House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday joined AFSCME President Lee Saunders and front-line public service workers from states experiencing surges in coronavirus cases to urge the Senate to approve
By DIANE S. WILLIAMS The coronavirus pandemic hit New York City hardest and elevated thousands of DC 37 members as frontline, essential workers who protect public health and safety and make New York City run. From the get-go, Local 2507 Fire Inspectors assigned to a special FDNY task force asked the public to practice social distancing as they distributed face masks in parks and on city streets. Their work includes responding to fires at construction sites and inspecting and testing fire suppression systems in buildings throughout New York so firefighters have the necessary tools, hoses, and access to water to extinguish fires. It became increasingly apparent that New York’s tough talk and politicians’ bravado were no match for the coronavirus, the deadliest global health crisis to hit humanity since 1919. In a matter of weeks, COVID-19 claimed tens of thousands of lives. Health experts agree that had government acted sooner, 34% of COVID-19 victims’ lives could have been saved. As the pandemic spread, Governor Andrew Cuomo shut down New York State, albeit not soon enough. Public interactions and businesses that drive the city’s economy came to a grinding halt. More than four months into this unprecedented pandemic, New York City [...]— Aug 3
By MIKE LEE As hundreds of Occupy City Hall protesters gathered in front of the City Hall steps, the New York City Council passed the $88.1 billion budget for the 2021 Fiscal Year in a midnight vote, after hours of contentious hearings. The final vote was 32-17, with one member absent. New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson summed up the difficult evening saying, “Heart wrenching, impossible choices had to be made. It was not easy,” Johnson said. The current budget was negotiated at a time when New York City is confronted with a $9 billion loss in tax revenue. The Mayor cut his proposed budget by nearly $8 billion. After intensive negotiations with the City Council, $1.1 billion was added to the final fiscal agreement. Opposition to the budget was strong, with members voting against the size of cuts to the New York City Police Department (NYPD), who were criticized in the aftermath of the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Floyd murder has sparked daily protests nationwide and has placed the NYPD under severe criticism for its response and long-standing behavior in its policing tactics in communities of color. Demands to reduce the size of [...]— Aug 1
By MIKE LEE When 2020 began, the city’s three library systems — New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queens Library — were building on their initial success in obtaining strong funding in last year’s budget. All three were in the process of providing an ever-expanding array of services to the public. They were also in the process of helping out with the 2020 Census and training workers and volunteers to assist patrons in filling out the forms in kiosks installed in the branches for that purpose. The libraries had begun to expand to meet patron needs, offering toddler story time, free computer access, and wifi. Along with a growing collection of multimedia items, the three library systems were able to provide afterschool, adult learning, and computer classes. When the year began, the city’s libraries — after years of underfunding — were vibrant, and the 220 branches that comprise the three public library systems had become safe spaces for the patrons and staff. By mid-January, there were stories about a deadly virus spreading worldwide. By the end of February, it became apparent that the first cases of the novel coronavirus had appeared in New York City. By the [...]— Aug 1
By MIKE LEE District Council 37’s Associate Director Oliver Gray, who helped guide two of the union’s Executive Directors with a quiet, yet proactive approach since 2002, died on June 29, three days after suffering a heart attack in his home in Manhattan. He was 79. Until his death, Gray was deeply involved as a guiding force for the union during the COVID-19 pandemic, including preparing Union Headquarters at 125 Barclay St. for the next phase of the long-term modernization of the building, as well as serving his other duties assisting Executive Director Henry Garrido, and supervising the DC 37 staff. Both in times of relative stability and during the tough labor struggles in helping lead the fight against layoffs during the administration of Michael Bloomberg, Gray remained calm during crisis. He supervised the recovery of Union Headquarters in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, helped strategize in responding to the changes wrought by the Janus decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, and later helped transition to the temporary headquarters at 55 Water St. “The labor movement has lost a quiet giant,” said DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido. “He was incredibly calm in times of crisis.” Gray was so much [...]— Jul 31
By HENRY GARRIDO, DC 37 Executive Director We are in a fight for our lives. I am supportive of the efforts of Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council in hammering out a budget under the worst conditions New York City has endured in recent memory — tragic and brutal circumstances. While there are reasons to believe this budget process could have ended much worse, the conclusion leaves me with no cause to celebrate or a sense of relief because of the danger that lies ahead as we navigate through this crisis. The budget the city passed just before midnight on July 1 opens the door to an October layoff of tens of thousands of the city’s public service workers. This will happen unless we succeed in getting our fair share of federal funding to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, this leads us to our next fight, this time with the U.S. Senate, which only recently began putting together its own stimulus package — ignoring the HEROES Act that passed the House of Representatives in late May. Unfortunately, just like the last stimulus package, the Mitch McConnell-led Republican Senate has its own ideas of helping the [...]— Jul 31
