Your Turn to "Tell" Albany

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Your Turn to "Tell" Albany

Last week, the Partnership and our Unshackle Upstate partners undertook a road trip that kicked off in Buffalo, traveled to Rochester, Syracuse and Binghamton, and culminated at the state capitol in Albany to personally deliver our message "We want our economy moving. Not our people."

It is critical that message is followed up this week by you.  Please click here to send an email to Albany that you support Unshackle Upstate, and its seven part reform agenda.  It will only take a minute of your time, but will send a strong message that as an Upstate employer, you seek reform.  Please forward this communication to your friends and colleagues to encourage them to participate in our email campaign, too.

You've heard the Partnership talk about Unshackle Upstate for more than a year.  Last March, the Unshackle Upstate coalition was a small group trying to raise awareness of laws that needed to be changed so businesses could create and retain jobs in our communities.  Today, the coalition is nearly 50 members strong, and represents more than 32,000 employers with more than 1 million workers.

Just as we arrived in Albany last Tuesday, the state Legislature announced passage of a bill to reform the workers' compensation system. The timing of the legislation with our arrival in Albany was no coincidence. Unshackle Upstate has been actively engaged in pushing for this change. Coalition leaders have been in frequent discussions, meetings and conference calls with the key negotiators of this legislation, as well as with Gov. Spitzer himself.

It's important to add that when Gov. Spitzer signed that bill into law yesterday, he did so acknowledging that more work to reform workers' comp in New York remains -- beyond what is included in the new law, as it was passed by the state legislature. To that end, he has asked the heads of three state agencies to make additional changes to the system, which Unshackle Upstate has advocated for, aimed at additionally reducing costs to employers, including streamlining the claims review process, designing new diagnostic and treatment protocols for medical professionals and developing training materials that will assist administrative law judges in making consistent case determinations. He has given the agencies an April 27 deadline for their first draft plans.

Our impact on the legislation, and these follow-up steps by the governor, is clear, and workers' compensation reform is just one item on the agenda for Unshackle Upstate.  Our next targets are Scaffold Law reform, changes to the way the state "does" economic development and the Wicks Law. Visit www.unshackleupstate.com to learn more about what's needed to get our economy moving and, again, to support the campaign by sending an email message to your state representatives via our website - it's easy to do and we know our elected officials are paying attention.  By continuing to work together with employers across Upstate, and speaking with one voice, we are certain to generate a message that cannot be ignored.

Sincerely,

Andrew J. Rudnick
President & CEO