Unshackle Upstate says it’s time for Albany to step up and take steps to help Upstate New York survive in the post-pandemic world.
Some of the moves include delaying the increase of minimum wage, halting the expansion of farmworker labor benefits and reducing sales and income taxes are the high-profile changes.
“Rather than waiting on Washington to save the day, there are things state officials can do right now that will help rebuild our economy and revive our communities,” said Brian Sampson, the chairman of Unshackle Upstate and president of Associated Builders and Contractors, Empire State Chapter.
It’s called the Fast Forward agenda, and provides a “much-needed boost to small businesses, family farms and taxpayers across the Upstate region. Our elected leaders need to get back to work and get our economy back on track,” according to the group.
The group’s reforms also call for an upstate caucus in the Legislature that features both Democrats and Republicans as well as a five-year ban on a longtime bugaboo for businesses, the Scaffold Law.
More than 400,000 people are unemployed in Upstate New York, and more than half of all small businesses do not have enough cash on hand to operate beyond two months past present day.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].