Jun 13, 2013 — Gov. Andrew Cuomo released legislation outlining his plan for tax-free zones Monday after spending a week in May touring upstate to build support for the proposal.

"I mean no taxes. That's what I mean when I say tax free - no business tax, no corporate tax, no franchise fee, no income tax," Cuomo told officials at the University at Buffalo.

Under the measure, any new business that sets up on or near a SUNY campus, or at selected private universities or state-owned properties will pay no taxes for up to ten years. After five years, high-wage earners will have to pay income taxes. The locations are mostly upstate.

The plan has come under fire from all sides.  Go to full article

Jun 05, 2013 — ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Unionized workers at the State University of New York have agreed to a mostly flat new contract with the state.

The United University Professions union has agreed to 2 percent raises in 2014 and in 2015, while taking nine unpaid days to cut costs at SUNY. The union says salary for seven of those days will be repaid at the end of the contract.
Workers will also pay more for health insurance.  Go to full article

May 20, 2013 — New York's farms employ about 60,000 people and no one knows how many of those workers are here illegally. According to one estimate, 70 percent of the state's agricultural workforce is undocumented.
Some stay for years, long enough to raise a family. But it's risky.  Go to full article

May 17, 2013 — ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) State labor officials say New York's unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent in April, the lowest since the end of the Great Recession in 2009.

They say preliminary U.S. Department of Labor statistics show the rate fell from 8.2 percent in March and 8.6 percent a year earlier.  Go to full article

May 09, 2013 — North Country Community College has reached a new, five-year deal with the union that represents its faculty.

NCCC President Steve Tyrell presented on the new contract at Monday's Essex County Board of Supervisors meeting. Afterward, county lawmakers approved the deal unanimously.  Go to full article

May 07, 2013 — There's been a steady flow of jobs away from America's city downtowns for the first decade of this century. Some of upstate New York's cities are bucking the trend, but not all.  Go to full article

May 01, 2013 — ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says state overtime pay rose nearly 11 percent last year to $529 million, continuing a costly trend since workforce cuts beginning in 2009.  Go to full article

Apr 24, 2013 — Human trafficking is a growing problem across the country...including here in the North Country. Undocumented farmworkers can be threatened with deportation. Sex workers or foreign brides can be held against their will. Foreign students with visas to work at Adirondack tourism destinations are vulnerable.

Law enforcement and area not-for-profits are joining forces to stop human trafficking in the North Country. Representatives from Homeland Security, the state attorney general's office and labor department, and social service agencies from St. Lawrence, Jefferson, and Franklin counties met earlier this month at SUNY Potsdam. They were joined by not-for-profits that help immigrants, domestic violence victims, and other vulnerable people.

Renan Salgado is a human trafficking specialist with the Worker Justice Center of New York. He's organizing the North Country human trafficking task force. He spoke with David Sommerstein.  Go to full article

Apr 18, 2013 — U.S. Senator Charles Schumer says a new bipartisan immigration deal will provide an economic boost to New York farms and the agriculture industry.

In a press release, Schumer says the bill will be especially helpful to dairy farms and fruit growers.  Go to full article

Apr 09, 2013 — High-paying jobs will remain elusive for the class of 2013 as a slow economic recovery drags on, according to numbers tallied by an economic policy center.

The Economic Policy Institute crunched some data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found starting salaries for 21-24-year old demographic entering the labor force continue to be lower than they were a decade ago.  Go to full article