Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LABOR NEWS—NYC creates Mayor’s Office of Worker Power, (Sep 10, 2026)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

It will be supervised by the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice (DMEJ), a position currently held by former U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su; the executive director is a former longshoreman and UAW organizing director.

This week, New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced the establishment of the Mayor’s Office of Worker Power (MOWP), purportedly the first office of its kind in the nation, to help workers get informed, connected, and organized.

MOWP will work across city hall and city agencies on outreach, education, policy, research, and strategic partnerships focused on workers who lack meaningful benefits, adequate wages, and a voice on the job. The office will be led by its inaugural Executive Director, Tony Perlstein, who is a former longshoreman and UAW organizing director.

“Every day, working New Yorkers show up, do their jobs, and keep this city running. Too often, they have no say in the conditions they work under,” said Mayor Mamdani. “The Mayor’s Office of Worker Power will make sure workers have a seat at the table before exploitation becomes a crisis and violations become routine. We’re connecting workers to their rights, to each other and to the organizations ready to stand with them. Because when workers have power, this city works better for everyone.”

Su to coordinate. MOWP will be supervised by the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice (DMEJ), a position currently held by Julie Su.

“This office allows us to get ahead of exploitation instead of simply responding to it,” said Su. “By building relationships with workers, unions and worker centers, we can understand what is happening on the ground and act before problems become crises. That is how we build an economy that delivers for working people.”

MOWP will: convene rank-and-file workers, union leaders, worker centers, immigrant workers, gig workers, and platform workers; hold public hearings on significant worker issues; provide referrals to organizations that support workers; coordinate with city agencies to produce research on pressing issues facing workers; develop policy proposals informed by workers’ experiences; engage workers on emerging challenges, including new technologies, worker misclassification, immigration-based exploitation, and climate risks to worker safety; and connect workers with information about their rights at everyday touchpoints, including workforce centers, libraries, IDNYC offices, schools and community events.

More information is available on the website for the Mayor’s Office of Worker Power.

News: LaborNews Labor AgencyNews NewYorkNews