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PEP June 2014
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Public Employee Press

Mail and Media

Roberts was right


I was not surprised to read in the May PEP that it was DC 37 members in EMS and social service jobs who came to the aid of the victims of the awful explosion in East Harlem in March. Not overpaid outside contractors!

And I was glad to see that the "mastermind" crooks in the CityTime contracting- out fraud got 20 years in jail. They deserve it, because every dollar they stole took services from the public and took jobs from our union members. Since Bloomberg was the leader of this ring, why isn't he going to jail with his accomplices?

I did not hear anything about the mayor or the federal prosecutor thanking DC 37 for exposing the waste and corruption in CityTime and the new 911 system, but they should, because Lillian Roberts was screaming about this for many years when nobody in government wanted to listen, and Associate Director Henry Garrido was doing the research that proved she was right.

— Mike Menendez
Parks Department



Our turn now!

I am very happy to see that the teachers have negotiated a contract that gives them the two 4 percent raises we got back in 2008 and 2009. It's about time, and it shows that Mayor Bill de Blasio is a decent man who didn't even try to lie and claim the city couldn't afford these modest pay increases, like the previous mayor did.

We have been waiting a long time for a new contract, because the previous mayor didn't want to be reasonable; he only wanted to take away what we had.

But now it's our turn! And I am sure Lillian Roberts and our negotiating committee will go to the bargaining table, explain our needs to Mayor de Blasio and bring home the bacon.

— Sarah Green
Local 1549



Elections matter

The historic ruling by federal Judge Steven Rhodes in Detroit's bankruptcy that lifted the shield for pensions is the canary in the mine shaft that should alarm and rally all of organized labor to the max. I believe this is the first time ever that public employee pensions were not protected in a federal bankruptcy case.

The larger message for us is that elections do have serious consequences. Tea Party Republican candidates like Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder - who aims to weaken support for the Democratic Party by any means possible - has taken aim at one of the Democrats' strongest supporters, organized labor. That is the unstated goal at work here. Don't Tea Party folks say they want less Federal power trumping state laws (unless it suits their purposes)?

To not properly fund pensions and then say they are unaffordable is a calculated formula for failure. For banks and bondholders to take precedence over retired workers is shameful. To cut the benefits of older retired workers, with average pensions of $19,000 a year and force them into poverty and onto public assistance is morally wrong.

Is this the type of country we want? As my wife likes to say, "How do these folks sleep at night?"

— Mark Shoenfeld
Local 2627


 
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