Labor

Before approving Ithaca's 2023 budget, Ithaca Mayor Laura Lewis joined city attorney Ari Levine to condemn some of the comments made by city employees, alderpersons and community members during a Common Council meeting earlier this month.

City employees, from building managers to engineers, testified about their frustrations with contract negotiations and what they say are stagnant wages.

Acting Mayor Laura Lewis says given the current job market, she thinks it’s unrealistic for the police department to fill all 15 vacant positions in one year.

A unionization effort at Amazon’s fulfillment center in Rensselaer County failed Tuesday.

Now that tech giant Micron has decided to build a mega-complex of computer chip plants in suburban Syracuse, central New York and much of upstate are preparing for the impacts of the $100 billion investment.

The economy of central New York, and much of upstate, will be transformed following the announcement Tuesday that tech company Micron will make a $100 billion investment to build several state-of-the-art semiconductor fabrication plants in the Syracuse area.

Late on Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul’s labor commissioner, Roberta Reardon, issued an order to phase-in a 40-hour work week for farm laborers by 2032. The plan, recommended by a wage board, has sparked backlash from farmers and some Republican elected officials who say it will severely harm the state’s farming industry.

The 19th Congressional District candidates agree the Southern Tier’s economy is changing, but have different priorities for ushering in that transition.

“The workers don’t like it. It’s not going to be good for the farmers and it could potentially close a lot of our farms."

New York state has begun the application process for licenses to run retail cannabis stores, nearly a year and a half after the drug became legal for adult recreational purposes.