November 20, 2014
By IBT Local 237 President Greg Floyd
New York, NY – We stand in opposition to Intro 209, that would charge a fee on plastic and paper retail bags distributed to consumers in New York City stores. We believe this legislation would lead to irreparable harm to the unionized plastic bag manufacturing industry in New York City in favor of reusable bags that are made overseas.
Local 237 recognizes the importance of eliminating pollution, believes in protecting the environment and stands in full support of the alternatives offered by our coalition partners that focus on recycling education campaigns, recycling and redemption initiatives and experimenting with green and technological solutions to reduce litter.
Local 237 is the largest local in the Teamsters international union (International Brotherhood of Teamsters). Our membership reflects the diversity of New York City. About 7,400 of us work for the New York City Housing Authority, another 11,000 members work in New York City agencies, the Health and Hospitals Corporation and the City University of New York, and some 3,000 members work on Long Island. We also represent over 7,100 retirees across the country and overseas
Local 237 joins a coalition of organizations launched to prevent the bill from passing in an effort to protect New York communities and to promote recycling education programs in NYCHA developments across all five boroughs as an alternative to the regressive tax. The program will demonstrate how recycling is an effective way to keep NYC clean without burdening low-income families and senior citizens. For more information, please visit www.BagtheTaxNYC.com.
