PEP Feb. 2003: Editorial, Lillian Roberts: Even one layoff is outrageous.

When a layoff notice shows up in your mail, as they did for several hundred members shortly before Christmas, it is small solace to know that you have a lot of company. But to fight effectively, we have to understand that our pain is part of a national crisis.

Layoffs are devastating working families nationwide. In December, another 100,000 breadwinners got the axe, and mortgage foreclosures have been driving families from their homes at a record pace.

The worst budget deficits in 50 years are forcing states and cities to gut public services — generally starting with health care and public education — and raise taxes. Ohio just laid off 4,000 public employees, Connecticut — 3,000.

There is no way these problems can be solved without major help from Washington. The president’s new $674 billion plan is similar to the 2001 tax cut that he said would help corporations increase hiring; since it passed, 1.4 million more jobs have gone down the tubes. This is just another tax giveaway to big business and the wealthy.
There is nothing in it to stem the tidal wave of layoffs, nothing for hard-pressed cities and states. And by canceling stock dividend taxes the plan would deepen our city and state deficits by $625 million.

Together with our 1.4 million-member national union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, DC 37 is waging a nationwide fight for a real stimulus. I recently met in Albany with New York State AFSCME leaders on a plan to mobilize our 400,000 members here to strengthen our voice in this debate.

The United States is bleeding jobs. Any real stimulus package must include a direct job creation program like the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of the 1970s. When mass layoffs struck during the city’s fiscal crisis in 1975, CETA jobs kept thousands of public employees off welfare.

Here in New York City, DC 37 is fighting back with every weapon at our disposal. By pressing on civil service and contract rights, we saved about 100 of our union sisters and brothers — but more than 300 lost their jobs. In court, we are fighting to save jobs and protect the civil service system, the traditional gateway to the middle class for so many minorities and immigrants.

Even one layoff is outrageous in a city that allows a $6 billion “Shadow Government” of contractors and consultants to employ a non-civil service “Parallel Workforce” of more than 100,000.

Even one layoff is disgraceful where the union has already shown management how to eliminate enough wasteful contracting out to make job cuts unnecessary.

Even one layoff is shameful when city officials have responded to a union counteroffer on severance pay by walking out of negotiations.

These are human beings we are talking about, not just bloodless budget numbers:

Custodial Assistant Ivonne Miranda worked her way up from public assistance. With an autistic child and another aiming for college, she is devastated by her Jan. 10 layoff from the Police Dept. Who will do her work? Either high-paid Police Officers or an outside contractor.
Clerical Associate Patricia Heyward helped assure high standards for 1.1 million students by verifying teacher’s licenses. After 12 years, the Dept. of Education laid her off Jan. 2 — but DOE still hires office temps.
Computer Associate Darrell Turner was a provisional for 16 years. He passed civil service tests, but DOE never appointed him from a list before it dumped him in January. With a kidney transplant, he needs drugs costing $1,000 a month to stay alive.

Local action is needed now
In addition to national programs, we need immediate local action to save jobs. Mayor Bloomberg is seeking more details on our proposals to cut out $600 million dollars of wasteful spending on contracting out. And the union has learned, unofficially, that after we documented such waste in the Dept. of Education, the agency quietly began canceling some of its vendor and consultant contracts.

In his State of the City message, the mayor called for a commission to review the city’s contracting and procurement system. I am writing him to say that DC 37, which has exposed so much waste in the current system, should have a seat on that panel.

I am also calling for full hearings by the City Council and the State Legislature on the damage contracting out is doing to public services, our members and the civil service system.

And I am telling Mayor Bloomberg that the ball is in his court now. He didn’t create the problem, but he must take a close look at what his agencies are doing, implement the available savings and stop the layoffs — or risk becoming part of the problem.