Mimi Rocah Endorsed by 1199SEIU, Releases Workers’ Rights Policy.

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Mimi Rocah Endorsed by 1199SEIU, Releases Workers’ Rights Policy.

 

Campaign momentum surges as Rocah is backed by country’s largest healthcare union, pledges to create Labor Crimes Bureau to address wage theft, workplace safety.

WESTCHESTER, NY - Democrat Mimi Rocah, the former federal prosecutor running for Westchester District Attorney, has been endorsed by 1199SEIU, the largest healthcare worker union in the US, and largest union in NY state. She has also released a policy proposal titled, “Working for Justice: Modernizing the Westchester DA’s Approach to Crimes Against Workers”, which details her plans to create a Labor Crimes Bureau in the DA’s office. 

“I am proud to have the support of 1199SEIU and its members. Healthcare workers are on the frontlines during this crisis, and I am truly inspired by their bravery and dedication. Every worker deserves fair wages, a safe workplace, and to be treated with respect and dignity. Right now, far too many essential workers are being asked to sacrifice even more by working in unsafe conditions. I believe the DA’s office can and must do more to stand up for workers,” said Rocah. 

“1199SEIU members are pleased to help elect Mimi Rocah as Westchester’s next District Attorney. We know that she stands with us in rejecting discrimination in all forms and believes that every individual has the right to be treated fairly and equally. We support her commitment to economic and social justice for all and dedication to making real change by challenging Trump policies on the local level,” said Maurice Brown, 1199SEIU Hudson Valley/Capital Region Political Director.  

1199SEIU is one of the most powerful organizing forces in New York, representing more than 450,000 healthcare workers in the Northeast. Its members include nurses and healthcare workers in hospitals, nursing homes, homecare programs, and clinics and pharmacies. 

Rocah’s plan to create a Labor Crimes Bureau in the DA’s office is one of the detailed plans in “Working for Justice: Modernizing the Westchester DA’s Approach to Crimes Against Workers.”  Rocah has committed to the following:

• Create a hotline in English and Spanish to allow anonymous reporting of wage theft activities
• Collaboratively partner with labor unions and organizations like the Westchester Labor Alliance and Obreros Unidos of Yonkers to better combat wage theft
• Ensure that nurses, healthcare professionals and all front line workers have access to the PPEs they need to safely do their jobs 
• Add a bilingual component to the DA’s website, including on the home page,  to increase accessibility for workers
• Publicly report on the number of wage theft investigations and prosecutions 
• Collaborate with county business associations to ensure that employers know their responsibilities to pay full wages, and that they will face legal consequences if they fail to do so
• Create a Labor Crimes Advisory Board comprised of representatives from organized labor and other worker rights organizations to both refer cases and develop better systems for addressing worker rights violations including wage theft, unsafe working conditions, lack of PPE, or illegal anti-union activity
• Assign an investigator to every significant workplace injury or fatality to gather evidence while it still exists of the conditions that led to the accident or fatality
• Notify employers of their responsibility to provide appropriate safety equipment to their employees and enforce shutdowns for employers who refuse to do so

Rocah, who ran the Westchester office of the Department of Justice under President Obama, would bring a unique perspective to the DA’s office. As an Assistant US Attorney, Rocah was the Chief of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Unit. Most recently, Rocah was the Pace University School of Law's Distinguished Fellow in Criminal Justice and a legal analyst for MSNBC and NBC News, where she emerged as an outspoken critic of the Trump Administration and the president’s efforts to undermine the rule of law . 

Having a close family member who had been a victim of violent crimes, Rocah has developed victim-centered, trauma-informed policies as someone who knows both sides of the justice system. As part of her campaign platform, she has released detailed plans to get guns off our streets, aggressively address the human trafficking and opioid crises, increase transparency, create a real Conviction Integrity Unit, transform sex crimes prosecutions, and overhaul ethics reforms in the DA’s office.

As a prosecutor, Rocah received numerous Department of Justice awards including the 2016 Women In Federal Law Enforcement Leadership Award. A resident of Scarsdale, she has served as a school safety chair at her children's elementary school, volunteered with Moms Demand Action on gun safety advocacy and worked with My Sister's Place on issues involving domestic violence, human trafficking and online child predators.

www.MimiRocahforDA.com  |  @MimiRocahforDA