A major rally at City Hall to stop the layoffs of more than 2,600 school employees, including school aides, family counselors and substance abuse prevention and intervention specialists. The proposed layoffs will have a disastrous impact in schools and classrooms citywide, adversely affecting school children and their families, who count on the stable educational environment these employees help maintain.
Hundreds of municipal and school workers from across the city will be there to show solidarity and say, “Stop the layoffs of 2,600 school workers – your job could be next!” They will also tell Mayor Bloomberg to “Cut Waste, Not Jobs” because the city’s private contract budget has increased rapidly – climbing to a record $9.2 billion for more than 18,000 contracts – while city workers, like those in schools, who can do the same work more efficiently and cost-effectively are being laid off.
Hundreds of municipal workers from District Council 37 and school workers from NYC Board of Education Employees Local 372, who serve communities across the city, will participate. Speakers will discuss the adverse impact these layoffs would have on children’s education and on the learning environment at schools citywide and demand that the city cut waste, not jobs. They will ask the public to visit DC 37’s website at www.dc37.net to send this message to the Mayor and City Council members.
Speakers at the rally will include:
William Lucy – Secretary Treasurer, AFSCME, AFL-CIO
Lee Saunders – Executive Assistant to the President, AFSCME, AFL-CIO
Lillian Roberts – Executive Director, DC 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO
Maf Misbah Uddin – Treasurer of DC 37 and President of Local 1407
Eddie Rodriguez – President of Local 1549
William C. Thompson – NYC Comptroller
Robert Jackson – City Council – Manhattan (7th CD)
Letitia James – City Council – Brooklyn (35th CD)
Charles Barron – City Council – Brooklyn (42nd CD)
John C. Liu – City Council – Queens (20th CD)
Bill DeBlasio – City Council – Brooklyn (39th CD)
The rally will take place at City Hall (Broadway side near Barclay St.), Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.
DC 37 is NYC’s largest public employee union with 125,000 members and 50,000 retirees NYC Board of Education Employees Local 372 of DC 37 represents 26,000 workers at the NYC Dept. of Education.