Public Employee Press

Takeover saves 1,500 OTB jobs

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

Local 2021 members and their families heaved a collective sigh of relief and cheered DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts and Local President Lenny Allen June 17 as they got the news that Gov. David Paterson had inked the deal for a state takeover to save 1,508 jobs at the New York City Off-Track Betting Corp.

At a victory rally the next day, Allen told a crowd of ecstatic Local 2021 members, “I don’t have a crystal ball, the June 15 layoff date has come and gone and we are still here. This is a permanent fix. Our jobs and our benefits are intact. Some were betting it wouldn’t happen. But we are still here!”

The governor and state lawmakers in Albany announced with DC 37 leaders June 13 that New York State would take over operations and form a new state entity to manage OTB.

Lawmakers support union
But as late as Sunday, June 15, the mayor griped about the plan and said he was uncertain whether the city’s 68 OTB betting parlors would be open onJune 16.

Working closely with Political Director Wanda Williams, DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts led the union in negotiating a permanent fix for OTB with state officials. Williams, Allen, Local 2021 Vice President Paulette Sher and other union leaders worked through the weekend with Gov. Paterson, state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno to preserve OTB members’ benefits and job protections and retirees’ health benefits.

Throughout the ordeal, Allen remained optimistic that a deal to save Local 2021 members’ jobs would come through. “Lenny Allen was the only balance between the politicians and us. He is dedicated and he found the energy to keep wheeling and dealing,” said Betting Clerk Anthony Rodriguez. “Seeing political leaders like Shelly Silver, Marty Golden and Joe Bruno there for us in March at our OTB Lobby Day March 18 was important.”

“This experience has made this local stronger and made us a better union,” said Roberts, who went to Albany June 17 for the bill signing. “You have a very good captain in Lenny Allen,” she told members at the victory rally. “He was there every step of the way and screamed the loudest every time the plans were hung up.”

The union and its members resented being used by politicians as pawns in this deal with their livelihoods at stake, Allen said. “I felt the city turned its back on us. The mayor trashed us by calling us bookies like we were gangsters,” added Rodriguez. “We are loyal city employees.”

When the mayor threatened to renege on the deal and lock the workers out, Roberts suggested to Silver and Bruno that the state simply take over. The central issue involved OTB finances, which were wrecked over time by a formula that sent an increasing share of the profits upstate, sticking New York City with a $13 million unpaid debt.

DC 37 and Local 2021 held several news conferences with City Council Finance Committee ChairDavid Weprin, members Charles Barron, Bill de Blasio, Robert Jackson, Letitia James and ComptrollerWilliam C. Thompson Jr. and others. The union’s PoliticalAction Dept. organized lobby days and had supportfrom Albany lawmakers like Sen. Bill Larkin and AFL-CIO and AFSCME leaders across the state as well asmembers of Local 2021 and activists from locals957, 1070, 1113, 1549, and the DC 37 RetireesAssociation.

Victory for DC 37
“The city would lose millions of dollars by laying us off,” said Hong Hom, an OTB Betting Clerk for 36 years. “They used scare tactics, but I was never worried. Our union looked out for us and I truly believe there was no way DC 37 would let us down.”

“This is a tremendous victory for our members and for DC 37 that would not have been possible without Lillian Roberts and Wanda Williams,” said Allen. He also credited the positive outcome to assistance from DC 37 Legal Dept. attorneys Mary O’Connell and Steve Sykes, Research and Negotiations Director Dennis Sullivan and late Assistant Director Frank Burns, White Collar Division Director Mike Riggio and Assistant Director Chris Wilgenkamp, Council Rep Wendell Reid and other union staff.

At the victory celebration, Allen assured members, “I don’t see our jobs being threatened in this manner ever again.”