Foundry Workers Strike To Save Their Healthcare
March 29, 2011
By David Bacon
BERKELEY, CA March 22, 2010 A strike of over 450 workers in one of the largest foundries on the west coast brought production to a halt Sunday night, at Pacific Steel Castings; The work stoppage, which began at midnight, has continued with round the clock picketing at the factory gates in west Berkeley.
Hip Hop Summit Youth Council and Assemblyman Scarborough Host Town Hall Meeting on Child Care
March 29, 2011
By Stephanie West
In an effort to address the Child Care Crisis that threatens the safety and quality of life for children, parents and communities citywide, the Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council (HHSYC) and NYS Assemblyman William Scarborough held a Town Hall Meeting at York College in Jamaica, Queens on March 22nd.
Statement Response from Lillian Roberts to Stephen Goldsmith
March 28, 2011Lillian Roberts, Executive Director, District Council 37
Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith’s acknowledgment today is, it's more cost effective to cut private contractors and give the work to city employees is an encouraging step in the right direction.
Rent Guidelines Board Decision By Court of Appeals
Rent Guidelines Board Decision By Court of Appeals
March 25, 2011
By Christine C. Quinn
Today's decision by the Court of Appeals is a real blow to our efforts to keep our city affordable for working New Yorkers at a time when we are fighting to preserve and expand rent protections throughout the state, it’s extremely disheartening to see the court uphold what is essentially a direct attack on the rights of nearly 300,000 tenants.
Construction Unions Are Losing Their Market Share of New Building Projects
By Harry Kelber
New York City’s construction unions, that controlled more than 90 percent of the building industry’s jobs throughout most of the 20th century, have lost a significant market share of the $20 to $30 billion spent annually on erecting new buildings and repairing old ones.
While there are no official statistics, two out of five (about 40 percent) construction jobs in the city are said to be built non union, although unions put the number at one to four (25 percent). Competition between unionized companies and their non union rivals became intense during the economic recession, when there was a decline in available new construction projects.
Lillian Roberts Urges City to Slash Waste in Contacts
March 24 2011By Neal Tepel
District Council 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts, head of the city’s largest public employee union, testified March 21, before the joint New York City Council Committees on Finance and Contracts urging the adoption of two proposals she said would both generate revenue and bring greater transparency to the contracting out process.
City Hall Rally at 5 PM March 24th Protesting City Cuts
March 24, 2011
President John Samuelsen of Transport Workers Union Local 100, and Lillian Roberts, Executive Director of District Council 37 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will speak Thursday at a massive City Hall rally together with other union leaders, as well as student and community groups.
Executive Budget Cripples CUNY Programs
Executive Budget Cripples CUNY Programs
March 23, 2011
By Neal Tepel
According to the Professional Staff Congress (PSC/CUNY), the union representing faculty and professional staff at the City University of New York (CUNY), the Executive Budget plan would cripple community colleges at the City University of New York and undermine quality of instruction throughout the university,
Invest In Higher Education
Invest In Higher Education
March 22, 2011
By Linda Gomez
The Executive Budget, if enacted, would cut SUNY by an additional $100 million and cut CUNY by an additional $95.1 million. It would also cut another $61.8 million from community colleges, the equivalent of $226 per full time student over the academic year.
Retirees Concerns with Healthcare Reform Act
Retirees Concerns with Healthcare Reform Act
March 22, 2011
By Paul Miller, Executive Director, Protect Seniors. Org
“March 17 marks the first anniversary of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as more and more American retirees find themselves in greater jeopardy since this legislation was signed to law. The law did nothing to protect the earned post retirement health care benefits that an estimated 14.3 million American receive through their former employers, although these benefits were earned by employees accepting less in total compensation throughout their working years.
New Elementary School Planned for Lower Manhattan
March 21, 2011
By Fernanda Santos
The Department of Education announced on Monday that it would open an elementary school inside its headquarters at the Tweed Courthouse behind City Hall, a move that could chip away at the longstanding problem of school overcrowding in Lower Manhattan.
To open the school, the department had to engage in a chess game of sorts. The basement at Tweed has doubled as an incubator for several new schools; it currently houses the Spruce Street School, which will move into its own building in September, where it will expand into second grade and eventually grow into eighth grade.
AFSCME Stands with Manhattan BP Stringer - Protect Child Care
March 21, 2011
By Kismet Barksdale
AFSCME District Council 1707, District Council 37 and CSEA stand firm with Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer to fight back against cuts to vital child care services. New York families need affordable, safe and reliable day care to allow people to go to work and prepare children to go to school.
Brooklyn Parents Call for Paid Sick Days
March 18, 2011
By Linda Gomez
Park Slope Parents, the popular network of Brooklyn parents, joined A Better Balance, Human Rights Watch, and the New York State Paid Leave Coalition on Monday March 14th to talk about the need for greater support for working parents, including paid sick days and paid family leave insurance. City Council Members Gale Brewer, Brad Lander, Steve Levin and Letitia James joined the group of local families to discuss the struggles of juggling work and parental responsibilities and to discuss the paid sick day legislation being considered in the City Council.
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