‘Labor-On-Wheels’ program rolled out to help immigrants

When Roxanna Diaz started a new job as a secretary in the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) in April, she never imagined that four months later she would be getting a public congratulation from Governor Eliot Spitzer for coming up with the idea for a “Labor-On-Wheels” program.
Spitzer, along with DOL Commissioner Patricia Smith and local elected officials, made the announcement on the Friday before Labor Day at 103rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona for a new program where DOL employees will drive around the Labor-On-Wheels vans throughout communities in order educate immigrant workers about their labor rights and the services the state offers.
“I feel great,” said Diaz, who suggested the idea to her boss and then the concept continued to evolve into the new Labor-On-Wheels program. “This is a good way to reach people, to bring important information directly to the community.”
The initiative came out of the Bureau of Immigrant Workers’ Rights, which the DOL created earlier this year and is the primary point of contact for immigrants in need of the DOL services.
“Throughout our state’s history, immigrant workers have played a pivotal role in our economic prosperity,” said Governor Spitzer. “They represent a vital, and growing, segment of our workforce, and it is important that they have access to services provided by the Department of Labor.”
During the announcement, Smith said that often immigrant workers do not trust government, so she said that the first step building that trust with the workers would be one of the top priorities of the new program.
In addition, the DOL will set up temporary offices throughout New York City and staff them will bilingual agency representatives in an effort to provide much needed, basic resources to immigrants working throughout the city. The majority of the outreach will occur during weekends and evenings to provide workers more flexibility in learning about available services and resources.
Assemblymembers Jose Peralta and Ellen Young, State Senator John Sabini and City Councilmember Hiram Monserrate, all of whom represent immigrant communities in Queens, joined Spitzer and Smith at the announcement and praised the governor’s initiative.
“We are standing just a few feet away from a site where an immigrant worker lost his life due to unsafe working conditions,” Sabini said. “Labor-on-Wheels will help prevent future accidents by advising New York’s workers of their rights and letting them know that help is available to them.”