Amsterdam News
Day care union charges city with union busting
By Zita Allen,
May 31, 2007
“The city is not saying anything, but they’re closing down centers one by one. It’s union busting,” charged Raglan George, executive director of District Council 1707, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), lashing out at the city over its handling of day care centers, the workers who staff them, and the working parents who rely on their services.
At the center of the storm is a battle over the city’s move to shift day care facilities for working families from the Administration of Children’s Services (ACS) to the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), and failed contract negotiations for 7,000 workers who staff some 350 ACS centers throughout the five boroughs.
District Council 1707, AFSCME is a 25,000 member union that represents day care, home care, Head Start, social service, fundraising, direct care, and other not-for-profit employees. Since their contract expired on March 31 of last year, the union has been fighting for a decent contract for the men and women it represents – those who teach at city day care centers.
At a recent press conference on the steps of City Hall, union officials and activists were joined by elected officials who support their demands and agree that both workers and parents are getting a raw deal.
New York City Council member Letitia James (WFP-District 35) said the city is putting working families in jeopardy by closing the professionally staffed public day care centers. She insists that day care centers in her district are under-enrolled and says ACS has fumbled the ball when it comes to outreach. Pointing to 100 percent enrollment in day care centers in the Bronx, James questions why the same is not true in Brooklyn, where “there is definitely a need.”
Criticizing the fact that facilitated enrollment in Brooklyn isn’t going to be rolled out until June 1, James asked, “Why so late?”
In light of the outreach problem, James said that she and other members of the City Council who represent Brooklyn neighborhoods are rushing to correct the situation for day care centers in their districts. “I have worked directly with Irving Place, Duffield Place, and Martha Udell centers on outreach, infrastructure changes, and governance changes,” she said, adding that now those centers are no longer in jeopardy.
James agreed with the union, which is quick to point out that the workers who look after city children in ACS day care centers are qualified teachers. The DYCD centers, on the other hand, are staffed by high school kids whose non-union jobs are, – according to union leaders – that of glorified baby sitters. James is also quick to point out that the teachers in ACS centers are predominantly women of color.
Even as day care workers’ jobs are being axed, they are forced to work without a contract. Their contract expired on March 31st of last year, and so far the city has not offered the 7,000 workers who staff more than 350 center-based public day care centers throughout the five boroughs “a fair and equitable contract.”
“The plight of public day care and the workers in that system is not being addressed by the city of New York,” George, of DC 1701 charged. As far as the answer to why the Bloomberg administration is reluctant to deal with contracts for day care workers and the arbitration that the workers won, George said, “I can’t say.” Instead, George has called on the mayor to “step in and help not only the workers, but the many families and children who rely on this system.
According to an arbitrator, the city should have begun negotiating with the union to settle the arbitration in March 2006, but the city of New York has refused.
New York City Council members will stand with labor to demand that the city would give day care workers a fair and equitable contract, and settle a year-old arbitration for 600 terminated after-school employees.
In addition, 600 after-school program employees were terminated because the city changed the agency that employs them. Thousands of children lost their after-school care when these employees were terminated. The city’s substitute program does not service many of these children, and the quality of the program has diminished.
According to an arbitrator, the city should have begun negotiating with the Union to settle the arbitration since March 2006, but the city of New York has refused.
The councilmembers and the union will call the city of New York to give the 7,000 members of Local 205 a fair and equitable contract and urge the city to negotiate a settlement to the arbitration.
Day care union charges city with union busting
By Zita Allen,
May 31, 2007
“The city is not saying anything, but they’re closing down centers one by one. It’s union busting,” charged Raglan George, executive director of District Council 1707, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), lashing out at the city over its handling of day care centers, the workers who staff them, and the working parents who rely on their services.
At the center of the storm is a battle over the city’s move to shift day care facilities for working families from the Administration of Children’s Services (ACS) to the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), and failed contract negotiations for 7,000 workers who staff some 350 ACS centers throughout the five boroughs.
District Council 1707, AFSCME is a 25,000 member union that represents day care, home care, Head Start, social service, fundraising, direct care, and other not-for-profit employees. Since their contract expired on March 31 of last year, the union has been fighting for a decent contract for the men and women it represents – those who teach at city day care centers.
At a recent press conference on the steps of City Hall, union officials and activists were joined by elected officials who support their demands and agree that both workers and parents are getting a raw deal.
New York City Council member Letitia James (WFP-District 35) said the city is putting working families in jeopardy by closing the professionally staffed public day care centers. She insists that day care centers in her district are under-enrolled and says ACS has fumbled the ball when it comes to outreach. Pointing to 100 percent enrollment in day care centers in the Bronx, James questions why the same is not true in Brooklyn, where “there is definitely a need.”
Criticizing the fact that facilitated enrollment in Brooklyn isn’t going to be rolled out until June 1, James asked, “Why so late?”
In light of the outreach problem, James said that she and other members of the City Council who represent Brooklyn neighborhoods are rushing to correct the situation for day care centers in their districts. “I have worked directly with Irving Place, Duffield Place, and Martha Udell centers on outreach, infrastructure changes, and governance changes,” she said, adding that now those centers are no longer in jeopardy.
James agreed with the union, which is quick to point out that the workers who look after city children in ACS day care centers are qualified teachers. The DYCD centers, on the other hand, are staffed by high school kids whose non-union jobs are, – according to union leaders – that of glorified baby sitters. James is also quick to point out that the teachers in ACS centers are predominantly women of color.
Even as day care workers’ jobs are being axed, they are forced to work without a contract. Their contract expired on March 31st of last year, and so far the city has not offered the 7,000 workers who staff more than 350 center-based public day care centers throughout the five boroughs “a fair and equitable contract.”
“The plight of public day care and the workers in that system is not being addressed by the city of New York,” George, of DC 1701 charged. As far as the answer to why the Bloomberg administration is reluctant to deal with contracts for day care workers and the arbitration that the workers won, George said, “I can’t say.” Instead, George has called on the mayor to “step in and help not only the workers, but the many families and children who rely on this system.
According to an arbitrator, the city should have begun negotiating with the union to settle the arbitration in March 2006, but the city of New York has refused.
New York City Council members will stand with labor to demand that the city would give day care workers a fair and equitable contract, and settle a year-old arbitration for 600 terminated after-school employees.
In addition, 600 after-school program employees were terminated because the city changed the agency that employs them. Thousands of children lost their after-school care when these employees were terminated. The city’s substitute program does not service many of these children, and the quality of the program has diminished.
According to an arbitrator, the city should have begun negotiating with the Union to settle the arbitration since March 2006, but the city of New York has refused.
The councilmembers and the union will call the city of New York to give the 7,000 members of Local 205 a fair and equitable contract and urge the city to negotiate a settlement to the arbitration.