Union Testifies at City Council Budget Hearing June 7

    At the City Council Budget Hearing on June 7, Local 371 President Faye Moore testified that Local 371 members are the City’s first responders to people in need, stating, “While we do not wear uniforms or carry weapons, our work is no less necessary, no less heroic and absolutely critical to the well being of this City.” 

   Several other labor leaders testified at the hearing, among them DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts, Local 372 President and President of DC 37 Veronica Montgomery-Costa, President of the Uniformed Sanitation Workers and Chair of the MLC Harry Nespoli, UFT President Michael Mulgrew, and DC 1707 President Raglan George. 

    Their testimony followed that of City Comptroller John Liu and the Independent Budget Office, during which City Council members questioned the $700 million “boondoggle” of CityTime, the unnecessary expense of contracting out work that can be done in-house, and the risks to public safety when social services are cut. 

  The hearing was the only opportunity for public testimony on the City's Fiscal Year 11 budget, which must be finalized by June 30, the end of Fiscal Year 10.  In her testimony, Moore once again appealed to City Council Members to restore $3 million to the ACS budget in order to prevent layoffs and cuts to Child Welfare programs.  The complete Union testimony will be published in the June issue of The Unionist.