I want to wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday and a joyous new year. We have much to celebrate and reflect on with the major contract wins we secured this year with your support.

There is also much at stake in our battles on the horizon. In November, the Adams administration announced additional City budget cuts for Fiscal Year 2024, striking a sharp blow to our progress in recovering from the economic crisis that has unfolded in New York since the pandemic.

These drastic cuts further reduce the strength of our public workforce and access to services. The leadership of New York City’s three public library systems announced reduced hours and the end of Sunday services in response to the Mayor’s announcement. Critical community programming will suffer as a result of these cuts, as well as needed building maintenance and repairs.

Our social service workers are already grappling with the migrant crisis while continuing to provide the proper delivery of services to New Yorkers in need. Yet, no city agency has been spared the cuts. This could not have come at a worse time.

The city’s fiscal “solution” of eliminating an increasing number of vacant positions in numerous agencies is worsening the already dire staffing shortage. These so-called answers to a resolvable problem are wrong for our members, wrong for the public, and wrong for New York.

This is only the first round of cuts, with two more anticipated next year as the Adams administration begins negotiations with the New York City Council to produce a final budget. We will work with our allies in the Council to find cost-saving alternatives that are more viable and less arbitrary than what City Hall is currently demanding.

This is not the time to turn back the clock. We will fight for a well-funded budget that addresses the needs of our members and of our communities.

In order for us to succeed in this fight, we need the strength of our members standing with us.

Organizing for the Future

For much of this year, our union’s Field Operations staff, with the strong support of Local presidents and Volunteer Member Organizers, have been hard at work educating members about our services and the value of being a member of District Council 37. DC 37’s benefits complement pay increases through job protections, a well-funded pension, and prescription drug coverage for life after retirement, as well as education programs and scholarships through the DC 37 Education Fund. Filling out a “white card,” or our Health & Security Enrollment Form, ensures that Public & Quasi-Public workers have access to supplemental health benefits from our Health & Security Plan Trust.

Workers in facilities covered by our Non-Profit & Private Sector have access to health insurance and other benefits, including workshops and classes provided by the Division’s Education Department.

If there is a dangerous safety or health issue at your workplace, our DC 37 Safety & Health Department has your back. They perform a vital service by investigating potential workplace violations and advocating for remedies to potentially hazardous work conditions.

The most fundamental benefit we provide is ensuring your rights as a worker are protected and providing effective representation against unfair treatment by management. You may ask for redress for their grievances and demand justice.

Through tireless organizing efforts, political activism, and tough negotiations at the bargaining table, this union has fought for the rights of public workers and for our non-profit, private sector contingent. None of these benefits and job protections would be possible without collective action.

At a time when, once again, we face a tough budget battle and a historic election in the upcoming year, everything is at stake. This is the time to build our strength and push forward.