About Us:
There are several components to the WRLC's work.
First, the Center's staff provides free legal services to
low-wage workers struggling to enforce their rights in the
workplace. Second, the Center contributes to the empowerment
of workers by educating workers about their labor and civil
rights. Third, the WRLC works with local and national organizations to advocate for
reform on behalf of low-wage workers.
Our Newsletters:
Click on the following links to view WRLC Newsletters:
Our Staff:
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Executive Director - Milan Bhatt
Milan began with the organization in February 2009. Prior to joining the WRLC, he coordinated the Worker's Rights Advocacy Program at the New York Immigration Coalition, leading efforts to enhance workplace protections, secure funding for legal services, expand access to driver's licenses, and develop immigrant advocacy throughout New York State. He has also served with Amnesty International's Refugee Program in Washington D.C. and the Office of the Secretary-General at the United Nations. Milan received his B.A. in Psychology from Columbia University in 2001 and J.D. from the University of Iowa in 2005.
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Senior Legal Advisor - Nathaniel Charney
Nathaniel began serving as co-counsel for the WRLC in 2008. He has more than fifteen years of labor and employment law experience representing labor unions, institutional clients and individuals in both the Hudson Valley and New York City. He received his undergraduate degree from SUNY Albany in 1987 and his J.D. from SUNY Buffalo School of Law in 1991 (both magna
laude). Nathaniel has also taught at CUNY Queens College's Labor Resource Center as an adjunct professor since 1997. He currently practices labor and employment law in Rhinebeck.
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Staff Attorney - Amee Sampat
Amee joined WRLC in July 2010, and focuses her practice on labor and employment law issues. Prior to joining the organization, she worked at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the New York State Division of Human Rights, both in New York City. She also worked at Ernst & Young LLP, where she consulted on employee benefits, tax, and labor law matters. Amee received her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 2006, where she was a member of the Fordham International Law Journal and Vice-President of the South Asian Law Students Association. She received her B.A., cum laude, from New York University in 2002.
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Outreach Paralegal - Diana Saguilán
Diana started working with the WRLC in 2006. She was raised in Newburgh, New York. During high school, she worked in a local factory and is intimately familiar with the issues impacting low-wage workers in the region. In 2002, Diana attended the AFL-CIO Union Summer, where she helped to organize grocery store workers in New York City. She was also a member of the Youth Resources Development Corporation Americorps at the Rural & Migrant Ministry in Poughkeepsie, New York. Diana is a 2006 graduate of Bard College. |
Program Associate - Thomas Hillman
Tom started with the WRLC in the fall of 2009. As an undergraduate at Bard College, he taught English to immigrants and other community members at the Red Hook ESL Center. After this work, Tom sought to involve himself more directly in advocating for the equal rights of these and other low-wage workers in the Kingston area, especially through education and outreach. Tom graduated from Bard in 2010 with a B.A. in Political Science and Latin American and Iberian Studies. |
Our Board of Directors:
Lew Papenfuse, Chair
Farmworker Legal Services of New York, Inc.
David Montane, Vice Chair
Peter Frank, Esq., Treasurer
Legal Services of the Hudson Valley
Sandy Oxford, Secretary
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, CLC
Blair Goodman
Former Director of Organizing
International Ladies Garment Workers Union, New York State District
Graciela Heymann
Westchester Hispanic Coalition
Michael Schlanger, Esq.
Schlanger & Schlanger, LLP
No WRLC Board members are related to any WRLC employee.
No member of the New York Bar Foundation Board of Directors, past or present, has been related to or affiliated with members of our board or employees, or has had an affiliation with our organization.
** Affiliations listed for informational purposes only.
Our History:
The WRLC was founded in 2003 by former Farmworker Legal Services of New York (FLSNY) attorneys Dan Werner and Tricia Kakalec. As more and more non-farmworkers were calling their
office at FLSNY, they realized there was a need for legal services and legal education for non-farmworker
low-wage workers. The WRLC was created to address this need.
The WRLC was incorporated in July 2003.
The WRLC moved closer to becoming a reality when, in the summer of
2004, Tricia and Dan were awarded an Echoing Green Foundation fellowship to
support the creation of the project. The Dyson Foundation and other
colleagues, unions, board members, family, and friends provided the other
important support that allowed the WRLC to open its doors.
On June 1, 2004, the WRLC opened part-time
in office space donated by UNITE-HERE in Kingston, New York. We filed
our first case in July of 2004. On September 1, 2004, the WRLC opened
full-time, with Tricia and Dan as the only staff members. In January 2005,
Geovanny Triviño joined the WRLC as our Outreach Coordinator, and the WRLC
began reaching out more and more in the community. In April 2005, we grew
out of our donated office space and moved to our new office at 101 Hurley
Avenue in Kingston. In October 2005, Kati Griffith joined
the WRLC with the support of a Skadden Fellowship. Paralegal Diana Vázquez replaced Betsaida Alcantara in June 2006. Betsaida left the WRLC to participate in the prestigious Public Policy Fellowship at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. In March 2008, Dan Werner left the WRLC to become Deputy Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Immigrant Rights Project. In November 2008, Tricia Kakalec left the WRLC for the NYS Attorney General's office. In 2009, Milan Bhatt took over as Executive Director.
We continue
to work with interns, volunteers, and others to develop the WRLC and
to be responsive to the needs of our community.
Our Supporters:
We are grateful to our suporters for their commitment to workers' rights!
Ben and Jerry's Foundation
Dutchess County Bar Association
The Dyson Foundation
Farmworker Legal Services of New York
Hudson Catskill Workforce Development Center
The New York State Bar Foundation
The New York State Interest on Lawyer Account Fund ("IOLA")
United Way of Ulster County
The Workforce Development Institute
In addition, we are especially thankful for the contributions of our individual and union donors.
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