Op-Ed Urges Lawmakers to Support Small Businesses, Not Give Them More to Worry About

BCW Executive Vice President and COO John Ravitz was the co-author of an Op-Ed that ran in newspapers throughout the state opposing proposed state legislation that is harmful to small businesses.

“Among the harmful proposals that have popped up around the country, and now in New York, is a measure that would hand control of wage and benefit decisions to external, unelected groups lacking knowledge of the specific needs and differences of local industries and regions. Rather than allowing small business owners to assess and address the needs of their workers and communities in the way they know best, these proposals would place decision-making power into the hands of those unaffiliated with and detached from local consumers and residents,” stated the Op-Ed that was co-authored by Ravitz and Steve Hogan, President at the Small Business Council of Rochester, a Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce affiliate.

The Op-Ed continued, “Bills like this fail to recognize the many policies already in place to protect workers throughout the state. In comparison to other states around the country, New York’s existing labor laws are among the strongest. We protect workers in the emerging gig economy and those in centuries-old industries like farming and manufacturing. The New York Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act provides basic protections to farmworkers, giving them overtime, unemployment benefits, and the right to collective bargaining.”

Click here to read the full article: Albany needs to support New York’s small businesses (lohud.com)

The above mentioned issues as well as other pro-business priorities are included in the BCW’s 2024 Legislative Agenda. View here. https://thebcw.org/advocacy/the-legislative-agenda/