December 17, 2025
New York, NY – Home care workers—overwhelmingly women-of-color— protested outside Gov. Hochul’s NYC office to condemn her collusion with insurance and home care companies to steal billions of dollars in wages. The women workers held signs with the amount of wages that Governor Hochul has stolen from them and demanded that the Governor enforce the law or resign in disgrace.
“Every time we protest against the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), Governor Hochul immediately rewards CPC with tens of millions of dollars! And the powerful insurance company Healthfirst’s CEO sits on the CPC board! 24-hour workdays have destroyed our physical and mental health and destroyed our family lives! Yet [our employer] CPC even threatened workers to go to jail,” said Ah Lin Lok, CPC home care attendant.
Workers also condemned Governor Hochul’s November appeal of a court decision requiring her reinstate home care workers’ complaints she illegally dismissed from the Department of Labor. Luz Estrella, United Jewish Council home care attendant, said “We say, enough! No more of this corruption. Hochul, it’s time for you to go!”
Antonio Delgado, Lieutenant Governor of New York State, sent his support. “Home care workers – overwhelmingly women-of-color – do some of the hardest and most essential work in our state. Yet too many are forced into exhausting 24-hour shifts, denied the wages they have earned, and left fighting just to have labor law enforced. That is unacceptable. Let me be clear: wage theft is not a technical issue or a bureaucratic delay. It is exploitation.”
Workers were joined by NYS Assemblymember Ron Kim, NYC Councilmember Christopher Marte, District Leader Vittoria Fariello, and the Chief of Staff of Senator Jessica Ramos.
Ron Kim, Assemblymember 40th District in Queens said, “If she (Governor Hochul) doesn’t do the right thing, she’s corrupt! And we need to hold her accountable. Her election is coming and the people will remember this.”
Christopher Marte, City Councilmember for District 1 said, “Workers have won the right to be represented in labor court and to be paid back the money which is owed to them. How can you call yourself a Governor of working class people? How can you be the first woman governor and choose to push working class women out?!”
Vittoria Fariello, District leader said, “For too long, home attendants – who are mainly immigrant women of color – have been abused and forced to work for hours without pay. Gov Hochul’s latest appeal is a slap in the face of hard working New Yorkers who are simply seeking to be paid for work they have done.”
In the end, workers chanted loudly, announcing that they will be back to urge the entire New York State to vote Hochul out of office in 2026!
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Ain’t I a Woman?! is the coalition leading the movement to end the 24-hr workday, a violent practice in New York City, which is destroying the health and lives of women of color home attendants. No More 24!
