DC 37 & Local 372 Hold City Hall Press Conference Oct. 7 at NOON Denouncing Imminent Layoff by NYC DOE of 700+ School Support Staff: "Save our Schools! Save our Communities!"

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released today by District Council 37:

What:   On Friday, Oct. 7 at noon, District Council 37 and NYC Board of Education Employees Local 372 will gather on the City Hall steps to denounce the layoff of more than 700 school aides, family paraprofessionals, community associates and other vital school support staff who are scheduled to be laid off that day from the New York City Department of Education by the Bloomberg administration and Chancellor Dennis Walcott. The administration demanded that school principals make these cuts ostensibly to close a budget gap.  "These layoffs are as unnecessary as they are outrageous. There were alternatives, and these layoffs did not have to happen," said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. "In recent negotiations with the administration, the union offered a proposal generating significant savings so we could save these jobs. However, the city refused to continue discussions and directed principals to go forward with the layoffs."

Even as the city moves ahead with layoffs of hundreds of DOE support staff assigned to some of our most vulnerable schools, it has posted vacancies for the same jobs performed by these unionized public employees.  

"Not only are these workers being laid off predominantly workers of color, but these cuts will hit schools in some of the city's poorest communities like Harlem, East New York, Brownsville, Williamsburg, Washington Heights, and the South Bronx," charged Local 372 President Santos Crespo. The schools in these communities are struggling. Dropout rates are high. Classes are overcrowded. Unemployment is high. Children and their families need enhanced social services. These layoffs make no sense morally, ethically or economically."

Where: City Hall Steps

When: Noon, Friday, October 7, 2011 – Press Conference

Why:  The Bloomberg administration claims that there is no money to stop the layoffs, but there was an alternative. DC 37 offered significant savings which the administration and Chancellor Dennis Walcott rejected, instead mandating principals in New York's most vulnerable public schools to lay off  700+ school support staff.

Who:
Lillian Roberts, Executive Director of District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO
Santos Crespo, President, Board of Education Employees Local 372
Henry Garrido – Associate Director, DC 37
Local 372 members, DC 37 local presidents and elected officials

District Council 37 is New York City's largest public employee union, with 125,000 active members and 50,000 retirees. NYC Board of Education Employees Local 372 represents 25,000 school workers at the NYC Department of Education.

Contact:
Zita Allen, Communications Director
Molly Charboneau
Rudy Orozco
212-815-1535
Mickey Melendez, Local 372, 212-815-1372

SOURCE District Council 37