Public Employee Press

Building Political Power with Members
DC 37 activists push for fair funding for HHC, CFE and NYC at legislative conference.

Some 650 union activists packed the house at the union’s 25th annual Legislative Conference on Saturday Feb. 28 and proved DC 37 is a political power to be reckoned with.

“DC 37 has the power because we have the numbers and loyal volunteers who turn out for every election,” said Political Director Wanda Williams. “That’s what makes us the most powerful union in New York City politics!”

The chant “CFE, HHC, NYC!” echoed through the hall, summarizing the political agenda members will press in Albany on Lobby Day, May 4:

• CFE: the Campaign for Fiscal Equity to restore $9 billion that city school children have been cheated out of.
• HHC: to protect public hospitals from Medicaid cuts and harmful policy changes; and
• NYC: to recover more of the tax dollars the city sends to state and federal coffers annually. The union also proposed revenue enhancements to help close the city’s $2 billion budget gap and maintain effective public services.

“Our issues are compounded because our president invests everywhere except the cities and states of this nation,” said Associate Director Oliver Gray. After sending $87 billion to rebuild Iraq and using the 9/11 tragedy to promote his reelection, President George W. Bush has yet to pay New York the $20 billion in recovery aid he promised.

Guest speaker LaRay Brown, HHC’s senior vice president, said the Medicaid cuts proposed in the 2004-5 state budget “would hurt public hospitals, patients, employee retirement benefits and local economies.” Instead, she said, the state should restore budget funds and close corporate tax loopholes to raise revenue.

The DC 37 activists also heard from City Council member Robert Jackson, a lead plaintiff in the CFE lawsuit. The Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, ruled that the state’s distribution of education funds was discriminatory and unconstitutional.

“We sued and proved our children were shortchanged,” Mr. Jackson said. “We proved the formula was fixed.” The current formula fails to provide the basics for a sound education, cheating city children out of funding for textbooks, computers, science labs and more. He explained that schools in suburban Scarsdale get almost $16,000 annually to educate a child, while New York City schools get $5,000 to $7,000 less. Experts calculate the city’s total loss at $9 billion.

Gov. George E. Pataki fought the CFE case. He preferred instead the earlier ruling that said an eighth grade education is enough for city children. But on June 25, 2003, the Court of Appeals ordered New York State to equalize its aid formula and pay the $9 billion.

Now the governor is dragging his heels and hoping to raise funds through video lotteries. But many believe that gambling would send the wrong moral message and state legislators are reluctant to raise taxes in an election year. “The number one issue facing state legislators is: Will they have the courage to do what’s right for our children?” Mr. Jackson asked.

“Without the equitable distribution of funds, we will pay with an underclass of uneducated children, high dropout rates and high incarceration rates,” he said.

Mr. Jackson and 23 DC 37 local presidents at the conference challenged the activists to each register 25 voters by October to send a message. The afternoon session broke out into workshops on pensions, health care and other issues affecting working families.

“DC 37 members have the power to change how government operates,” said Ms. Williams. “In the coming months, our voice will be heard loud and clear in City Hall, Albany and Washington.”