2024 LIJWJ Honoree Spotlight, Starbucks News, and More!

We’re thrilled to feature our first 2024 Awards Dinner honoree spotlight! Today we’ll focus in on and celebrate the work of the Elmont Cultural Center!


“The Elmont Cultural Center, also referred to as The Cultural Center, serves as a pivotal hub for fostering effective organization and mobilization in nonpartisan voter education, civic education, and various challenges hindering progress. Our Mission promotes cultural exchange through community events that unite residents, fostering robust and cohesive neighborhoods.”

LIJWJ has worked and collaborated extensively with ECC as a part of the We Are Long Island collaborative. They do amazing work for the Elmont community including hosting large community-centered events and empowering people politically through advocacy on issues like climate, immigration, and transit equity. ECC understands and knows that all of these issues are inseparable and that together we are more powerful.

If you’re not following them on Instagram already, head over and start today! And stay tuned over the next month as we spotlight the rest of our powerful and inspiring 2024 honorees!

Stay tuned for more spotlights on our other honorees:

And be sure to join us for an energizing, movement-strengthening, and worker-centered evening on Tuesday July 30 at Captain Bill’s in Bay Shore! Help us reach our $40,000 fundraising goal by getting your tickets now using this link or by sending us this form!

West Hempstead Starbucks Win!

If you haven’t heard the news, we have ANOTHER unionized Starbucks on LI!! 🎉



The West Hempstead store at 580 Hempstead Tpke. voted last Thursday to become the NINTH Starbucks organized with Starbucks Workers United! A few days before the vote LIJWJ staff, board, and community members dropped by the store to say ‘hi’ and show support.



Congrats to the workers on a successful vote! Your community isn’t going anywhere and we’ll be alongside you in your struggle for a contract and beyond!

Rally in Defense of Trans Rights This Saturday!

From our friends at Gender Equality New York:

“Bring signs, noise makers and your voice! Join us to express your opposition to the Nassau County Trans Ban Bill… Join us this Saturday. June 24 at noon on the steps of the legislative building in Mineola, NY.”

Get the Latest on the Unemployment Bridge Program TODAY at 5!

The Fund Excluded Workers Coalition (FEW) is hosting campaign updates to share the latest in the push for unemployment justice. LIJWJ will be crossposting both streams on our Facebook page. Head over to FB on your own or use our profile link to tune in!

“Join the Fund Excluded Workers Coalition for a campaign update on Thursday, June 27th at 5pm (English with Bangla and Haitian-Creole interpretation) and Monday, July 1st at 6pm (Spanish) over Facebook Live. We will review key updates from this legislative session, as well as our plan to win the Unemployment Bridge Program so thousands of excluded workers can access unemployment compensation!”

In solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice

LIJWJ Awards Dinner Honorees Announcement!! 

LIJWJ is proud to announce our 2024 Awards Dinner Honorees! These organizations and individuals are among those at the forefront of the fight for justice on LI!

We’re excited to elevate and celebrate the work of:

Stay tuned for spotlights on each of our honorees to learn more about the important work they do!

The theme of this year’s awards dinner is CONNECTEDNESS. Greedy and unscrupulous bosses who use their wealth to wield control in our workplaces and government know that workers are weaker individually than they are collectively. It is a feature, not a bug, that people feel increasingly isolated from one another, especially on highly segregated Long Island.  

We all would do well to subvert this trend by intentionally connecting with one another to strengthen us both individually and collectively. The struggles those fighting for justice endure are a bit easier when fought alongside others.

With this in mind, LIJWJ is using this large gathering of likeminded folks to do just that. So in addition to the usual worker-centered revelry we enjoy every year, come prepared with an open heart and mind to get to know someone you didn’t before!

Join us for an energizing, movement-strengthening, and worker-centered evening on Tuesday July 30 at Captain Bill’s in Bay Shore! Get your tickets now using this link or by sending us this form!

In solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice

Fight Wage Theft, UAW News, and Upcoming LI Events!! 

Bosses Steal (a lot)

Here’s the latest from our ongoing social media series Bosses Steal (a lot)! Are you following us on social media? If not, be sure to head over to our Instagram @LIJWJ or Facebook and hit the follow button!

Know the facts about wage theft! There’s a huge crime wave happening right before our eyes, but it’s not one you’re likely to hear or read about in the news. Our communities are being looted by bosses and our state institutions aren’t doing enough to stop it.

Have your wages ever been stolen by your boss? Let us know using this form (here it is in Spanish and Haitian-Creole too!). And please share with friends or anyone you know whose boss has stolen from them! We’re building a movement to stop wage theft and need your input!

United Auto Workers Organizing – On LI and Nationally

UAW has been in national news quite a bit in the last year with a successful unionization of a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TN, and a more recent failed union vote in Vance, AL. More locally we’ve had UAW activity on LI with Local 259 organizing at EmPower Solar and just in the last week a successful strike at South Shore Kia in Copiague.

From National Jobs With Justice – “The world is watching as American workers, especially in the South, assert their power to demand fair treatment…Jobs With Justice calls on the broader labor movement to meet the opportunity by boldly calling for industry-wide interventions that create a friendlier terrain for unionization.

To build a future that considers worker voices, the labor movement must seize this opportunity to advocate for industry-wide standards that address climate adaptation, racial wealth divide, and democratic practices at work.“

We’re super proud of our local UAW workers bringing this fight to LI.  Stay tuned to our emails and social media for the latest news and ways to show solidarity with workers!

Bellport Community Garden Education Event Coming This Weekend!

There’s a special chance to connect with other like minded folks and with the Earth coming up! LIJWJ, the Brookhaven Landfill Action & Remediation Group (BLARG), and 1199 SEUI’s Healthcare Education Program (HEP) are hosting From Garden to Table to Black Gold on May 25 from 12 -2PM! The event will feature teach-ins on how the garden operates and the important place it holds in the Bellport community.


This is a great chance to learn about a living, breathing community project that is bringing people together to fight for justice! To register for this event head to this link!

Invitation to this event comes from Long Island Jobs with Justice’s AMOS Committee and is part of their Justice Ministries in Action initiative that is seeking to build and deepen relationships among people of faith on Long Island, activate a growing network of individuals and faith-based organizations who are motivated to learn about community-rooted projects, and inspire a community of people to take action against economic injustice.

LIJWJ Awards Dinner

Save the date! The Annual LIJWJ Awards Dinner, where we gather in community to recognize inspiring local individuals, organizations, and unions, is officially on the calendar for Tuesday July 30 from 6 – 8:30PM at Captain Bill’s!


Stay tuned for RSVP info and honoree announcements!

In solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice

Starbucks Workers’ Rights Board Report OUT NOW and More!!

Starbucks Workers Rights Report is OUT NOW!

After a powerful hearing, and months of coordination with workers and the Workers’ Rights Board commissioners, we’re pleased to announce the board’s report is out today! Head to this link to have a read! The report contains testimonies from the workers alongside commissioner recommendations to Starbucks on how they can resolve and repair the problems they created by exploiting and harassing their workers.

Earlier today LIJWJ was joined by Workers’ Rights Board Commissioners, community and labor supporters, and Starbucks workers at a press conference for the report’s release.  

“It’s not just about the workers deserving a workplace where they are treated with Dignity and respect where they are safe and supported” said LIJWJ’s Diane Cantave at the press conference. “It’s about the Starbucks workers wanting things to run smoothly for their customers and being met with humiliation and harassment. In an effort to unionize their stores because of their issues not being addressed.” It’s LIJWJ’s hope that the report will be a useful tool for workers to demonstrate community support for their organizing. The report will be distributed to Starbucks’ management to convey that customers are behind the workers as they head into as second session of bargaining at the end of this month.

If you support organizing Starbucks workers, let them know using this form! We’ll be passing on messages left here to the workers heading into bargaining. They’re up against a powerful multi-billion dollar company, but that doesn’t amount to much when the workers know we’re behind them!

Bellport Community Garden Education Event Coming Up Soon!

There’s a special chance to connect with other like minded folks and with the Earth coming up! LIJWJ, the Brookhaven Landfill Action & Remediation Group (BLARG), and 1199 SEUI’s Healthcare Education Program (HEP) are hosting From Garden to Table to Black Gold on May 25 from 2 – 4PM! The event will feature teach-ins on how the garden operates and the important place it holds in the Bellport community.



This is a great chance to learn about a living, breathing community project that is bringing people together to fight for justice! To register for this event head to this link!

LIJWJ Awards Dinner

Save the date! The Annual LIJWJ Awards Dinner, where we gather in community to recognize inspiring local individuals, organizations, and unions, is officially on the calendar for Tuesday July 30 from 6 – 8:30PM at Captain Bill’s!


Stay tuned for RSVP info and honoree announcements!

Send a Solidarity Message to Starbucks Workers as They Bargain! And More!!

Si Se Puede/Yes We Can: Grassroots Efforts to Confront Poverty on Long Island — A Virtual Panel Discussion

Join LIJWJ, The Poor Peoples’ Campaign, and Abraham’s table for another engaging virtual panel discussion! Despite many challenges that remain, there are many reasons to celebrate if you take a close look at recent wins of the workers’ movement.

Tune in and be inspired by progress being made by community and worker organizations right here on Long Island! Click the flier image or this link to register now!

Bosses Steal (a lot)

Every year an estimated 2.1 million New Yorkers have wages stolen by their bosses (🤬). That’s almost a quarter of the 9.4 million people in our state’s workforce, meaning one out of every four of you reading this have likely had wages stolen at some point. If you’re not aware of the many forms wage theft takes, you may not even be aware you’ve been stolen from!

Have a look at this list of the most common ways wage theft shows up. Have any of these things ever happened to you? Let us know in a survey linked here!  

Starbucks Bargaining Community Solidarity Messages

As you read this, Starbucks workers are in Atlanta sitting across the table from their multi-billion dollar employer in a historic bargaining session. These workers have fought and won against the odds for years to get here, and a fair contract covering ALL unionized stores is within reach.

Despite their wins and the momentum built around their union’s growth, bargaining can be just as exhausting and challenging as organizing stores. Like organizing stores, the fight for a contract is often a battle of attrition that favors the side with more resources. What power their corporate employer can project through dollars, workers need to match with community.

We all can’t be present to show our solidarity with Starbucks workers in person. But we can show up for them in other ways. Below is a chance for you to send messages of solidarity to Starbucks workers as they face down the company that has used every tool at its disposal to stop them from getting to this point. LIJWJ will convey these messages to the workers to keep spirits high until the ink is dry on their contract.

Let the workers know that our communities are on their side and rooting for them! Write your solidarity message here!

People’s Campaign for Parole Justice Advocacy Day

From our friends at Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP):

“On May 7, the People’s Campaign for Parole Justice will gather hundreds of people across the state for our biggest advocacy day yet in support of the Elder Parole and Fair & Timely Parole to reunite our families and end the racism of permanent punishment.

As part of our efforts to demonstrate broad-based support from all corners of the state, we are asking organizations, businesses, faith groups/houses of worship and other partner entities to co-sponsor our advocacy day. We’re asking all allied groups to please contribute whatever people and resources you’re able to.

Co-sponsor our parole justice advocacy day on May 7 at the NYS Capital here. You can also find an outreach guide w/ sample email, texting & social media language here.”

Become a LIJWJ Sustainer!

Among the many ways you can support LIJWJ and the workers we fight for is by becoming a monthly sustainer! This is a surefire way to help us continue doing the work we do. We don’t get big checks from ultrawealthy donors or corporations (they’re not too fond of us for some reason 😉). Instead, funding for LIJWJ’s work comes from community funders, partners and individuals like you.  Donating on a monthly basis can be the most sustainable way for both LIJWJ and you.

If you’re able, please go and sign up now to be a sustainer today! It goes a long way supporting the work you read about in these emails!

In solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice

Art for Excluded Workers and a Special Summit This Weekend!

LIJWJ’s main legislative effort is to establish an unemployment fund for workers currently excluded from traditional unemployment insurance by passing the Unemployment Bridge Program.  While the Unemployment Bridge Program has been excluded from the state budget, that doesn’t mean we’re stopping the fight for 750,000 NY workers with no unemployment safety net. One of the ways the LI Fund Excluded Workers Coalition keeps excluded workers in public view is through the Unsung Voices Art show. Unsung Voices features artwork from excluded workers, their families, and other community members who donate their work in solidarity.

This past weekend Unsung Voices was exhibited at LI FEW Coalition member HAFALI‘s arts-centered FEADing Circles event at Molloy College. Thank you to HAFALI for hosting, doing the community building you do, and helping keep attention on excluded workers!

We’re always on the lookout for other events and venues to show Unsung Voices, and have an open call for artwork! If you have a space in need of some worker-centered art, please let us know by emailing dcantave.lijwj@gmail.com! And if you have artwork you would like to submit, let us know through this form!

The 2024 Women’s Diversity Summit

This Saturday April 20 #wearelongisland hub member Women’s Diversity Network is hosting their Annual Diversity Summit. Among the many fantastic workshops and discussions, LIJWJ’s own Ani Halasz and Juli Grey-Owens of Gender Equality NY (also a #wearelongisland hub member) will be leading a discussion on the many movement-building offerings of We Are Long Island!

“Do you want to deepen your connections with other social justice organizations and individuals on Long island? Do your advocacy and organizing projects need additional support to grow infrastructure, leadership development and/or organizational capacity? If so, come learn about the #WeAreLongIsland Organizing Hub, a new collaborative initiative on Long Island that is brining justice-focused organizations and individuals together to build relationships, share tools and resources, provide organizing skills and issue trainings, and build an empowered, fair, and just Long Island for everyone.”

Join in community with many other like-minded folks and fortify your local organizing skills! Use this link to register! And here’s a link to the We Are Long Island to learn more about the hub in the meantime.

Become a LIJWJ Sustainer!

Among the many ways you can support LIJWJ and the workers we fight for is by becoming a monthly sustainer! This is a surefire way to help us continue doing the work we do. We don’t get big checks from ultrawealthy donors or corporations (they’re not too fond of us for some reason 😉). Instead, funding for LIJWJ’s work comes from community funders, partners and individuals like you.  Donating on a monthly basis can be the most sustainable way for both LIJWJ and you.

If you’re able, please go and sign up now to be a sustainer today! It goes a long way supporting the work you read about in these emails!

In solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice

Big Wins for Starbucks Workers and Upcoming Wage Theft Education Resources!

We Have TWO MORE Union Starbucks On Long Island!

Congratulations to the Garden City and Westbury Village Starbucks workers for successfully organizing their stores despite the best efforts of their multi-billion dollar employer!  Also thank you to the community supporters who were there to witness the announcement. We’re all showing that when labor and community join forces, wins are within reach – even inevitable!

From Newsday:

“Leeana Lee, 24, an Elmont resident and Starbucks worker in Garden City said winning Wednesday’s election is an important step in ensuring workers rights to speak out in the workplace.

“Winning the union vote at Starbucks represents a pivotal moment in championing workers’ rights and ensuring fair treatment within the company,” Lee said in a statement. “It signifies a positive shift towards creating a more inclusive and empowered workforce where we actually have a voice.”

“Ultimately, this victory gives me hope that it can go back to being somewhere I enjoy working at again,” she said.”

You can read the whole article here.

Also, if you’re on Instagram, be sure you’re following Starbucks Workers United and 3 (out of 7) local unionized stores @sbwufarmingville, @sbwu_massapequa, and @sbwu_wantagh for the latest news!

Envision an Economy Where Bosses No Longer Steal from Their Workers

Earlier this week LIJWJ and Latino Justice held a joint training for advocates looking to put some time and energy into assisting workers file wage theft claims. It was very informative and explained some rather mystifying processes involved in filing claims in understandable terms. The goal is to form a base of community advocates always standing by to assist workers file to get back wages owed.

If you weren’t able to join us: no worries! This is just the beginning and there will be more trainings like it along with other ways for advocates to join the fight against wage theft.

We’re also rolling out an educational series called “Bosses Steal (a lot).”  It’ll be a source for facts about wage theft, local examples of how it shows up, and things that need to happen to stop it. The series will be featured in our eblasts like this one and also on social media. Follow us on Instagram @LIJWJ if you’re not already and get the latest there!

Stay tuned in the coming weeks and months to arm yourself with knowledge to fight wage theft!

Become a LIJWJ Sustainer!

Among the many ways you can support LIJWJ and the workers we fight for is by becoming a monthly sustainer! This is a surefire way to help us continue doing the work we do. We don’t get big checks from ultrawealthy donors or corporations (they’re not too fond of us for some reason 😉). Instead, funding for LIJWJ’s work comes from community funders, partners and individuals like you.  Donating on a monthly basis can be the most sustainable way for both LIJWJ and you.

If you’re able, please go and sign up now to be a sustainer today! It goes a long way supporting the work you read about in these emails!

In solidarity,

Long Island Jobs with Justice