Public Employee Press

City unions set up committee to represent school workers

With huge state and local cuts to the public schools looming, unions that represent public school employees are uniting to preserve services, protect jobs and work with the Dept. of Education.

In January, the Municipal Labor Committee, the 300,000-member umbrella group of city unions, established an education sub-committee to deal with school issues.

Labor leaders hope the committee will facilitate discussions between the unions and DOE as the city faces the deepest proposed state funding cuts in two decades.

Gov. David A. Paterson’s proposed budget would slash school aid by $1.1 billion — including a $469 million hit on New York City — and, as PEP went to press, education advocates anticipated further deep reductions in the city financial plan, which was scheduled for release Jan. 26.

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers and chair of the new MLC/DOE Subcommittee, wrote Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, informing him of the new grouping. Mulgrew cited the mayor’s call for “more collaboration and innovation to help us face a difficult future,” and said, “We couldn’t agree more and the unions, the frontline provider of services, must be a vital part of this effort.” He asked Klein to meet with the subcommittee as soon as possible.

“This will give us a collective voice and strengthen our ability to protect services and jobs in the public school system,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts, a member of the committee. “With the bleak budget picture out there, the unions and DOE need to work together to do what we can to look out for the future of our schoolchildren.”

DC 37 President Veronica Montgomery-Costa, who is president of Board of Education Employees Local 372 and will also serve on the committee, echoed Roberts’ sentiments.

“All the members of the education sub-committee have a vested interest in working together to come up with solid proposals and solutions in the face of budget cuts, school closings and the possible proliferation of charter schools,” she said. “By standing together, the municipal unions that represent employees in the public schools should be in a better position to defend their members and the work they do.”

Altogether, municipal unions represent 135,000 employees in the city’s public school system. Besides Roberts and Montgomery-Costa, the other DC 37 members of the subcommittee are Local 376 President Gene DeMartino, Local 1251 President Henry Lane, and Local 154 President Juan Fernandez.