2. Legal and policy analysis
3. Testimony from impacted workers
4. Concrete steps for action

Spanish interpretation will be available.

The whole system is failing. But we must not.”

In Solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice

LIJWJ Awards Dinner Announcement!

Tickets and sponsorships are now available for LIJWJ’s annual Awards Dinner on Wednesday, September 17 from 6 – 830PM at Captain Bill’s in Bay Shore! We’re very excited to announce our first honorees Vincent Alu, Business Manager of Laborers 66, and Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages. There will be more TBA and we’ll be featuring spotlights on the amazing work each of our honorees does for LI in the coming weeks. In the meantime, head to this link to reserve your spot now!

Petition for Public Officials to Stand Against ICE on Long Island

Despite huge outcries from across LI, ICE is only increasing its brutal campaign of fear and brutal abductions. In response, leaders in LI’s immigrant community have organized petitions to LI’s congressional delegation and numerous Nassau County agencies and officials in response to the surge in ICE activity that is terrorizing our communities.

Below are links to ad your name to the petitions to join a growing chorus of Long Islanders standing for justice, including 215 LI faith leaders who have signed on to a joint letter condemning ICE’s actions.

Petition to LI’s Congressional Delegation

Petition to Nassau County Agencies & Officials

Starbucks Sip-In in Oceanside

LI Starbucks workers are once again calling for community support, this time in Oceanside where an election will take place at the end of the month. Showing your support is as simple as visiting the store, ordering a drink with the name Union Strong, leaving a cash tip, and hanging out for a while to let the workers know you stand with them. The sip in will be happening between 12 and 4PM this Saturday July 27th.

If you plan on attending please let us know by emailing kpfalzer.lijwj@gmail.com!

In Solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice

LIJWJ Awards Dinner Announcement!

Mark you calendars for LIJWJ’s annual Awards Dinner on Wednesday, September 17 from 6 – 830PM at Captain Bill’s in Bay Shore! We’ll have honoree announcements and link for tickets and sponsorships next week. Stay tuned!

Deportation Vigil

Thank you to all who joined the Deportation Vigil last week in Huntington Station from a diverse array of faith traditions to unite in support of our immigrant neighbors terrorized by ICE. Central to the LI faith community’s opposition to ICE’s cruel and immoral actions is a joint statement which reads:

“As people of faith, we denounce, we condemn, the current United States mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, many of whom have fled extreme violence and poverty in their native lands. We are a nation of immigrants. Many of our ancestors fled similar conditions and upon arrival here worked hard to give their families a new life, building railroads and businesses, working in factories and farms, schools and hospitals. Immigration is the great and inspiring story of this nation.”

Here is the statement in its entirety, signed by almost 200 Long Island clergy and other faith leaders.

To read more about the vigil, here are links to Newsday’s and News12’s coverage of the event.

Workers United NY/NJ Regional Joint Board is Hiring!

The position is Bilingual English-Spanish Worksite Organizer based, in New York City, NY.  

“The New York New Jersey Regional Joint Board of Workers United is a Union dedicated to improving the experience of working people through developing militant shop leadership and ambitious new organizing. The labor movement is at a key point where workers, across the country and in many different industries, are taking bold action and winning big. At the same time, our movement is also up against enormous obstacles, and our Union is working to forge a new path by prioritizing new leadership among our members and organizing consistently to build power and win.

The Bilingual Worksite Organizer will work in a variety of industries side-by-side with worker leaders and assigned staff. This work will include shops negotiating improvements in established contracts and shops that will be working to win ambitious first contracts.”

Here is the link with all the details.  Please share with anyone you know who may be interested!

In Solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice

ICE is terrorizing our immigrant friends and neighbors. With our local governments and representatives silent or openly supporting their campaign of fear and violence, it is left to community members to stand up. On Tuesday July 1 at Gloria Dei Church in Huntington Station, we hope you’ll join LI faith leaders in a peaceful demonstration of solidarity.

Here is the statement, signed by 182 Long Island clergy and other faith leaders as of this morning, which will be read at the vigil.

We hope to see you there.

In Solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice