For Immediate Release
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Statement by District Council 1707 Executive Director Raglan George Regarding Day Care Contract with New York City
"Today’s contract is a great victory for nearly 7,000 District Council 1707 members and the 60,000 children they care for. These day care center workers have made major sacrifices over the past four years and all they asked for in return was respect and dignity in the workplace.
"Teachers, assistant teachers, cooks and cleaners at 350 subsidized day care centers across the five boroughs of New York City have been entrusted with the care of our most precious citizens — our children — and deserved a contract and pay increase long before today’s settlement.
"I promised our members a fair contract and after two strikes, a march across the Brooklyn Bridge, numerous protests at City Hall and tens of thousands of phone calls, letters and postcards calling for justice at the bargaining table, I have delivered. We commend Mayor Bloomberg for his role in helping to finalize this long-overdue agreement."
DC 1707 members have worked without a contract for four years and without a raise since April 2000.
