Mission

The New York Civic Participation Project (NYCPP) collaborates with labor unions and community organizations supporting worker justice and civic empowerment for new immigrants across the City.  We organize in neighborhoods to bring together grassroots union members, community activists, congregations and immigrant associations—building bridges across national, racial and ethnic lines.  We develop and support campaigns to promote the human rights and dignity of new immigrants in our society—ranging from health care to public safety, from drivers’ licenses to fair pay and working conditions, from immigration law reform to voter participation.   We help new immigrant leaders establish their own voices and expand civic dialogue—promoting the vision and reality of our City as a “golden door” for equal opportunity and social justice. 

We promote immigrant and worker rights through: 

• Organizing union members and community residents in the immigrant neighborhoods of New York City to identify problems and carry out campaigns that achieve social change.

• Leadership Development of new immigrant leaders so they can be more effective in their unions and communities.

• Policy work that brings together labor unions, advocates, and other allies to support and educate the public around pro-immigrant/pro-worker policies at the city, state and federal levels.

• Civic Participation lies at the heart of NYCPP’s mission. We believe that enabling immigrants to participate fully in civic life contributes to the improvement of conditions for all working people and assures the viability of our democracy into the future.

The NYCPP creates "power bases" in immigrant communities where low-wage workers are concentrated. We work in Washington Heights, the South Bronx, and four communities in Queens. Each base brings union members and workplace activists together with neighborhood activists and local leaders around local and citywide issues that are of concern to immigrants.

These bases help shape and promote a citywide policy agenda addressing the needs of low-wage immigrant workers in areas like: job quality and retention; living wage and labor standards; access to health care, education and social services; and immigration reform.

 _____________________________________________

NYCPP’s partners include: SEIU Local 32BJ, Make the Road By Walking, AFSCME DC 37, UNITE HERE Local 100, National Employment Law Project, and Laborers Local 79.  In addition to these core partners the NYCPP works with dozens of other community groups, unions and churches.