Following UAW’s Advocacy, Mayor Mamdani & Governor Hochul Announce Expansion of Free Child Care Statewide

Following months of advocacy by UAW members, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani today announced an unprecedented investment with the goal of expanding child care to all 4-year-olds in New York State by the fall of 2028.

In New York City specifically, Governor Hochul also committed to help Mayor Mamdani launch a new 2-Care program to provide free child care for 2-year-olds while strengthening the city’s existing near-universal pre-K and 3-K programs to serve all families. The governor has committed state dollars to fund the first two years of the program, beginning with 2,000 toddlers in high-needs areas this fall before expanding to the rest of the city.

In recent months, UAW members have taken action to expand universal child care across the state. The New York State CAP Council, composed of local unions from Region 9A and Region 9 (representing Western and Central New York), made winning statewide universal childcare our priority for the 2026 legislative session.

• Last  month, over 100 UAW members and our allies rallied outside Governor Hochul's office in Manhattan after releasing a report and road map authored by UAW Region 9A with New Yorkers United for Child Care.
• Earlier this month, Jane Fox, chair of our NYC CAP Council and the Legal Aid Society Attorneys unit of UAW Local 2325, published an op-ed on how New Yorkers can win universal child care this year.
• Yesterday, we co-hosted another rally at the State Capitol calling on Albany to make child care a priority.

UAW members were present at today’s announcement to celebrate an enormous victory for New York’s working class families.

“We were proud today to stand with elected allies, and union siblings as the Governor and Mayor announced a historic investment in childcare guaranteeing universal pre-k statewide and funding 2-care in NYC—two demands we have been leading on this year,” said Brandon Mancilla, UAW Region 9A Director. “This will put money back in working families’ pockets and enshrine labor standards in early childhood education, bringing a $26 billion return on investment for New York. I feel proud as a New Yorker that we are seizing this moment.”

“Over the past 14 months, a movement was born to fight for a city where every New Yorker could afford a life of dignity and every family could afford to raise their kids. Today, Governor Hochul and I meet that movement as we celebrate our joint commitment to universal child care,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. “This victory represents much more than a triumph of city and state government working in partnership—it is proof that when New Yorkers come together, we can transform the way government serves working families.”