As thousands of layoffs hit city workers, DC 37 and several locals recently sued the mayor to reverse the firings, protect jobs and block the city’s use of office temps instead of civil service employees.

While keeping hundreds of temporary workers on the job at a cost of more than $60 million a year in one agency alone, the mayor laid off 2,000 unionized city workers May 16. The city even initiated new contracts with temporary agencies after announcing the massive layoffs.

The move prompted DC 37 to charge Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg with violating the City Charter, state constitution, Civil Service Law and the union contract by using temporary workers to displace union members hired through the civil service system.

Two State Supreme Court cases have been filed: one by DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts, Clerical-Administrative Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez and Finance Dept. Employees Local 1113 President John Cummings and a second by Local 1549.

A third case involved the Dept. of Education’s effort to close its District Offices, where many union members worked. Veronica Montgomery-Costa, president of DC 37 and Dept. of Education Employees Local 372, and Carolyn Harper, president of Local 1251, DOE Clerical-Administrative Employees, fought the move.

They joined State Senator Carl Kruger, many other legislators and unions in the suit, which was settled when the chancellor agreed to keep the 32 existing district offices open.

In a previous DOE lawsuit, DC 37 charged that the city maintains a “shadow government” of so-called “temporary” employees who in fact work full-time for years. The use of temps sidesteps the merit and fitness hiring process required by law, said the union, and the contracts with temp agencies were issued without the required cost-benefit analysis. DC 37’s White Papers pointed to the gross waste of taxpayer dollars through contracts that are not cost effective.