By LILLIAN ROBERTS
Executive Director
District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO

THE MAYOR has launched a "perfect storm" of attacks on our pay, our benefits and our pensions. City employees cost too much, he says, so he will have to contract out our work. (As if he's not already doing that to the tune of $10 billion.)

His administration claims that our members' health benefits and pensions eat up half the city budget. That's nothing but trash talk when in fact our retirees live on fixed incomes that average under $18,000 a year and pensions and fringe benefits each use only 7½ percent of the budget.

Of course, this sounds a lot like the usual hysteria that emanates from City Hall every time the chief inhabitant realizes it's time to provide modest raises for city employees. But right now, this irresponsible talk is dangerous: It feeds the anti-government, anti-public employee frenzy of the Wall Street Journal crowd and the tabloid teabaggers who want to starve the public services that the working class and the poor of our city depend on.

I believe sounder heads will prevail - especially because our political action work is so effective - and I am encouraged by the successful efforts of Comptroller John Liu to end the waste on the outside contract for the CityTime payroll mess.

Our government has built-in checks and balances, but how well they work starts with who we elect. I am proud that DC 37 went all-out to help put a courageous, independent-minded candidate, John Liu, in office as Comptroller.

The CityTime contractor was paying 230 consultants an average of $400,000 apiece, but after 10 years, the project was incomplete, overdue and 1,000 percent over budget. The mayor called the job a "disaster," but he still tried to throw the contractor another $110 million of the taxpayers' money this year.

Liu saw the colossal waste in the CityTime deal, and he blew the whistle on this billion-dollar boondoggle.

Contractor out, members in

Under Liu's agreement with the administration, the city will cut this year's payment to $32 million, the contract will end on June 30, 2011, and our members will replace the overpaid consultants and do the work more efficiently.

We are again seeing the power of political action as we fight to save members' jobs from the Health and Hospitals Corp. plan for reckless downsizing and privatizing (see 'DC 37 blasts HHC cutback plans' and 'Hospital laborers battle layoffs'). To me, HHC's "The Road Ahead" scheme is a dead end for quality patient care at the city's public hospitals.

We pushed hard to elect strong and responsible candidates to the City Council - leaders who care more about the needs of the people than the business interests the mayor favors. Now 38 of the 51 Council members have signed a letter by Julissa Ferreras and Mathieu Eugene blasting the HHC plan and we are pushing for hearings on the issue. I want to thank the Council members who showed the strength to stand up to the mayor and resist the forces that want to destroy the city's commitment to provide health care regardless of patients' ability to pay.

Political action makes a huge difference in our ability to protect our pay and our jobs and influence budgets and legislation. As we approach Election Day, November 2, it is now more important than ever to elect fair-minded candidates who believe in us and believe in the working people of our city and our state.

I want to point out particularly that we need checks and balances on the state level as much as we do in the city. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is tough, fair-minded and already filling this vital role with distinction.

This newspaper lists the candidates the union is supporting (See 'DC 37 Endorsements'), and I urge every member to get out and vote Nov. 2 and to volunteer to help them win. Just call the Political Action Dept. at 212-815-1550. We can only answer the growing threats to city employees by mobilizing our people power.