Public Employee Press

Court gives go-ahead to Laborer layoffs

Fifty-nine Laborers in Local 924, whose hospital jobs were saved in September 2010 when DC 37 won an injunction, were laid off July 7 when the Appellate Division of the state courts ruled that unions and courts cannot interfere with executive decisions regarding public staffing and budgets.

The decision stated, "Neither the petitioners or the courts should be permitted to substitute their judgment for the discretionary management of the public business by public officials."

"We are extremely disappointed with this decision," said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. "The Appellate Division has overturned the lower court's well-reasoned findings, reopening very real concerns about the safety of hospital patients and our members."

Last year, after five days of testimony from Laborers, Carpenters and Electricians, the state Supreme Court concluded that HHC's layoff plan was "arbitrary, capricious and irrational," because HHC failed to consider the health and safety of employees and the public.

HHC's handling of the layoffs "has jeopardized public safety by privatizing the work we and other union employees did," said Local 924 President Kyle Simmons. "The private contractors do not have the training and skills to perform safety sensitive construction work in the hospital setting."

"HHC pushed through a plan for arbitrary layoffs with no regard for the contract or employees' seniority," Simmons said. "And it makes no sense to privatize prevailing-wage jobs - there's no savings!"

Local 924 Laborers maintain grounds, remove snow, do repairs and provide fire safety and infection control on construction projects in HHC facilities.

"Contractors are notoriously wasteful and make costly mistakes," Simmons said. "There is no way to ensure that they don't use subpar materials to save money. Management has no system to ensure quality work or accountability. Laborers have always cleaned up and corrected contractors' messes."

The decision of the Appellate Division overturned decades of court rulings that allowed the courts to reverse agency actions that are arbitrary, said DC 37 Attorney Aaron Amaral. "The ruling," he said, "may protect agencies and other public entities from challenges to irrational or arbitrary decision-making couched in a rationale of staffing or budgeting. This has dangerous implications for all public sector unions and anyone hurt by an arbitrary agency decision."

DC 37 has moved to bring the case to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, and should know in October whether the case will be heard.

— DSW