New York Assembly Member Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, following the lead of California Assembly Member Liz Ortega and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who just signed a similar bill Ortega introduced into law, has introduced legislation that would establish “Workplace Readiness Week.” Public high schools and charter schools would be required to teach 11th and 12th graders about work-rights topics such as child-labor laws, wage and hour protections, and, importantly, the right to unionize. They would also be given a window into opportunities for middle-class jobs, as they would learn about state apprenticeship and job training programs. As injuries to young workers increase dramatically, and Republican-headed states scale back child-labor protections, Rojas says, “We want to trend in the opposite direction. We want New Yorkers to understand that New York is a union town.”
Read the full story by Crystal Lewis for The Chief-Leader, published here: https://www.thechiefleader.com/stories/state-bill-would-require-high-schools-to-educate-students-on-workers-rights,51353
