Public Employee Press

Rehiring begins in Transportation and Finance

In win-win moves that benefit DC 37 members and the city, the Departments of Transportation and Finance have begun to rehire members who were laid off earlier this year. New York City Traffic Employees Local 1455 helped 25 former DC 37 members get rehired as Parking Meter Service Workers in DOT.

“These newest hires are helping Local 1455 by filling a backlog of vacancies created by attrition and a citywide hiring freeze,” said Michael DeMarco, president of Local 1455. “Cooperation between DOT’s management, which included the Commissioner, Iris Weinshall, Deputy Commissioner Michael Primeggia and Assistant Commissioner Victor Rosen, and our union, helped these laid-off DC 37 members get back on their feet and into the workforce again.”

Spreading the workload
PMSWs generate revenue for the city. Last year they collected more than $70 million in coins from over 60,000 parking meters throughout the five boroughs. Short staffed and overworked, the parking meter workers of Local 1455 lug canisters filled with coins that weigh in at more than 85 pounds. The additional workers will help spread the workload more evenly, members said.

Most of the rehired DC 37 members were fired last spring when Mayor Bloomberg reduced the workforce to close the city’s gaping budget gap. The newest PMSWs include about 17 former seasonal Assistant Highway Repairers from Local 983, four former City Attendants from Local 1505 and one former Clerical Aide from Local 1549.

“We really needed help, especially since we function as a revenue generator for the city,” Mr. DeMarco said. “And these laid-off union brothers and sisters needed jobs to support themselves and their families.” The annual starting salary for the position is around $26,000.

In the Dept. of Finance, the union has received commitments from officials to rehire or promote six laid-off and demoted professional and clerical workers. David Moog, president of Assessors, Appraisers and Mortgage Analysts Local 1757, said management has been cooperative in meetings that were continuing as PEP went to press. “I am hopeful that we can bring back most if not all of the members in the Assessor title series,” he said.