New York: DC 37 Fights ‘Shadow Government'

DC 37 ad campaign

Photo Credit: DC 37

New York, New York

DC 37, the city’s largest municipal employee union, is hitting the airwaves, subways and the Internet in an aggressive battle against private contractors and consultants. The goal: saving thousands of public employees’ jobs.

Launched this winter, the fight aims to stop Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (R) from imposing devastating cuts on essential public services. Explains DC 37 Exec. Dir. Lillian Roberts: “As a result of these cuts, hospital clinics will close and neglected illnesses will get worse. Reports of child abuse and neglect are rising and these layoffs will undermine programs created to prevent that.” And those are just a few of the potential consequences, she explains.

DC 37 launched its first volley against the proposed cuts in February with a white paper entitled “Massive Waste at a Time of Need.” The report identifies 10 cases where the city could reduce the $9 billion in taxpayers’ money it pays contractors and consultants to do work that public employees do better and for a lower cost.

Roberts insists “no responsible government can in good conscience cut vital services and lay off loyal, qualified, hardworking employees while there are realistic alternatives.”

Tens of thousands of DC 37 members and supporters took to the streets in March to oppose the Draconian cuts. In May, the union launched an ad campaign that spotlights the city’s ‘shadow government’ of 18,000 private contracts employing more than 100,000 workers — all hired without the exams and background checks required of public employees.

Roberts also began a series of “labor minutes” on popular radio stations to make the union’s case. And the union’s website, dc37.net, allows viewers to download the ‘white paper,’ see the subway ads, get “action alerts” and even send a message to City Hall: “Cut private contractors, not public services.”