“No More 24” Movement Gains Traction Across More Industries

• Would you be willing to work for 24 hours straight? Right now, some New Yorkers have to.

• Home care workers have demanded a ban on 24-hour shifts for years. Now, their ask for 12-hour shifts is sounding good to other New Yorkers who don’t have them either.

Mayor Mamdani during his 2025 campaign at a "No More 24” rally. Image from @youthagainstsweatshops

Part 1, Pressure

Dozens of home health aides packed the sidewalk at the entrance of City Hall Park, protesting. Their message has been building since they first organized in the 90’s: no one should work a 24-hour shift. Except this year, that message is followed by an even more direct one: “Mamdani, you promised.”

A legal loophole allows for home care workers to take on 24-hour shifts while only getting paid for 13 of those hours. The current rules assume they allocate time to sleep, take time to eat and take breaks. Workers say they are rarely able to.

During his mayoral campaign, Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined one of the No More 24 rallies and said, “we have to end the 24-hour workday.” So aides waited for Mamdani to come through until last March. Then, they started mobilizing again and again. The third and most recent march happened on May 11th in front of their own lawyers' offices, the Legal Aid Society, at 199 Water St. This might concern… everyone.According to the nonpartisan, nonprofit American Association of Retired Persons, most Americans will need long-term care at some point in their lives. But this line of work is unsustainable for many aides. 

“[At work] We have to stay alert even when our patients are sleeping and now, I have trouble sleeping even on my days off,” said health aide Alvaro Ramirez to The Skyline at the demonstration. “We have to change diapers in the middle of the night, be on top of medication schedules and clean while our patients sleep.”

Ramirez has worked 24-hour shifts for 11 years. He is unionized, but says that’s “unhelpful.”

Part 2, The Socials

More and more New Yorkers who, might not work 24 hours at a time, but often go past 12 in a grueling shift culture, have been joining the No More 24 marches:

Teachers, restaurant workers and other association representatives have joined, including: 

• The Retired Teacher Chapter of City Retirees (formed by more than 70,000 members)

• Youth Against Sweatshops (and their 8k Instagram followers)

• Brothas Express

Many protesters said they work 14- and 16-hour shifts without fair pay. 

Party 3, Politicians and… you guessed it, costs

Caretakers are not screaming into the void. City Council Member Christopher Marte introduced the “No More 24 Act,” which has been stuck in a political standoff for months. 

While Mamdani heavily championed banning the 24-hour workday while serving as a City Assemblymember and mayoral candidate, his administration has since intervened to stall or alter the legislation. But his team has been providing feedback and working through legal and policy questions with the bill's sponsor. 

City Council Speaker Julie Menin chatted up with protesters. She said she plans to bring the bill to a vote, but there has been back-and-forth about when. Protesters expect her to do so on May 14th. She says she didn’t commit to that.

Because home care is funded through Medicaid — a state program — the City Council can't act alone. Governor Kathy Hochul hasn’t addressed the issue.

Stakeholders like 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East, the largest healthcare union in the US, representing over 450,000 workers, say the bill would require roughly $460 million in Medicaid funding. 

They insist that local lawmakers coordinate with Albany on any reforms to avoid disrupting patient care.  

Disability advocates and the Legal Aid Society have also raised concerns that patients who rely on round-the-clock care could lose coverage if shifts are split into two separate 12-hour blocks without insurance authorization rules. 

That's the push and pull. But for the workers who have spent decades sleeping on the job just to survive, the political calculus feels beside the point.

What you can do right now: Protesters are calling on all New Yorkers to contact their state representatives and demand a vote. To find out who represents you in Albany, visitwho represents me or call 518-455-2800 — the New York State Capitol switchboard — and ask to be connected to your senator or assembly member.