Brochure listing Make the Road New York’s victories during 2011

Make the Road New York

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Brochure listing Make the Road New York’s victories during 2011.MRNY_2011_Victories.pdf: 40 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

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Victories 2011: Make the Road New York Builds the Power of Latino and Working Class Communities Through Organizing, Transformative Education, Policy Innovation and the Provision of Survival Services

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Associations, Organizations, and Institutes Key Workplace Documents 
2011 
Victories 2011: Make the Road New York Builds the Power of 
Latino and Working Class Communities Through Organizing, 
Transformative Education, Policy Innovation and the Provision of 
Survival Services 
Make the Road New York 
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Victories 2011: Make the Road New York Builds the Power of Latino and Working 
Class Communities Through Organizing, Transformative Education, Policy 
Innovation and the Provision of Survival Services 
Abstract 
Brochure listing Make the Road New York’s victories during 2011. 
Keywords 
unions, labor movement, organizing, New York, representation, AFL-CIO 
Comments 
Suggested Citation 
Make the Road New York. (2011). Victories 2011: Make the Road New York builds the power of latino and 
working class communities through organizing, transformative education, policy innovation and the 
provision of survival services. Brooklyn, NY: Author. 
Required Publishers Statement 
© Make the Road New York. Document posted with special permission by the copyright holder. 
This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/institutes/19 
In 2011, Make the Road New York (MRNY) experienced 
unprecedented growth, expansion and achievement. 
We won significant victories at the City level, passing 
several new laws to protect students, tenants and 
immigrant families.  And, we expanded our impact 
statewide, both through innovative policy making and 
geographically.
Our membership now includes more than 10,000 
dues-paying individuals and 150 small businesses.  
Through our a new center in Brentwood, the heart 
of Long Island’s immigrant community, we recruited 
400 new members and mobilized 9,000 voters in the 
November elections, increasing electoral participation 
in county elections by 23%. More than 13,000 people 
actively participated with MRNY by speaking at public 
hearings and press conferences, attending community 
meetings and rallies, and joining large events like 
MRNY’s Democracy Day and our 2nd Annual Walk 
for Immigrant New York, in which walkers also raised 
$75,000 in small donations.    
Through the power of our collective voice, MRNY is 
making lasting changes that move New York—and our 
country—forward. 
IN 2011, MRNY AND OUR STAFF RECEIVED 
THE RECOGNITION OF:
Edna Award of the Berger Marks Foundation
Felix A. Fishman Award of the New York Lawyers for 
the Public Interest
Frederick Douglass Award of the North Star Fund
MAKE THE ROAD NEW YORK 
BUILDS THE POWER OF 
LATINO AND WORKING CLASS 
COMMUNITIES TO ACHIEVE 
DIGNITY AND JUSTICE 
THROUGH ORGANIZING, 
TRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION, 
POLICY INNOVATION AND  
THE PROVISION OF  
SURVIVAL SERVICES.
MAKE THE ROADNEW YORK
DIGNIDAD, COMUNIDAD Y PODER
VICTORIES
2011
MRNY celebrated the implementation of the Wage 
Theft Prevention Act (WTPA), historic state legislation 
drafted and spearheaded by MRNY, which makes New 
York a leader in the fight to eradicate wage theft. 
While wage theft—the nonpayment or underpayment 
of minimum and overtime wages—is rampant 
throughout the U.S., the WTPA now protects hundreds 
of thousands of New York workers every year with 
strong penalties for employers who flout the law, while 
protecting workers who stand up for their rights and 
delivering workers the money they are owed. 
Responding to direct action and advocacy by MRNY 
and our coalition, Governor Cuomo suspended New 
York State’s participation in the misguided Secure 
Communities program, which erodes trust between law 
enforcement and immigrant communities by mandating 
information sharing between local governments and 
the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
agency (ICE). Now, immigrants are now more likely to 
report crimes, serve as witnesses and seek vital health 
services, which makes all New Yorkers safer.
At the city level, following years of courageous work 
by MRNY members, Mayor Bloomberg signed into law 
Intro 656, in order to limit the City’s collaboration with 
ICE and halt the dragnet approach to immigration 
enforcement. By ending the practice of holding 
individuals for deportation who pose no threat to 
public safety, the new law prevents thousands of unjust 
deportations every year, saves tens of millions of NYC 
taxpayer dollars, and helps to rebuild trust between 
City government and millions of New York’s immigrants.
VICTORIES
KEEPING
SAFE
NEW YORKERS
AGAINST WAGE THEFTFIGHT
LEADING THE
Leading the implementation of the 
Wage Theft Prevention Act, in 2011, 
MRNY trained 450 low-wage workers, 
200 ESOL students, 60 small business 
owners and 250 attorneys in how to 
uphold workers’ rights, and ensure 
compliance with the new law.
MRNY provided critical legal services 
to more than 3,100 families, helping 
to prevent evictions, preserve key 
income supports, access health care 
and fight wage theft.
AGAINST WAGE THEFT
FORGING
FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS
EQUAL ACCESS
Governor Cuomo 
selected MRNY’s 
Director of Health 
Advocacy to join 
the Medicaid 
Redesign Team 
Health Disparities 
Taskforce to build on 
our groundbreaking 
language access 
work and develop 
comprehensive 
statewide policies 
to eliminate health 
disparities among 
immigrants.
MRNY’s youth leaders won passage of the Student 
Safety Act, which promotes transparency on school 
discipline and policing policies, protecting the safety 
and dignity of New York City’s 1.1 million public 
school students. This new legislation requires the 
Department of Education and the NYPD to regularly 
report how discipline policies are affecting students 
based on their race, gender, language, grade level 
and special education status—helping NYC to 
develop solutions that work for all students.
PRESERVING
FOR STUDENTS 
     AND LGBTQ
DIGNITY
MRNY’s research prompted the City to pass legislation 
requiring the Department of Education to provide 
comprehensive data on schools’ capacity and overcrowding, 
in order to ensure that students are receiving a quality 
education and have access to the facilities they need.
MRNY helped to expand the City’s “Respect for All” initiative 
to several Brooklyn and Queens high schools. This essential 
curriculum combats bullying and bias-based discrimination 
in the school environment, helping to make our schools a 
place of safety and tolerance for LGBTQ students.
MRNY launched the citywide Campaign for Fair and Just 
Policing to end the NYPD’s discriminatory Stop-Question-
Frisk policies that unfairly criminalize youth, LGBTQ and 
communities of color.
MRNY spearheaded the passage 
of new legislation that gives 
thousands of tenants living in 
substandard apartments essential 
new protections and cracks 
down on dangerous housing 
conditions that trigger asthma, 
including rats, roaches and mold. 
If a negligent landlord doesn’t 
comply with the new regulations 
and remediate these housing 
violations, the City will make the 
repairs, using non-toxic methods, 
and charge landlords for the work.
MANDATING
HOUSING
HEALTHY AND 
        AFFORDABLE
MRNY helped lead 
the statewide effort 
to ensure affordable 
housing and bolster 
rent regulations, 
prompting legislators 
to extend and—for the 
first time in 18 years—
strengthen the laws 
that protect the more 
than one million New 
Yorkers living in rent-
regulated housing.
ABOVE AND BACKGROUND PHOTO © WILLIAM ALATRISTE
MRNY’s 12 years of organizing, 
research, coalition work, and 
legal action prompted Governor 
Cuomo to sign into law Executive 
Order 26, which requires all New 
York State agencies to provide 
essential interpretation and 
translation services. The new 
law ensures equal access to all 
State programmatic services, 
protecting and supporting the 
millions of immigrant families, 
patients and students who are in 
the process of learning English. 
BROOKLYN
301 GROVE STREET
BROOKLYN, NY 11237
tel  718 418 7690
fax  718 418 9635
QUEENS
92-10 ROOSEVELT AVENUE
JACKSON HEIGHTS, NY 11372
tel  718 565 8500
fax  718 565 0646
STATEN ISLAND
479 PORT RICHMOND AVENUE
STATEN ISLAND, NY 10302
tel  718 727 1222
fax  718 981 8077
LONG ISLAND
1090 SUFFOLK AVENUE
BRENTWOOD, NY 11717
tel  631 231 2220
fax  631 231 2229
WWW.MAKETHEROADNY.ORG
MRNY’s Student Success Center helped 
 80% of graduating seniors at four 
Bushwick high schools apply to college, 
with a 97% acceptance rate.
COMMUNITY & ELECTORAL ORGANIZING
Civil Rights and Immigrant Power
Education Justice
Environmental and Housing Justice
LGBTQ Justice
Small Business United
Workplace Justice
Voter Power
ADULT LITERACY
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
Spanish Language Literacy
Computer Literacy
Citizenship Preparation and Civics
Spanish GED
YOUTH POWER
Youth Organizing
Arts and Media
School Partnerships
College Access Support
LEGAL SERVICES & LITIGATION
Government and Disability Benefits
Health Care and Health Insurance Access
Housing
Immigration and Citizenship
Labor and Employment
LGBTQ Civil Rights
Public Education
SURVIVAL SERVICES
Emergency Food Pantry
HIV Testing and Disease Prevention
Health Insurance Enrollment
Peer Health Outreach and Education
COMMUNITY WORKFORCE 
DEVELOPMENT
Job Training and Placement
Specialized Job Skills Trainings
Small Business and Worker Cooperative Incubation
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
MRNY’s Adult Literacy 
programs helped 1,637 adults to 
learn English, develop literacy 
and computer skills, train in 
workplace health and safety, 
earn a GED, or become citizens.
Our Workforce Development program 
placed 114 individuals in jobs with an 
hourly average wage of $12.20, trained 
333 individuals for job readiness, and 
provided quality one-on-one employment 
counseling to 370 job seekers.
PROGRAMS
AND STRATEGIES


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Victories 2011: Make the Road New York Builds the Power of Latino and Working Class Communities Through Organizing, Transformative Education, Policy Innovation and the Provision of Survival Services

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