PEP, November 2011: Letters to the Editor

Public Employee Press

Letters to the Editor

The school layoffs are Bloomberg's shame

To see the fight we have put up against the mayor's vicious, vindictive layoffs of school support workers makes me so proud of my union. I went to public school and I know the Local 372 members are the caring side of the school system, the people who link the school with the home and the community. They remind the students how important it is to their families and their future to pay attention in class and get a good education.

I also know the Local 372 members are mostly women, mostly low-paid part-timers who will probably not be able to get jobs at all in the current economy. Any mayor who could dump them in the street must not have a heart at all.

And I have learned another lesson from these firings: To put it bluntly, Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Walcott are liars. Their stories about these layoffs have the smell of rotten fish, and we all know that when a fish stinks, it starts at the head.

I have listened carefully to all the announcements from the administration, the City Council and the union. It is very clear to me (1) that Bloomberg planned these layoffs as retribution ever since Lillian Roberts and the other unions wouldn't let him raid the health insurance stability fund, (2) that he pulled a fast one on the City Council so they couldn't stop the layoffs in the budget they adopted, and (3) that Walcott only played at negotiating a solution and never intended to stop the layoffs no matter what proposal the union offered.

Walcott's behavior was, "My mind is made up. Don't try to confuse me with the facts."

I very much admire the members of Local 372 for the proposal they made to share the pain and save their co-workers' jobs by reducing everyone's hours. But no proposal would have stopped this mayor, because he was hellbent on firing these decent, innocent hard-working people, to his everlasting shame.

—Sarah Greene
Local 1549

Why Obama will win

Everyone is aware that President Barack Obama is facing multiple problems left by President Bush. The previous president left trillions of dollars of debt, wars, veterans' problems, unemployment and a bad economy.

Our president is trying hard to solve some of these problems but the Republicans are rejecting any proposal he puts forward. Although they are Americans, they are acting like Taliban & Al Qaeda.

President Clinton created 3 million jobs, but Bush's administration destroyed 8 million jobs. The federal government, the states, cities, and counties are all facing deficit problems. We are in debt and continue to borrow. Perhaps China will ultimately buy America for $100.

This country is spending trillions every year and this process will continue for many many years to come on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Bush left various problems that cannot be solved overnight by Mr. Obama. But Bush's tax cuts give too much of our money to rich people. Mr. Obama will be our next president.

—Chandur D. Malkani
Retiree, Local 154

Correction

It should surprise nobody that bravery and dedication to solving problems and helping others led to advancement on the job and union leadership for Mike Coppola, an Area Supervisor Level 1 and the president of DOT Supervisory Employees Local 1157. That's Mike handling debris from Ground Zero in the bottom photo on the back page of the October PEP.

Sorry we got it wrong, Mike.