New York City Opens the Nation’s First Office of Worker Power to Support Labor Organizing and Workplace Rights

On Labor Day, September 7, 2026, New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced an executive order establishing the Mayor’s Office of Worker Power (MOWP), which his administration describes as the nation’s first city office dedicated to helping workers organize, connecting them with unions, and keeping them informed of their rights.

Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su will oversee MOWP, and Tony Perlstein, a former organizing director for United Auto Workers, will serve as its inaugural executive director. The creation of MOWP aligns with the Mamdani administration’s broader emphasis on worker protections and labor organizing. Since taking office, the administration has highlighted initiatives addressing wage theft, worker misclassification, delivery-worker protections, workplace safety, and other measures intended to strengthen workers’ rights and increase enforcement of workplace standards. 

What Will the Office of Worker Power Do?

MOWP will focus on outreach, education, research, policy development, and strategic partnerships. It aims to convene rank-and-file workers, union leaders, worker centers, immigrant workers, and gig and platform workers to identify workplace concerns and connect them with information about their rights and available resources. MOWP also plans to increase accessibility to workplace rights information and education by providing workplace rights information into everyday touchpoints, including workforce centers, libraries, schools, and community events. 

In addition, the MOWP plans to hold public hearings on significant worker issues, refer workers to labor organizations, coordinate with city agencies to produce research, and develop policy proposals drawn from worker feedback. Mayor Mamdani’s administration also identified four emerging priorities: new technologies, worker misclassification, immigration-based exploitation, and climate risks to worker safety. 

What Resources Are Being Offered to Workers? 

MOWP’s website informs workers that “worker power is the ability of working people to have a real say in their jobs, their communities, and their City,” and that workers “do not have to simply accept whatever they are given.” The site organizes its message around solidarity, knowledge, community, and law. 

The website explains worker rights at the municipal, state, and federal level, such as federal protections for private-sector organizing and bargaining, the illegality of retaliation, and city laws including the Protected Time Off Law, the Fair Workweek Law, and the Delivery Worker Laws setting minimum pay for for-hire vehicle drivers and app-based delivery workers. The site also provides resources to workers who are seeking to organize, including a step-by-step guide on how to form a union. Workers also have the ability to request a “Know Your Rights” training for their workplace, organization, or community group, although it is unclear who will conduct such presentations and what information will be shared.

What Does This Mean for Employers? 

The creation of MOWP represents a new approach to worker outreach and engagement in New York City. Unlike traditional workplace enforcement agencies, MOWP expressly identifies supporting worker organizing as part of its mission and intends to connect workers directly with unions and other worker organizations. 

As MOWP begins implementing its initiatives, employers in New York City may see increased employee awareness of workplace rights, greater engagement with labor organizations, increased organizing activity, and additional public attention to workplace issues through MOWP’s planned hearings and other activities.

Accordingly, employers should continue to ensure that supervisors and managers are appropriately trained on workplace rights issues and that their policies, practices, and employee relations strategies comply with applicable law. In addition, given the potential for increased organizing activity, employers should consider consulting with counsel regarding how best to prepare for potential workforce organizing efforts. Employers may also wish to monitor developments from MOWP, including its public hearings, policy proposals, and other initiatives as the office’s priorities continue to evolve.