Alvaro Gonzalez Duran (Local 79) on Construction Justice Act and medical debt

Thank you so much.

And yours?

Yes.

My name is Alvaro Gonzalez Duran.

I am a proud Local 79 member and labor organizer for about 10 years now.

Before this, I worked non-union construction for residential contractors who benefited from city subsidies, including renovation and preservation contractors.

I made near minimum wage without health insurance from my employer.

I had a situation where my appendix burst and I had to go to the hospital for an emergency surgery.

Because I did not have health insurance, I ended up with nearly $30,000 in medical debt.

And just recently, I had a similar situation where I had a medical...

Situation and thankfully this time all my medical bills were covered through my insurance provided by the union.

New York construction workers are uninsured at three times the rate of other workers, yet we perform difficult and dangerous jobs.

I was already struggling financially with over half of my paycheck going to housing and transportation.

There are too many community and especially immigrants from low-income backgrounds who are forced to accept dead-end jobs because they have no other options.

On construction job sites, I hear too many stories of bosses taking advantage of workers because of their parole or immigration status.

To keep them trapped in these poverty-level jobs.

When workers don't have health care or retirement contributions for their company,

from their company, they are likely to rely more on taxpayer funded resources and programs from the government.

Over the past decade, the City Council has done a great work to pass legislation to raise wages for fast food workers, retail workers, taxi drivers,

at base delivery workers.

In 2019, the City Council set new wage standard, which is now above $40 per hour for building service workers on city finance projects.

Most recently, passing the Construction Justice Act, which is a key part of the city's housing plan.

We cannot delay or deny these essential protections for workforce building our city housing.

The city must fully support and enforce Construction Justice Act to lift those who build this city that city subsidize affordable housing out of poverty and become part of the middle class.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much to this panel.

Okay, so next up we're going to have Lloyd Fang, Eustacia Smith, Chris Mann, Ramina Davidson,

And just sharing for folks that are testifying after 4.05, 4.10, one of my colleagues will be here to listen as I have to go, but I'll be listening online.

Farouk?

Farouk Wadud?

From QFCC?

Mosin Saman, QFCC.

Priya...

Sorry, I'm going to get this wrong.

Mulgaonkar?

From Green Co-op Council, Jack Connors from Open New York.

Jermaine Nathaniel Glynn.

Hey, come on up.

Thanks for still being here.

Woo-hoo!

That chair right there.

And then whoever is ready can go when you're ready.