Public Employee Press

Court stops Laborer layoffs

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

A labor coalition of DC 37 and skilled trades unions won a state Supreme Court injunction banning the layoffs of hundreds of Laborers, Carpenters and Electricians that the Health and Hospitals Corp. had scheduled.

The mass firing of blue-collar workers was part of the "Road Ahead" cutback plan prepared for HHC by the Deloitte consulting firm for $4 million. The judge rejected the plan as "arbitrary and capricious" and wrote that it "failed to employ a sound methodology" and did not properly analyze the impact of the layoffs on maintaining safe and sanitary conditions at New York City public hospitals.

"We are grateful the judge granted an injunction against the layoffs," said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. "Our interests go beyond protecting members' jobs. The strength of this case rests with our desire as public workers to protect the health and safety of all New Yorkers - patients, staff and those who rely on city hospitals for care."

"The Deloitte study was really a numbers game," said DC 37 attorney Steve Sykes. "HHC never presented in court any actual analyses of workflow or how these layoffs would affect patient care and safety."

HHC's decision-making process was replete with "numerous and profound flaws," the judge wrote, and she ordered the corporation to re-evaluate its plan.

DC 37 witnesses included hospital management experts and Local 924 Laborers Victor Maduro and George Caironi. The Laborers explained that HHC trains them to protect safety for patients, visitors and staff as they assist skilled trades employees in complying with fire, smoke and infection control standards.

"Staff reductions would leave much of the maintenance work undone," and would compromise the hospital's ability to meet state standards, Caironi said.

Safety jeopardized

HHC failed to include the unions to evaluate who would maintain the safety standards and handle snow removal and electrical and other crises after the layoffs, used no real guidelines to understand the work and time needed to complete vital tasks or maintain health and safety, the judge concluded. In fact, she said, "HHC had no rational reason" for the layoffs.

"We stopped the layoffs and the judge ruled that HHC must maintain safe conditions at their facilities," said Laborers Local 924 President Kyle Simmons. "Our coalition of labor unions beat back the city's attempt to replace our members with subpar services that would have jeopardized public health and safety.

We count this as a victory for all New Yorkers."