Public Employee Press

Fighting for a Fair Budget
Union fights for public services

"The Parks Dept. needs another 500 workers." —Joe Puleo, Local 983 President



By ALFREDO ALVARADO

DC 37 leaders took their case for more funding in Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposed fiscal year 2016 budget to the City Council's Finance Committee hearing held in March.

Civilianization was at the top of the list for Ralph Palladino, 2nd vice president of Local 1549. During his testimony on March 4, Palladino called for the city to follow through with the arbitration that DC 37 won against the New York Police Dept. mandating police officers in clerical positions return to the police beat. "These uniformed personnel can be better utilized in community policing, protecting pedestrians and making schools safer," Palladino said. As many as 750 positions should be civilianized, Palladino added. He also criticized the city's continued push to privatize services at the Health and Hospitals Corp. "There are up to 500 private temps performing clerical duties at HCC," he said.

Peter Stein, president of Lifeguard Supervisors Local 508, also testified and asked the City Council to include more funds in the budget to repair the faulty ventilation systems at indoor swimming pools at Parks Dept. recreation centers.

Joe Puleo, president of Motor Vehicle Operators Local 983, said at the hearing that Parks Dept. could use another 500 workers.

"We also need more civil service tests, and permanent workers, not people who are working from year to year," he said at the hearing.

Sirra Crippen, president of Dept. of Parks Gardeners Local 1507, also spoke before the committee and raised similar concerns.

Local 372 Executive Vice President Donald Nesbit spoke before the City Council's Committee on Public Safety on March 12. Speaking on behalf of the 23,000 members of Local 372 who work in the public schools, Nesbit addressed the current shortage of School Crossing Guards. There are 325 vacancies, which Nesbsit attributes to low pay and insufficient hours. "Despite the demonstrated need for School Crossing Guards at every school, low wages and short hours have deterred potential applicants from filling these vacancies," Nesbit said.

Nesbit called for more funds to increase their hours and their pay rate to $15 an hour.

"Millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted on able-bodied police officers performing routine clerical duties when well-trained and very capable civilians from our local could be doing the job at a lower salary.”
—Janice Darden, Chair of Local 1549

NYPD still needs to be civilianized

Janice Darden, chair of Local 1549's Police Administrative Clerical chapter, also addressed the committee and called on the New York City Police Dept. to comply with the law and transfer Police Officers from clerical duties to street patrols. "Millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted on able-bodied Police Officers performing routine clerical duties when well-trained and very capable civilians from our local could be doing the job at a lower salary," Darden said. "DC 37 has won arbitrations and judgments but the NYPD has simply not complied."

Jim Hamlin-McLeod, of the Police Communications Technicians chapter of Local 1549 (911 Operators and Dispatchers), also addressed the Public Safety Committee and asked the committee to fund an additional 150 PCTs. "Response times to accidents would improve dramatically, that would improve public safety and our members would not be so overworked and stressed out," he explained.

At the sub-committee on libraries, Val Colon, president of Local 1930, Cuthbert Dickenson, president of Local 374, John Hyslop, president of Local 1321 and Eileen Muller, president of Local 1482, presented joint testimony on behalf of their members.

The libraries have lost more than 870 employees in recent years. "Everyone wants us to offer more hours, more after-school programs, more adult education classes and more programs, but these services require more staff and more funding," they said.

Also advocating on behalf of the members at the library committee was Christian Arffman from Local 1321, Sherri Ann Joseph from Local 1482 and Nina L. Manning, Local 1930's secretary-treasurer.

At the council's Health Committee hearing on March 22, Carmen Charles, president of Local 420, raised concerns about HHC's decision to renew the contract outsourcing its dietary services to Sodexo and the continued use of temp workers. "Using temp workers disrupts the career path of HHC employees," she said.

Mayor de Blasio will present his final executive budget for fiscal 2016 in May. The fiscal year begins July 1.

In addition to lobbying for more funding at the City Council, DC 37 addressed the union's budgetary priorities at its annual City Council breakfast on Feb. 26 at union headquarters.

The featured guest for the morning meeting was City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. She described her first year as "a great first year in terms of building on our agenda."

Mark-Viverito pointed to the hiring of more Park Enforcement Patrols at the Dept. of Parks and Recreation. She said she looks forward to working with DC 37. "We'll be addressing those issues that are important to you, like contracting out," she said.

During the breakfast meeting, DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido discussed the union's budgetary priorities for the year. He pointed out how the union has always been willing to work with the city during difficult financial times yet the city has often failed to reciprocate.

"We are tired of that scenario," Garrido said. "We are going to change how we do business in this union." With as many as 10,000 union members earning less than $10 an hour, fighting for a livable wage is at the top of the union's agenda, Garrido said.

Libraries are in dire need of funds

Funding for city libraries, which have lost 21 percent of their staff since 2009, is another priority. The union seeks $65 million in additional funding to address understaffing and to keep all libraries open six days a week. Working with a coalition, the union also seeks $1.1 billion for a 10-year capital plan.

Universal school lunch for middle school students and adding more school drug counselors are also at the top of the union's agenda. "Protecting our kids is a priority for all of us," said Garrido, who a month later announced that the union won an agreement with the city to boost the pay for as many as 5,000 members.

The union's Political Director, Wanda Williams, closed the meeting with a summary of issues that the union is organizing around. DC 37 supports the bill (Intro. 261), which prohibits the use of consumer credit history checks by employers.

The union is opposing plans by the Health and Hospitals Corp. to privatize its dialysis services and is also opposing Intro. 209, a bill that would ban the use of plastic bags and would charge 10 cents on all carry-out paper and plastic bags. "This is merely a regressive fee imposed on the poor and working families of New York City," Williams said. "A real recycling program that separates plastic bags and institutes a redeemable plastic bag program would be a more environmentally sound alternative."