Statement by District Council 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts
on the Mayor's budget proposal


"This union recognizes the severity of the financial crisis and we will, as we have in the past, work together to find ways to address the budget gap.

"At the same time, union members should not be asked to shoulder the bulk of this burden.

"Workers did not create this fiscal crisis and cutting into their hard earned benefits should not be viewed as the quick fix that will solve it.

"We are going to analyze the Mayor's budget proposal in terms of its impact on our members and the city residents who need the services they provide now more than ever.

"We're going to analyze it in terms of President Obama's stimulus package. We're also going to take a good hard look at the city's resources and how they're being used and whether or not they can be used more efficiently.

"Our members provide essential services, many are low-paid and, if they're laid off they would no longer be taxpayers or part of the economic engine that moves the city forward. Layoffs are not the solution."

District Council 37 is New York City's largest public employee union, with 125,000 members and 50,000 retirees.