Purser discusses employment protections in NY state on WCNY

August 10, 2021

WCNY radio

Gretchen Purser

Sociology Department

Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict & Collaboration

COVID-19

Labor

New York State

WCNY radio

Gretchen Purser

A return to normalcy is within sight for New York, and some people believe it’s time to get back to business. However, part of New York’s workforce is earning practically as much, if not more, with unemployment assistance as they do while employed. The debate over the federal minimum wage raise, and the ongoing argument over gig workers, who seek the right to unionize, has reached its zenith. "I think what we saw through the pandemic is the dire need to build up a regulatory system to better support workers, particularly essential workers, in our society," says Gretchen Purser, associate professor of sociology. "Far too many workers find themselves outside of this system all together. They're not eligible for unemployment. They're at the whim of these gigs from day to day and you can't plan a future under that system," she says. Watch the full interview (beginning at 22:35) on WCNY's "CONNECT NY."