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City Hall turns into labor hall
Mar 19, 2009 6:05 PM
Local 15 operating engineer Joe Bradley, a 45-year union member, said labor needs to stick together.
In a broad show of solidarity, unions came together at City Hall on March 5 to protect families, children and communities from budget cuts.
Among the ranks of ralliers were representatives from 1199 SEIU, 32 BJ, DC 37, the New York City Central Labor Council, the state AFL-CIO and NYSUT, and other unions.
Maurice Taylor, a DC 37 member who works as a community assistant for the Department of Homeless Services, said that abandonment of vital services is not an option under any circumstances.
“I feed and clothe our neediest people and help them just to survive,” he said. “No way can we leave them out in the cold!”
Vicky Owens of 1199 SEIU said “their nursing home is the only home that some of our patients have. Hospitals are closing down. Health care workers have humanitarian obligations and we take them seriously.”
Leamon Lovelace, another 1199 nursing home worker, complained of cutbacks and layoffs in his Coney Island facility, and feared more layoffs could come in June.
His advice to the governor and other elected officials: “Remember who got you where you are and can put you where you want to go. Remember the people of New York who keep things running, and not just the rich people. We need help, too.”
Andrew Davoren of 32 BJ said he came out “to support the labor movement.” His colleague Simonne Johnson, a maintenance worker whose daughter is a teacher, added, “We have more work on the job for less pay and I’m already doing the work of three people.”
A member of 1199, Mimi Clitus, said any cuts would be felt across the board and that the lives of all workers are interconnected.
“Hospital workers need teachers for their kids and they also need day care,” she said, adding that a fiscal crisis should not be an opportunity to “shift the burden to working people.”
And, about Fair Share Tax Reform, 1199 data entry clerk Leon Powell said, “Of course the rich should pay more taxes. The middle class and rich should not be paying the same amount in taxes.”
Colleague Sym Ferguson stood nearby holding a “Fair Share” sign.
Joe Bradley, a 45-year union member of Local 15, Operating Engineers, which he referred to as “the boys from Ground Zero,” said, “The labor movement is so small in this country today, we need to stick together. You know, unions created weekends, vacations and holidays! ... The stimulus package is a way to get us back on our feet again.”
Dr. Frank Proscia, executive director of Doctors Council, a union that represents attending physicians at public hospitals, said that “the budget shouldn’t be balanced on the health care or education systems — these should be people’s rights.”
