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Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently signed an executive order establishing the Mayor’s Office of Worker Power (“MOWP”) – described by the administration as the nation’s first city office dedicated to helping workers organize, connecting them directly with unions, and keeping them informed of their workplace rights.
The office’s launch builds on the Mamdani administration’s broader worker-protection agenda, which has already targeted wage theft, worker misclassification, delivery-worker pay, and workplace safety since taking office.
Outreach, Hearings, and a Playbook for Organizing
MOWP’s stated functions read like a roadmap for expanding organized labor’s reach in the city. The office plans to convene rank-and-file workers, union leaders, worker centers, immigrant workers, and gig and platform workers to surface workplace concerns, hold public hearings on significant labor issues, refer workers directly to labor organizations, and develop policy proposals drawn from that feedback.
The office’s website also offers workers a step-by-step guide to forming a union alongside summaries of their rights under federal, state, and city law. Workers can also request a “Know Your Rights” training for their workplace.
What This Means for Employers
Employers that are not yet unionized, should anticipate more organizing activity and be prepared for MOWP’s public hearings and policy rollouts to draw added attention to their workplace practices.
Employers should treat this as a reason to confirm that supervisors and managers are properly trained on employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act, that workplace policies are current, and that employee-relations practices can withstand outside scrutiny.
Given the city’s clear intent to expand the reach of organized labor, employers should consult with counsel now on how to prepare for potential organizing campaigns, and should keep an eye on MOWP’s hearings and policy announcements as its priorities take shape.
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