Public Employee Press

Unionists speak out at city budget hearings


Before the City Council leadership negotiates with the mayor to settle on a final budget before the June 30 deadline, the council's committees hold hearings to solicit information and views from city agencies and the public. DC 37 and many locals weigh in at these hearings.

In the first hearings of 2014, the Finance and General Welfare committees met Feb. 27 at City Hall. Speaking on behalf of DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts at the Finance Committee, Assistant Director Raymond Santander of the Research and Negotiations Dept. expressed members' need for fair wage increases after long years with no raises under the former administration.

"We like some things in the budget," said Santander. "Our concern is about the lack of information regarding raises." Santander also called for the new budget to significantly cut back on the consultants and private contractors that the city has been wasting millions of dollars on.

Rose Lovaglio-Miller, vice president of negotiations and research for Social Services Employees Local 371, addressed the General Welfare Committee, advocating an expansion of staffing levels at the city's homeless shelters and ending the use of non-municipal employees. "There has to be more staff, mental health and social assessments," she explained, and urged funding of "social work units to deal with long-term and chronic problems."

Local 1549 2nd Vice President Ralph Palladino pressed for funding to hire more 311 Call Center representatives March 6 at the Land Use and Technology Committee, pointing out that over 150 jobs had been eliminated in the last five years. He said that ending the city's $50 million contract with King Teleservices for a back-up system and ending the CUNY Student Training Program could fund additional staff. "The CUNY program is not a training program: it provides low paying jobs with no benefits that threaten the civil service system," he said.

PEP will report on subsquent hearings in the May issue.

— Alfredo Alvarado