March 25, 2013
NEW YORK, NY—– The New York City Council must continue funding the nearly 60 public day care centers budgeted last year in this year’s budget, said child care advocates, including the locals representing public day care and Head Start employees.
“Continuity of child care is important to both children and their parents,” said Raglan George, Jr., Executive Director of District Council 1707 AFSCME. “The City Council demonstrated real backbone to the bad decisions of the Bloomberg Administration in the last budget. In light of the serious problems with Early Learn, the council must continue the City Council-funded centers and insure that the centers have health care and pensions for employees,” he said.
The City of New York is threatening to discontinue pension payments for public day care employees. If the City neglects it responsibilities, some of nation’s most established cultural institutions could bankrupt. The City claims that it has overpaid the Cultural Institutions Retirement System (CIRS) and will no longer pay into the retirement system for unionized day care employees.
If the City withdraws its funding, institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York City Aquarium and the Natural History Museum will be liable for some $200 million in ERISA liabilities. Unionized day care employees comprise a majority of the employees in the plan. DC 37 AFSCME has 1,200 members in CIRS.
Under Early Learn, some 60 percent of public day care workers cannot afford health care, which union leaders have said that the Bloomberg Administration is only following the labor practices of Wal-Mart.
Who: Raglan George, Jr., Executive Director of DC 1707 continues his One-Man March for NYC Childcare
What: George calls for the City Council to continue funding the nearly 60 public day care centers in their budget
When: Monday, March 25 from 11 AM to 1 PM
Where: Broadway side of City Hall
