Thousands Protest New York City’s Budget Cuts
by Jon Melegrito | June 16, 2011
New York City union workers and community supporters rally outside City Hall to protest budget cuts and proposed layoffs. (Photo credit: Michel Friang)
Led by AFSCME members of District Council 37, tens of thousands of labor leaders and members of the city’s public and private sector unions, along with community supporters and religious partners, child protection workers and elected officials rallied at City Hall on Tuesday to protest Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed budget cuts.
See the video here.
The budget plan, which threatens to lay off hard-working public service workers, includes cutbacks to vital services such as public schools, parks and pools, libraries and public health. The mayor has claimed there’s no money to stop these Draconian cuts and layoffs.
“This is totally false,” said DC 37 Exec. Dir. Lillian Roberts, also an International vice president. “The mayor and the governor cut taxes on the wealthy by $5 billion a year when they let the ‘millionaires’ tax’ expire, and Mayor Bloomberg is not making any effort to collect the hundreds of millions of dollars in business taxes owed to the city. And the mayor’s budget proposals increase contracting out by $500 million dollars. We’re here to say that the money is there.”
Also speaking at the rally was Sec.-Treas. Lee A. Saunders who declared: “Instead of bringing us together to solve the serious problems confronting New York City and other cities and states throughout the country, politicians are telling working families to make all the sacrifices. We must fight back and force Mayor Bloomberg and all the rest to join with us to create good jobs, adequately fund vital public services and restore the middle class – the backbone of our nation.”
DC 37 issued a report recently which found the city is overlooking at least $800 million that could be generated by collecting taxes and fees it is owed. AFSCME activists have been gathering petition signatures and urging citizens to protest the mayor’s proposal to eliminate day care services for 16,500 children and other cuts that target the most vulnerable.
DC 37 is New York City’s largest public employee union, representing 125,000 members and 50,000 retirees.
