Seeking the National Spotlight, De Blasio’s State of City Will Emphasize Worker Protections

Mayor de Blasio is set to deliver his annual State of the City address Thursday where he will present an agenda for 2019 that includes new protections for the city’s workers, all while eyeing the national stage.

The previews began earlier this week. First, he announced a healthcare expansion for undocumented immigrants and people with low incomes. The next day, he proposed the nation’s first paid vacation law. He broke the news both times through national media outlets which positioned New York City — and the mayor — as progressive leaders.

In his speech, the mayor will announce plans to take the Department of Consumer Affairs and rename it the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. The newly-branded agency will continue as a consumer and business watchdog, enforcing laws like the city’s paid sick leave policy. But it will also expand its mandate adding new programs targeting non-traditional workplaces: for example, paid caregivers and domestic workers.

The city estimates that more than 200,000 people work in these positions and the mayor will announce plans to offer a new, confidential mediation program for workers and their families to resolve wage and hour claims and any retaliatory termination associated with them.

"It’s a workforce where traditional enforcement hasn’t worked well," Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Lorelei Salas told WNYC. She said the agency will contract with an expert arbitrator to help get the program up and running by the summer.

The renamed agency is also expected to work with the City Council to figure out how to create portable health benefits for independent contractors and freelance workers. The initial focus will be on creating a benefits fund for drivers in the yellow cab and for-hire-vehicle industries.

This will be the mayor’s sixth State of the City speech. But his emphasis on rolling out  policies ahead of the main event is a first. Asked if this was a sign of presidential ambition, the mayor brushed aside the question without saying no.

"I’m focused on New York City, but I know what we do here can have a huge impact on the rest of the country and I’m going to go out and preach the gospel," de Blasio told reporters Wednesday.

This all comes at a time when the field for 2020 Democratic candidates remains wide open. The office of mayor has a term limit — de Blasio will be unable to run again in the next election cycle.