Public Employee Press

Union studies mayor’s green city plan

Two months ago, when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg unveiled PlaNYC 2030, DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts noted that, “this is a commendable step in the right direction to help safeguard our environment.” But she cautioned that the reality of the plan would be seen in its implementation.

Roberts held meetings on the plan June 13 and 14 for Executive Board members and local presidents; Central Labor Council Executive Director Ed Ott addressed the second session. Participants expressed sharp concerns over specific proposals, especially the congestion pricing plan — a tax on cars and trucks entering Manhattan south of 86th Street.

Of the many concerns voiced at the meetings, a top priority was the need to ensure that the jobs resulting from the plan are filled by union members and that the vast array of projects to be undertaken are not contracted out.

Local 1320 President James Tucciarelli had attended a presentation on PlanNYC 2030 by Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff for members of the Municipal Labor Committee. He emphasized that the job now is for “everybody to get up to speed. We need to make sure our members are educated about what is happening.”

Ott participated in the discussion with the DC 37 leadership on June 14. “The reality is, there are tens of thousands of jobs in both the public and private sector. If you look at all the detail, it’s going to be a struggle.”

Local 375 Vice President Jon Forster observed that this is a real concern of the Civil Service Technical Guild. “There are a lot of initiatives among the 127 in the plan that can generate jobs. The struggle will be to make sure they stay in-house.”

DC 37’s next step will involve thorough study of the plan and continuing discussions with the administration about implementation.

“We have to look closely at how the plan will be funded,” said Tucciarelli. As head of a local that represents Sewage Treatment Workers, his immediate focus is on the program for the collection, storage and treatment of wastewater.

“We just had an 11 percent increase in water rates,” he said. “Typically this is how these things are funded.”

“Talking about 2030 is fine, but there are still parts of the city sewer system that aren’t even up to 20th century standards,” he said.

“Parts of Queens and Staten Island are still not tied in to the city sewer system. Their waste goes into septic tanks,” he pointed out. “There is a tremendous amount of information to absorb in the plan,” said Forster. “For DC 37—the question for us is how do we get on board to make sure these jobs are union.”