Jobs for the Environment — NYPIRG’s Canvass

Make a difference in New York: APPLY NOW to join NYPIRG’s campaign to hold corporate polluters accountable!

Ready to make a difference? Fill out our online form to apply to join NYPIRG’s campaign to protect the environment, fight climate change, and defend democracy. Working with NYPIRG’s canvass, you will be part of a grassroots movement that has empowered thousands of activists — like you — to create real change.

About

About NYPIRG

The New York Public Interest Research Group Fund is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that advances important public interest issues through sophisticated grassroots organizing and advocacy, public education, and media exposure. Since 1976, NYPIRG has played a key role in fighting for more than 150 laws and executive orders that protect the environment and public health, safeguard consumers, improve public transportation, and foster open, responsive government.

About the Job

NYPIRG’s year-round canvass operates out of our main office in New York City from September through August. Our summer canvass operates out of regional field offices in Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, Long Island, New Paltz, New York City, and Rochester. The canvass operation runs Monday through Friday. As a canvasser, you will be walking door to door, talking with New Yorkers about our environmental campaigns and getting them involved, fundraising, and building our membership base. We also hold a staff-wide retreat during the summer to meet fellow canvassers and enjoy some of the more scenic parts of New York State!

Canvassers earn $17.25 per hour in New York City and Long Island, and $16.25 in all other offices, with additional bonuses and ample opportunities for advancement. Being a part of the NYPIRG canvass increases your knowledge of environmental and social issues and gives you concrete skills and experience for careers in the nonprofit, environmental, and advocacy fields. Qualified candidates...

  • Are energetic and ready to help grow a movement and stop climate change.
  • Have good communication skills.
  • Foster a strong concern for environmental and social justice issues.
  • Are dedicated and hardworking — no prior canvassing experience is required!

New York State has a history of setting national precedents when it comes to climate and environmental policies. At a time when advocating for the public interest is of the utmost importance, New York must continue to lead the way with bold policy. Grassroots organizations like NYPIRG work tirelessly to ensure that this happens. Just this past year, we passed the Climate Change Superfund Act — by far the most progressive statewide climate policy in the country — forcing fossil fuel polluters to pay for the damage that they have caused.

Staff Profile

Samid
Canvasser, New York City

“I like working for NYPIRG because I know my hard work creates a positive impact. It’s not just about fundraising or collecting signatures — it’s about fostering a community of people who actually care about the environment and public health. I know I am passionate about working for the environment because I come from a country where the climate crisis has always been taking a toll, and NYPIRG provides me the platform to work on this issue. Every day I canvass, I have a new experience. Every day I learn, and every day I remind myself I am devoting my time to something that transcends borders and sparks change!”

B35 Named Brooklyn’s Slowest Bus Route  (Boro Park 24, November 13, 2025)
NYC’s M42 bus wins ‘award’ as city’s slowest while riders rage they’d be ‘better off walking’  (New York Post, November 12, 2025)
Advocates Call on Governor Hochul to Modernize the "Bottle Bill" in Executive Budget  (WICZ, November 12, 2025)
Brooklyn bus wins 'award' for slowest bus  (Brooklyn News 12, November 12, 2025)
DEC signs agreement with Greenidge, ends legal battle  (Rochester Beacon, November 11, 2025)
New York pipeline, crypto approvals spark fury over climate, costs, and Trump  (ABC News 10, November 11, 2025)
These are the slowest and most unreliable buses in NYC, according to a transit group  (NBC News, November 11, 2025)
This NYC bus route just earned the title of the city’s slowest  (Time Out New York, November 11, 2025)
Letter: Repeal the 100-Foot Rule  (Hudson Valley One, November 11, 2025)
These Buses Were Crowned The Slowest And Least Reliable In NYC  (Patch, November 11, 2025)
Annual Pokey Award going to New York City's slowest bus line  (CBS News, November 10, 2025)
Snail trail: Transit advocates ‘award’ the slowest and most unreliable bus lines in New York City  (AM New York, November 10, 2025)
Transit advocates announce Pokey award for slowest New York City bus route  (ABC News 7, November 10, 2025)
What’s the slowest bus in NYC?  (WPIX 11, November 10, 2025)
NYC's slowest and least reliable MTA bus routes get annual Pokey and Schleppie Awards  (CBS News, November 10, 2025)
New York City Bus System Under Fire for Poor Speed and Reliability, Prompts Mayoral Candidate's Reform Promises  (Hoodline, November 10, 2025)
The rise of the New York independent voter  (WAMC, November 10, 2025)
A pipeline off our shores, OK'd by state, will degrade water, kick up contaminants, harm fish  (Staten Island Advance, November 7, 2025)
NYPIRG Study Shows Unaffiliated Voter Enrollment Surging in New York  (WICZ, November 4, 2025)
Bearing the costs of climate catastrophe in New York  (WAMC, November 3, 2025)
News Archive
NYPIRG NEWS RELEASE: A coalition of environmentalists, charities, and civic groups today released a compliance check survey showing a widespread failure of retailers to post a Bottle Bill “Bill of Rights” sign as required by state law. The survey of nearly 300 retailers across New York State found that 80 percent failed to visibly post the signs and that more than 10 percent more did not post those signs at the “point of sale” as required by the state.
NYPIRG’s Statement on Governor Hochul’s Approval of Fracked Gas Williams “NESE” Pipeline
Release: 2025 Pokey and Schleppie Awards Bestowed to Slowest and Least Reliable Buses. New Mazel Award Touts Most Improved Bus Routes
Report: 2025 Pokey, Schleppie, & new Mazel Awards for Bus Service
The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) today released a review of voter enrollment data using the most recent information released by the New York State Board of Elections on November 1, 2025.
NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign News Release: Students Deliver 2,700 Petitions to Mayor Urging Faster Bus Service Along Flatbush Avenue. Advocates Call on City and State Leaders to Expand Bus Improvements Beyond the Northern End of Flatbush.
New Yorkers Urge Governor Hochul to Reject Dangerous Gas Pipelines and Nuclear Power Plants Threatening Central NY
NEWS RELEASE: Over 100 Groups Call for Congress to Defend the National Environmental Policy Act
NYPIRG Group Sign-On Letter for the National Environmental Policy Act
NEWS RELEASE: NYPIRG's Statement on the Westerman-Golden SPEED Act
QueensLink Now: A Report from the Next Generation of Riders
Release: Students, Electeds, and Advocates Rally for QueensLink Proposal. Students Share “QueensLink Now” Report, and Deliver Over 1,500 Petition Signatures to Mayor and Governor to Highlight Growing Momentum for QueensLink as an Equitable Transit Solution for Train-Starved Queens
NYPIRG’S REACTION TO GOVERNOR HOCHUL’S NUCLEAR POWER PLAN
New Yorkers must not be fooled a third time about the purported benefits of nuclear power.
The public should demand that Governor Hochul deliver a full independent public vetting of her latest nuclear power plan. That means allowing the entire state to be part of the discussion, examining the expected costs (including the industry’s history of cost overruns), examining the waste storage requirements (on-site forever?), and examining the full cost impacts both directly and indirectly, such as what New York Power Authority projects will be scrapped in order to fund the building of a new nuclear power facility. The fact that the governor is eyeing new, untested approaches to nuclear power underscore the need for a full, transparent process.
The Albany Money Machine – End Of Session Edition : 176 Campaign Fundraisers Held in the Capital District or by Leadership During 62 Scheduled Session Days
See NYPIRG's 2025 Legislative Review - Tale of the Tape
NYPIRG Statement: The Straphangers Campaign applauds the New York City Department of Transportation's recently unveiled plan to implement center-running bus lanes and pedestrian islands along Flatbush Avenue between Livingston Street and Grand Army Plaza.
With momentum growing in the state legislature to pass a statewide rebate program for purchasing electric lawn equipment, representatives from STIHL, EGO, Milwaukee Tools, Ryobi, The Home Depot, and Ace Hardware joined organizers from NYPIRG, Environment America, and other advocacy groups for an informative day of testing out cleaner, quieter electric lawn equipment. The “Electric Lawn Equipment Demo Day” offered state legislators and their staff, as well local residents, the opportunity to learn about the benefits of going electric.
Marking the 500th day since the Department of Environmental Conservation released its once-in-a-decade “Solid Waste Management Plan,” a coalition of environmental, charities, and small businesses today called on the State Senate and Assembly to pass the Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill (S.5684/A.6543) and the "Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act" (S.1464/A.1749).
The groups cited the failure of the state to attack the mounting packaging and beverage container trash crisis as a compelling rationale for legislative action this session. All of the state’s landfills are set to fill up within the next 25 years, but there’s no plan in place to reduce waste and stave off a crisis. The groups urged approval of packaging and bottle bill legislation to help curb New York’s mounting garbage problem.
Reconnecting Queens: Students Lead the Charge for Subway Expansion at QueensLink Town Hall
More than 100 students, faculty, and community members gathered at Queens College for a town hall spotlighting the QueensLink proposal — a community-driven plan to transform the defunct Rockaway Beach Branch into a new north-south subway line through Queens. Hosted by NYPIRG, the event featured interactive stations, personal storytelling, and direct engagement with project leaders. With Queens residents facing some of the city's longest and most unreliable commutes, attendees voiced strong support for the plan’s potential to connect transit-starved neighborhoods, slash travel times, and foster sustainable growth. Student organizers emphasized the importance of community voices in shaping transit policy, especially as QueensLink clears key funding hurdles and gains political momentum.
CITING A NEW POLL, ENVIRONMENTALISTS URGE ACTION ON PACKAGING AND "BOTTLE BILL" LEGISLATION A coalition of environmental groups today reacted to a new Siena Poll released today that shows that New York residents overwhelmingly support state policies to reduce single-use plastic packaging in New York. Seventy-three percent think big companies should be required to reduce packaging on their products, as proposed in the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. And 61% want the beverage container deposit increased from 5 to 10 cents, as proposed in the Bigger Better Bottle Bill.
Reports & Features Archive