The Diabetes Epidemic in NY
Institute For Leadership & BALCONY Stage Symposium May 16
By Rev. Michel Faulkner and Lou Gordon
May 15, 2013
As the nation moves towards broad health care reform the landmark, the
New York Diabetes Summit will explore opportunities to promote health and
incentivize better affordable choices
related to diabetes prevention and control in high-risk populations in the
labor, small business, and faith-based communities, officials said.
Read the entire article: Diabetes
Taking the Money Out of Politics in New York
State
by Arthur Cheliotes, President CWA Local 1180
May 2, 2013
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Politics
New Strategies for Caring for Our
Frail Elderly
by Jeffrey Lewis
March 15, 2013
Military medics have been saving lives on the front lines globally in United
States military engagements.
Medics have performed emergency services meaning the difference between life
and death for our soldiers.
Their medical skills have been honed under stressful, wartime conditions.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Elderly
BALCONY Executive Board Member and
TIGRESS Financial Partners CEO DiBartolo
Supports Higher NYS Minimum Wage
February 8, 2013
By Cynthia DiBartolo
The Business and Labor Coalition of New York (BALCONY) supports an increase
in the minimum wage for working New Yorkers
to $8.75 and we are pleased to hear Governor Cuomo's emphatic call for a minimum
wage increase in his 2013.State of the State address.
His strong voice of support energizes an already-revved up debate about New
York's current $7.25-per-hour statutory minimum.
With neighboring states posting higher minimum wages, a recent Siena College
Research Institute poll
shows nearly 83 percent of New Yorkers favoring a higher minimum.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Wage
The American Jobs Crisis Must Be Resolved: Education is the Answer
December 11, 2012
By Thomas J. Mackell, Jr., Ed.D.
President of the Association of Benefit Administrators
Even though the unemployment rate is trickling down, companies are now creating more jobs for which they can't find qualified candidates. The paradox: too many Americans can't find jobs, yet too many companies can't fill open positions. It is a real modern day dilemma. One that has not been replicated in the past. Too few Americans have the necessary science, technology, engineering and math skills to meet demand. Nearly every firm is in some way a software company given the importance of automation. America's skills shortage affects businesses in every industry and region. The problem is likely to get even worse unless we take aggressive action to rectify it. Colleges and universities are not producing enough new bachelor's degrees in computer science.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Education
MAINTAIN THE SOCIAL SAFETY NET,
WE NEED SHARED SACRIFICE
December 4, 2012
Article by Mark Jaffe
BALCONY Treasurer &
President of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce
Recently, two prominent Senate Democrats have fired off a letter to President
Barack Obama
urging him not to strike a “fiscal cliff” deal unless it has a
one-to-one ratio of tax increases to spending cuts.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest:Sacrifice
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SMALL BUSINESS NEEDS ACCESS TO CAPITAL
August 27, 2012
Article by Cynthia D. DiBartolo
BALCONY Member and CEO of Tigress Financial Partners
Two years ago, the New York Legislature passed -- and then-Gov. David Paterson
signed --
a bill creating a $25 million revolving small business loan program.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Capital
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BALCONY SUPPORTS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN NEW YORK STATE
August 9, 2012
Article by Bill Samuels, BALCONY
Member and
Director of the Carlyle Capital Group
Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature need to stand fast
to protect the right to collective bargaining for public employees.
Eliminating collective bargaining is a dagger aimed at the heart of both business
and labor.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Collective
Bargaining
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NEW YORK NEEDS TOUGHER GUN LAWS
August 2, 2012
Article by Alan Lubin, BALCONY Co-Chair
and
former Exc. VP, NYSUT
It seems like every day brings more disturbing news about gun violence.
Twelve dead and 58 wounded in Aurora, Col. Four-year-old Lloyd Morgan gunned
down in crossfire in a Bronx playground.
Five shot at an annual basketball tournament in Harlem.
The list goes on.
Instead of outrage, the reaction of most of our elected officials in Albany,
Washington and
even New York City – other than Mayor Bloomberg and a few others –
is muted as far as gun control goes.
This is wrong.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Gun
Laws
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BALCONY URGES CON ED AND UNION TO BARGAIN IN GOOD FAITH
July 17, 2012
Article by Robert M. Hayes, BALCONY
Co-Chair;
Senior Vice President for Health Quality, Universal American Corp.
Because the dog days of summer haven’t really hit us yet, it is important
that Con Edison executives and its union leaders bargain in good faith
to end the lockout and ensure that all New Yorkers – from residents
to small businesses and large corporations – continue getting electricity.
We at BALCONY, the Business and Labor Coalition of New York, are especially
concerned with the economic impact of this lockout.
The recession and lagging economy have shuttered many small businesses and
left others hanging on precariously.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: ConEdison
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The Diabetes Epidemic: A NYS Health Care Challenge
Statement by Catherine M. Abate, BALCONY
Co-Chair;
President and CEO of Community Healthcare Network
June 28, 2012
Diabetes is primarily known as a disease of the elderly. However, it is a problem that can affect everyone from infants through seniors – and the rates of those diagnosed with diabetes are getting worse. Diabetes kills more people than AIDS and breast cancer combined. It can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart failure and strokes.
Since 1980, the prevalence of diabetes in New York State has doubled in the last 16 years and affects Blacks and Latinos disproportionately. Diabetes-related costs in New York are estimated at $12.9 billion annually.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Diabetes
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NYS Minimum Wage Must Be Raised to $8.50
April 23, 2012
by Lou Gordon, Director, The Business & Labor Coalition of New York
New York needs a minimum wage that helps families struggling to make ends meet. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver unanimously agree on this – and we at the Business and Labor Coalition of New York, BALCONY, heartily agree with them in principle.
However, we believe that simply raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 is not enough. We, like the Fiscal Policy Institute, believe the state must increase enact and phased-in $10 an hour minimum wage, starting at $8.50 and gradually increasing to $10 in 2014.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Minimum
Wage
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Pass Martin Act Accountability Extensions
March 15, 2012
by Andrew Pallotta, Exec. VP of NYSUT and BALCONY Member
New York’s 90-year-old Martin Act, which gives the state’s Attorney
General sweeping powers to prosecute financial fraud,
needs to be amended to reflect modern financial reality.
It simply has not kept up with the times — i.e., the deregulation of financial services and the ensuing carnage it has caused for working New Yorkers.
As the new legislative session approaches, it’s time for our Albany
lawmakers to level the playing field and
pass bills that would give institutional investors the ability to recover
damages caused by violations of financial regulations.
It’s the right thing to do and it will help bring accountability to Wall Street.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Martin Act
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Food Stamps and Fingerprints a Bad
Combination
March 13, 2012
by Robert M. Hayes, Co-Chair of BALCONY and
Senior Vice President for Health Quality,
Universal American Corp.
It is unconsciouable that some 30% of New York's eligible, working families
are not signed up for food stamps,
largely because they don't want to submit to the stigmatizing process of being
fingerprinted as if they were criminals.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Fingerprints
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New York State Needs a Health Insurance
Exchange
March 8, 2012
by Catherine Abate, Non-Profit Co-Chair of BALCONY
and President/CEO of the Community Healthcare Network.
In my career as a New York State Senator, Commissioner of the New York City
Departments of Correction and Probabion,
and CEO of the Community Healthcare Network, I have learned that when an opportunity
presents itself, you must grab it.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Health Insurance Exchange
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Put Tier VI Pension Plan on the Back
Burner!
March 6, 2012
by Alan Lubin, Co-Chair of BALCONY
New York's lawmakers are facing tough decisions as they grapple with trying
to rein in costs and
reduce the state's ever-growing budget,
but agreeing to impose yet another plan to slash pensions for public employees
would be a terrible - and unfair - idea.
Read the entire article from the NY Times Digest: Tier VI Pension Plan
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