Metro Justice News 5/11/2026 - Metro Justice

Metro Justice News 5/11/2026

Brandon Mancilla Addresses Metro Justice Annual Dinner

White Paper on New York Health Act Savings for Localities

Annual Dinner Thanks and Cheers

UR Unions Coalition

NEW WHITE PAPER OUT ON NEW YORK HEALTH SAVINGS

Metro Justice and the Campaign for New York Health are very excited by the release of a new white paper by Health economist Dr. Cheryl Cashin and League of Women Voters healthcare specialist Dr. Judith Esterquest. They have analyzed healthcare spending across counties, municipalities, and school districts in New York, and their findings show massive savings under the New York Health Act (NYHA). We have long been aware that the NYHA would provide the most comprehensive health benefits in the country, while ensuring that over 92% of New Yorkers pay less than they do today. However, this new research shows exactly - and with full transparency regarding how the figures are calculated - just how startling those local savings are. County healthcare costs would drop by an average of 90–95%. Municipalities and school districts would see average savings of 80–85%. We invite you to examine the white paper and find out what the savings would look like for Rochester, Monroe County and our city and suburban school districts. We are planning a press conference here in Rochester, and will be joining a statewide webinar on Wednesday, June 3rd with more information about how the NYHA creates these local savings. How they would be used would remain at the discretion of the localities. Please join us to learn more! Click here to ask a question right now.

 

Set-Up In Progress Programs Turned Out Great! Chatting by the Auction Table Plenty for All from Agatinas and Impact Earth Brandon Mancilla, UAW Region 9 Director, Speaks

ANNUAL DINNER THANKS AND CHEERS!

Some words from our Fundraising & Membership Coordinator on this year's Annual Dinner:

I want to offer my personal thanks for making the Dinner such a great night for all who joined. It was a real honor to have a full house with so many great people invested in making this community better together in the same room: truly what Metro Justice is all about. There are too many amazing contributors to list out here, but I'm especially grateful to the members of the Fundraising Committee, Council, our speakers (including Brandon Mancilla, who offered a wonderful keynote address), and our gracious award recipients — this event took many hands, a lot of work, and the support of every attendee, donor, and sponsor to pull off. You can find the names of our donors, volunteers, and an up-to-date suite of ads in the program listed here, We really can't say thank you enough (including to Committee member Lauren Wiener for designing our booklet).

Beyond having a great time, we're also happy to report in a preliminary way that it looks like the event was also a fundraising success, with our initial reports showing returns well above those of the last several years. What this means isn't abstract: it puts us in a stronger position for the remainder of the year as we work to launch a new immigration campaign, deepen our many organizational partnerships, pursue a summer membership drive, consider a potential move, and more. 

Hoping to make the most of the summer months, we're also eager to host more events with members and supporters over the coming months — so please stay tuned on future announcements there. We owe the success of this year's Annual Dinner and all future events to this community, and so to you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

One small favor to ask: The photographer we'd planned on having for this year's Dinner wasn't feeling well, leaving a beautiful night sadly under-documented. So we'd love to see and share any images you have from the event (with appropriate credit, of course). Please write [email protected] with any you'd like to share — we'd be very grateful!

 

UR LABOR COALITION LAUNCH

UR Labor Coalition Flier

A coalition of University of Rochester workers came together Monday to announce the formation of the UR Labor Coalition, which encompasses unionized and unorganized workers fighting for better working conditions across all three campuses. Their key demands are simple: unions for all workers who want them and fair contracts for all. This initiative will play a role in shaping negotiations for campus unions this fall. Stay tuned for further news from this coalition!

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check out our new Event Calendar!

It includes all of the events listed below, but in a regular calendar format. 

TODAY, May 12, 1-2 pm Tracking Nursing Home Dollars: Oversight and Insights Ernest Tosh of the Long Term Care Community Coalition will provide an overview of nursing home finances and profitability, offering insights into how financial practices influence operations, staffing, and resident care. Click here to register for the webinar

Sunday, May 17, 12:30-2 Metro Justice Volunteer engagement/New Member meeting, on zoom and in person at the Metro Justice office, 389 Gregory Street. These meetings are lively, informative, and a great way to meet new people as well as learn how we get work done to promote equity and social justice in Rochester! 

Monday, May 18, 4:00 pm at City Hall, 30 Church Street Zoning and Permitting Accountability Coalition press conference highlighting the attempt to hijack the City Planning Commission decision on Portland Ave. cell tower, followed by CPC meeting at 5 and hearing at 6.

Thursday, May 21, 1-2:30 pm Henrietta Public Library and on zoom, Elder Justice Committee monthly meeting

Thursday, May 21, 7-8 pm Statewide Campaign for New York Health zoom sharing info and promotion plans around the new white paper on municipal, county and school district savings.

 

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LEARN MORE

Check out New York Focus, an amazing independent, non-profit newsroom that keeps churning out impactful information about what is going on across New York, from prison reform, to ICE, to climate news.  

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