President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) Stuart Appelbaum.
Photo courtesy of RWDSU
In a letter shared with the Brooklyn Eagle, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) has thrown its full support behind the Grieving Families Act, calling on Governor Hochul to sign the popular legislation today.
The latest endorsement from the 100,000-member-strong RWDSU comes amid a flurry of labor support for the bill. District Council 37, the largest municipal public employee union and New York State Nurses Association urged Governor Hochul to sign the reform earlier this month, showing the groundswell of support from New York’s working families.
The legislation would update the state’s nearly 200-year-old wrongful death law and is waiting for the governor’s signature. She has until the end of the year to sign the act.
The bill, sponsored by New York State Senate Judiciary Chair Brad Hoylman-Sigal, would allow relatives of the wrongfully killed to file a claim for emotional grief and anguish, not just economic losses, as is currently the law.
Governor Hochul vetoed a broader version of the legislation last year, saying that she needed more time to look at the data and grapple with complex issues. A narrower version of the bill is now headed to her desk for review.
Sen. Hoylman-Sigal told Politico last week that a veto override could be in store, “With overwhelming, bipartisan support in both the Assembly and Senate, the Grieving Families Act is an ideal bill for a veto override if that becomes an unfortunate necessity.”
In the RWDSU letter, Stuart Appelbaum, President of the powerful retail workers’ union, referenced the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, noting that families of those women got a paltry $75-per-victim in civil lawsuits.
“The core tenant of the labor movement is that workers have inherent worth as human…
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