NYC OTB Employees' Jobs Are Saved
DC 37 Hails Governor Paterson and State Lawmakers For State Takeover of NYC OTB

District Council 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts and Local 2021 President Leonard Allen joined Governor David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and a representative of Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's office as the Governor announced a solution to the NYC OTB crisis that would save the jobs of 1,508 New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation employees along with the health care benefits for over 1,000 retirees. The solution is an immediate state takeover of NYC OTB and the creation of a new public benefit corporation — the Empire State Off-Track Betting Corporation.

Calling it "an enlightened solution," Roberts hailed the state takeover saying, "This not only preserves the jobs of the 1,508 hard working men and women, many of whom belong to DC 37 Local 2021, but it also allows New Yorkers to continue benefiting from the $1.1 billion handle generated by NYC OTB. OTB workers are the real winners today."

Roberts praised Governor Paterson, Speaker Silver, Majority Leader Bruno, Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee Chair J. Gary Pretlow and Senate Racing, Gambling and Wagering Chair William J. Larkin Jr., along with other lawmakers, for their support and for taking swift action before the Sunday, June 15 deadline to shutdown NYC OTB.

"This solution will calm the fears and anxieties of NYC OTB workers who have been on edge not knowing whether or not they would have a job come Sunday, June 15," said Allen "Now the families of these hard-working men and women will be able to enjoy a Happy Father's Day knowing that they will have a job to go to on Monday." Allen said the state takeover was "a win-win for everybody - our members, our customers and all New Yorkers."

While the details of the agreement, which Governor Paterson called "a truly collaborative effort with every level of government," will be ironed out over the weekend, the Governor stated, "This is not a tentative agreement, this is an agreement." Paterson added, "OTB will be open Saturday, Sunday, Monday and on."

The 1,508 NYC OTB employees, most of whom belong to DC 37 Local 2021, began receiving calls from DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts shortly after today's 3 p.m. news conference ended.

DC 37 is New York City's largest public employee union, representing 125,000 members and 50,000 retirees.