Nassau County is one of the only N.Y. counties that doesn't observe Juneteenth. Workers are fighting to change that.

Millions of people across the United States will have off work on June 19 to observe Juneteenth, but that won't be the case for some workers in Nassau County.

The holiday marks the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally received word of their freedom, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

June 19 became a state holiday in 2020 and a federal holiday in 2021, but in Nassau County, Juneteenth is not an official public holiday, meaning it's not a paid day off for county employees.

Several hundred passionate union workers, advocates and community leaders rallied Tuesday.

"We worked for it, our ancestors worked for it, and this is 2026. It shouldn't be a question," said Tina Bowles, with NAACP Hempstead.

"This issue has become an embarrassment for this county," said Nassau County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton.

"This isn't about special treatment. It's about equality," CSEA Local 830 President Kris Kalendar said.

"Juneteenth should not be used as a bargaining chip," Nassau County Legislator Olena Nicks said.

County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is running for governor, said the union never brought up Juneteenth in its newly negotiated contract. The county has 13 paid holidays, just like everyone else, and cannot afford a 14th, he says.

"I told them, 'I will give you Juneteenth. You give me another holiday back,'" he said. "That's the fiscally prudent thing to do. I got to watch out for the taxpayers' money."

"It's not something that you should just swap," Nassau County resident James Hodge said. "Understand the weight and the significance of what people went through in this country."

Advocates are asking Nassau's GOP majority to put the bill on the calendar and bring it to a vote.

Blakeman said making Juneteenth a public holiday in Nassau could be a part of collective bargaining in the next union contract.