Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Ben Fuller-Googins, Executive Director of Carroll Gardens Association
1:29:43
ยท
122 sec
Ben Fuller-Googins, Executive Director of Carroll Gardens Association, testifies on behalf of the New York City Coalition for Domestic Work. He emphasizes the importance of protecting and educating domestic workers about their rights, and supports the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection's budget request.
- Highlights the essential work of domestic workers (nannies, house cleaners, home care attendants) and the challenges they face
- Stresses the importance of outreach efforts to inform domestic workers of their rights
- Requests support for the $77 million budget ask for DCWP and an additional $800,000 for the coalition's outreach initiatives
Ben Fuller-Googins
1:29:43
Alright.
1:29:45
Thank you.
1:29:46
Thank you, chairman and council members on the committee for letting me speak today.
1:29:51
My name is Ben Fuller Gugans.
1:29:52
I'm the executive director with Carroll Gardens Association.
1:29:55
We're a member of the New York City Coalition for Domestic Work, one of six organizations that's committing to ensure that the 200,000 workers are across our city, are treated with dignity and respect and know their rights.
1:30:08
Just a little background about domestic workers.
1:30:10
These the nannies, house cleaners and home care attendants that take care of our loved ones, across our city and our homes.
1:30:17
However, despite this essential work they do, they're often treated with abuse, not getting paid overtime, wage theft.
1:30:27
Often this is due because historic exclusion from a lot of labor laws that other workers enjoy.
1:30:35
So you heard earlier from the commissioner that allying with groups like us and coalitions are really essential to outreach to domestic workers and workers across our city.
1:30:46
Particularly domestic workers, you know, these are workers who are individual household and make it very difficult to identify where workers are.
1:30:53
And so we've had over the years very successful outreach efforts with the department, going to libraries and parks, meeting workers where they're at to ensure they know their rights, giving them information in languages across this really diverse workforce.
1:31:08
So I'm here today to just echo the need to support this, the $77,000,000 budget ask.
1:31:16
This will allow them to hire additional attorneys and investigators like you heard, really essential to reach this workforce.
1:31:24
Also wanted to include our FY '26 ask for the coalition, is $800,000 You all have historically supported our initiative, and so we're also asking for an increase for our initiative to conduct outreach and education across all five boroughs and languages to domestic workers.
1:31:42
Thank you for your time and look forward to continue working together.