Public Employee Press

DC 37 JTPs rise from welfare to work

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

Tyrone Robinson attended welding school and did landscape jobs in California, but in New York City he could only find temporary work.

Karem Arroyo came from Bolivia to attend college, but when she got pregnant she left school.

Permanent employment eluded Joseph Rivera, a day laborer. “Employers rejected me. They told me I was overqualified,” he said.

On welfare in 2005, the three participated in the New York City Parks Dept.’s six-month Jobs Training Program, which helps people get off public assistance and onto a career path. The program changed their lives.

Today the three former JTPs are proud Parks Dept. employees and DC 37 members. The union organized JTPs through its Blue Collar Division, and DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts continues to press city agencies to hire them first.

“We have hundreds of examples that show the Jobs Training Program works,” said Roberts. “Hiring JTPs makes sense. It gives former welfare recipients a chance to earn decent wages to support their families, moves them off welfare and into more productive roles as taxpayers and working members of the community.”

Despite a hiring freeze by the city, the Parks Dept. has filled many seasonal jobs and full-time civil service jobs with former JTPs. The Health and Hospitals Corp. has hired about 200 former JTPs. And a smaller training program at the Dept. of Sanitation recently expanded to include 30 JTPs, explained Jose Sierra, DC 37 Blue Collar Division director.

“I saw an opportunity and I grabbed it,” said Rivera. His seasonal JTP assignment “was a relief, because for nine months, I did not have to look for work.” As a JTP, he got his driver’s permit and license, and the Parks Dept. hired Rivera as a City Parks Worker; he became permanent in June.

Now Rivera fixes power tools in the Queens greenhouse, mows lawns and prunes hedges. “I read a lot of books on plants and gardening,” he said. “I knew if I took the initiative, I could accomplish a lot.”

“My life has totally changed,” said Arroyo, a clerk in the Queens Forestry office. “I have a good job and work with people who appreciate me. Now I can give my baby a future.”

“Parks is not just cutting grass,” said former JTP Tyrone Robinson, who obtained his commercial driver’s license through the program and in July was promoted to Associate Park Service Worker from CPW.

“I change guardrails, apply safety surfaces, install and repair fences, drive tractors, repair ball fields. I took a deep interest and learned all I could,” Robinson said. His initiative made him a standout and Supervisor Frank Ricotta, a member of Local 1508, took notice.

“I have great bosses who motivate me,” Robinson said. “I showed they could put a lot of faith and trust in me and if given a chance, I would not let them down.”

“Currently, the city pays more than $70 million to private contractors for custodial services,” said Roberts. “I believe the city should not privatize jobs that it can fill by hiring JTPs. The city could save money by hiring JTPs as the first choice to fill entry-level positions.”