Event Recap: Careers in Labor Rights Panel

On February 12, 2025, NYU Wagner’s Office of Career Services and the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative hosted a Careers in Labor Rights panel for a thought-provoking discussion on grassroots labor organizing and initiatives for workers’ rights in the city.

The event featured four panelists from across NYC’s labor sectors:

• Terri Gerstein - Director of the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative
• Lucia Gómez - Political Director, New York City Central Labor Council
• Ligia Guallpa - Executive Director, Workers’ Justice Project
• Claudia Henriquez - Director of Workers’ Rights, Bureau of Labor Law at the Office of the New York City Comptroller

Panelists provided insights into local projects aimed at implementing fair minimum wages for jobs concentrated in the gig economy and working with state administration to protect compensation and scheduling laws for essential frontline and delivery workers. To demonstrate the effectiveness of labor support groups, Guallpa shared a story about a group of Ecuadorian female migrant workers who were facing wage theft from their employer. Her WJP worker center took on the case and represented the women in the litigation, which resulted in reallocated pay for the workers. “The people in charge were not aware who they were messing with,” Guallpa proudly declared. 

The panelists also shared insights on the importance of union building within workers’ groups, and Gómez stressed the significance of strengthening union presence in workers’ centers to increase civic engagement and voter turnout for local elections. This allowed for lively discussion on the timely and critical issues of worker rights, particularly for immigrant laborers residing in New York, in the face of current executive action from the new administration. 

The panel also provided advice for students interested in entering the labor sector, including preparing for the civil service exam and researching current trends and data in workers’ rights across the city and country.