Public Employee Press


Local 983 asks for more funds for road work
Union work crews make city roads safe

In mid-March Mayor Bill de Blasio and a Dept. of Transportation unionized crew filled the city's one millionth pothole since he took office.

Local 983 has ideas on how the city can fill more.

"Seasonal Assistant City Highway Repairers work from March to early December filling potholes," said Local 983 President Joe Puleo. "If the City Council would increase DOT's budget to fund year-round employment, it would be a win for the city and for working families. Drivers and pedestrians need safer streets."

As the weather warms, New York City drivers dodge and weave along highways and roads to avoid treacherous potholes. Hit one the wrong way and a driver could wind up with a flat tire, cracked axle or worse.

This year the de Blasio administration aims to tackle the city's pocked roads problem with DOT crews, an infusion of federal funds and the latest technology.

DOT's hardworking crews of Highway Repairers in Local 376, Assistant HRs and seasonal ACHRs in Local 983 and their Supervisors in Local 1157 hit the road filling potholes based on 311 calls and daily assignments.

They patch streets as they drive, using asphalt and hot tar and Cold Patch, a product that can be used in wintry clime. Cold Patch allows DOT crews to work year-round fixing roads regardless of weather.

Seasonal Assistant City Highway Repairers earn about $43,000 and get furloughed three months a year. "They pay for COBRA insurance which can be high," Puleo explained. "The cost of rent, food and living expenses doesn't change for these members and their families when they're out of work. They wait five years before DOT makes them full-time, year-round employees."

This year DOT crews lead the city's war on potholes with more in their arsenals. De Blasio won a 10-year $1.6 billion commitment of federal transportation funds to resurface New York City roads. And DOT will test a Silicon Alley pilot program developed by women-led startup StreetLabs, which won CUNY's Zahn Innovation Center prize.

StreetLabs will install sensors under DOT vehicles to collect and relay data on road conditions. This will help DOT identify streets with minor bumps and fissures that can be fixed early for added savings before they become major driving hazards. DOT plans to roll out the pilot study this summer in Upper Manhattan.

— DSW