Public Employee Press

Fighting to save public services from Bloomberg's cuts . . .
. . . and budget hearing

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's executive budget proposal for 2014 came under heavy attack by DC 37 and local leaders in early June, and many of his cuts were canceled in negotiations with the City Council. When the $70 billion budget was adopted a week before the June 30 deadline, Bloomberg's plans to close city pools in mid-August, shutter libraries and cut funds for cultural institutions were gone.

While some people had been led to believe that there would be no layoffs in the new budget, DC 37 Associate Director Henry Garrido warned a June 5 City Council Finance Committee hearing that Bloomberg's plan threatened up to 1,900 jobs.

He sharply criticized the administration for giving cost-of-living raises to private contractors while hundreds of thousands of city employees got no raises for four years or more.

He pressed for hiring more 911 operators to address the understaffing that has forced many to work excessive overtime (see pages 4-5).

"The city paid $700 million to revamp the 911 computer system. They can find the money to add more workers," Garrido said.

Local 1549 Executive Vice President Alma G. Roper, 2nd Vice President Ralph Palladino and Police Clerical Chapter Chair Janice Darden testified at the hearing, with Roper cautioning that, "The lives of New Yorkers depend on hiring 911 operators." (Sec pages 4-5.)

Local 372 President Santos Crespo expressed the union's concern about the possibility of losing more support staff in the schools. "We cannot have successful schools if our budgets weaken our vital support services," he explained. "We need our School Aides and Cafeteria Workers to help free our teachers to do their important work and ensure our students can move safely to their classrooms and arrive prepared to learn."

With cultural institutions and libraries facing severe budget cuts, Museum of Natural History Local 1559 President Peter Vreeland, Brooklyn Library Guild Local 1482 President Eileen Muller and New York Public Library Guild Local 1930 President Valentin Colon strongly urged the City Council to restore the funds.

Health Services Employees Local 768 President Fitz Reid called on the legislators to save city health clinics from closure under the mayor's plan. "All of the endangered clinics are in neighborhoods that really need them," he said.

Finance Committee Chair Domenic M. Recchia Jr. pledged that in talks with the mayor, the committee would "work hard to avoid layoffs," and the adopted budget went a long way toward accomplishing that. PEP will publish details of the budget restorations as they become known.

—Alfredo Alvarado