Deliver real economic justice for working NYers

New Yorkers are difficult – but the Trump administration stretches our resilience. To reduce federal surveillance to avoid it consumer protections, Washington has left families of workers vulnerable to the greed of businesses and exploitation. Faced with this, New York must lead. And the truth is that we already have the tools – we just need the political will to use them.

Last year, the Municipal Council took on significant measures to expand workers’ rights, including new protections for delivery -based delivery deliverers. These victories are the result of organizations by workers and defenders who refused to accept exploitation as business as usual. But politics wins on paper is only strong as our ability to apply them. We must follow by investing in the agencies of the city which make these real protections in the daily life of people.

The Department of Consumer and Workers Protection (DCWP) has long experience of defense of workers and to ensure that companies respect the rules. As a former DCWP commissioner and as a member of the Assembly who has spent years advancing pro-Travaillers, we both know that the application is important.

We must double the capacity of DCWP – more investigators, inspectors and lawyers – so that it can rely on its success in order to assume the theft of salary, the abuse of companies and unfair labor practices with the urgency and the scale of this moment. Lorelei led DCWP for a period when New Yorkers needed it, widening safe leave and paid disease leave and launching workers in unstable jobs.

Harvey, as a member of the tenant of the Back Guidelines Board, successfully fought for the first and second freeze in the history of the council, was an essential leader in many legislative efforts to extend the rights of tenants and resist powerful real estate interests. In the State Assembly, he adopted laws to protect workers from reprisals, strengthen the protections of the housing courts and expand legal representation for low -income families.

What unites our work is a belief in power of the government to be a force for equity – when it is responsible, inclusive and focused on people. This means using each lever for the city of the city to protect the public good.

The Ministry of Investigation should examine the city entrepreneurs for unfair work practices. The company’s lawyer must be aggressive in companies that deceive the laws on the city. We must determine whether the banking relations of our city support the financial institutions which roll or operate the low -income communities. We must rebuild the City Commission on Human Rights to protect us from discrimination. Our budget should reflect our values.

We need an assistant mayor for economic justice with a mandate to align policy in all these agencies. This position should be responsible for integrating economic justice in all corners of the government, from the development of labor to the regulation of small businesses, including consumer protection. Coordination, responsibility and vision are the way we get the results.

It is not a question of punishing business – it is a question of lifting the ground for everyone and leveling the rules of the game for small honest companies. The vast majority of entrepreneurs in our city want to do the good of their workers and their communities. But they cannot compete with companies that exploit gaps and flout the law. We must reward companies that respect the rules, pay fair wages and offer benefits, and strategically focus on the application on bad players who do not.

While Washington moves away from his responsibilities, it is up to us to intervene. This also means to protect communities of immigrants against exploitation, ensure access to languages and adapt awareness so that each worker knows his rights – and how to apply them.

New Yorkers are demanding bold leadership that centers workers and prioritizes the community on businesses. The future of our city depends on whether we take up to meet this challenge with concrete action and moral clarity.

Economic justice is not a slogan. It is a question of operating the government for everyone – not only for the powerful and well connected. When we invest in this vision and support it with real resources and responsibilities, we can make New York a national model of equity, opportunity and shared prosperity.

Epstein is a member of the Assembly representing the 74th district of Manhattan and the Democratic candidate for District 2 of the Council. Salas is a government management with the foundations of the Open Company, former supervision director of the US Consumer Financial Protection Office and former DCWP Commissioner. This opinion does not reflect the views of these offices.