Public Employee Press

Painters fired
City sends work to Jersey

The needless firing of 12 union painters as the Dept. of Homeless Services gave their work to an out-of-state company points to the urgency of strengthening restrictions on the city’s contracting out.

The harm to the workers and the local economy came under attack Oct. 15 at a joint hearing of the City Council Committees on Contracts and Civil Service and Labor, where DC 37 Assistant Associate Director Henry Garrido called the layoffs a classic example of misguided public policy.

“In hundreds of city contracts, our union sees a faulty procurement system allowing the city to contract out personnel services,” Garrido said. “We feel the city should have to justify every contract with a thorough cost analysis.”

In September, DHS wiped out its painting unit by laying off 12 painters represented by Local Union 1969 and two supervisors. Under a $2.2 million city contract, the Riverdale Painting Corp. of New Jersey will take over the unit’s tasks.

The 12 fired painters were among more than 1,000 city workers, including hundreds of DC 37 members, laid off this fall.

Local Law 34 requires that when it is considering proposals of more than $100,000 for contractors, the city must study whether farming out the work will displace municipal employees and conduct a cost-benefit analysis. Union officials said that wasn’t done with the Riverdale proposal.

“They simply reacted to the Office of Management and Budget’s mandate to cut the head count, regardless of whether there was a more cost-effective way to obtain painting services,” said Stephen Melish Jr., president of Local 1969.

“The law has to have some teeth,” said Letitia James, chair of the Committee on Contracts. James said she acknowledged feeling “incredulous” as Marla Simpson, director of the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, said she believed no contract proposal during her tenure has ever triggered a cost-benefit study.

Garrido said her admission of the lack of oversight was no surprise. He pointed out that while the city enters 20,000 contracts a year, the municipal unions have never received a notice about the possible displacement of city workers.

“It is outrageous,” said painter Fred Caver, who was laid off after working for DHS for almost 10 years. “Why are they contracting out when city workers can do the job more cost-effectively than the contractor?” he asked.