Dozens turned out for a candlelight vigil and march on behalf of “excluded workers” in Midtown Kingston on Thursday.

The event at Holy Cross/Santa Cruz Episcopal Church on Pine Grove Avenue comes as progressive activist groups statewide lobby Albany lawmakers to create a special fund for workers who are currently ineligible for unemployment insurance. The ranks of so-called “excluded workers” include undocumented immigrants, day laborers and others who work for cash, as well as gig economy workers and freelancers.

Organizers estimate some 750,000 New York residents would be covered by the program which would provide $1,200 monthly payments (the average unemployment benefit in the state) to unemployed workers.

"People who do some of the most important and the hardest jobs out there don’t have access to the social safety net,” said Brahvan Ranga, political director of progressive activist group For the Many. “We need to change that.”

“On its own, New York’s $1.5 trillion GDP makes it the 10th largest economy in the world, bigger than Canada, Russia, and South Korea," Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha told the gathered. “And yet, New York also ranks as the number one state in the country for the biggest gap between the rich and the poor. We cannot remedy this inequality without creating a permanent base-level income security for our most underpaid and exploited workers.”

According to event organizers, recent polling data shows that increasing and indexing the minimum wage is popular across New York, including upstate and suburban areas, with 89 percent support in the Mid-Hudson Valley.

"Today, along with our partners across the state, we're launching our push for two key pieces of worker justice legislation — one to make sure every Hudson Valley resident has a living wage, and the second to ensure that the most vulnerable workers aren't excluded from the social safety net,” said For the Many Ulster County Community Organizer Diana Lopez. “The Hudson Valley needs these two programs to become law - and we call on Governor Hochul and leaders in Albany to prioritize the needs of workers this legislative session.”