District Council 37 Holds Congressional Briefing on the Impact of New York City's Use of Federal Funds on Jobs & Services

A key focus of the briefing was the billions of dollars in federal funds received by NYC and the city's recent shift to private contractors for delivery of federally-funded services.

NEW YORK, Nov. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, November 22, District Council 37, New York City's largest public employee union, hosted a briefing with the New York City Congressional delegation, other elected officials, and labor and community leaders to explore wasteful NYC spending on private contracts and its negative impact on city jobs and services.

A key focus of the Congressional briefing was the billions in federal funding the city receives to provide services for education, health, social services and other vital programs and the city's recent shifting of responsibility for delivering these federally-funded services to private contractors. The goal of the briefing was to inform elected officials and the public of the problems caused by this wasteful policy and to make recommendations for solutions as they pertain to the misuse of federal funds.

DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts cited the recent Department of Education layoff of 642 low-wage workers even as DOE hiked its contracts spending by $700 million. Roberts said, "Mayor Bloomberg, like his predecessors claims that contracting out promotes efficiency and savings, but in our experience it is flawed by mismanagement, vast waste, fraud, cronyism and criminality."  

Congress members Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler, Edolphus Towns and Yvette Clarke agreed there is a compelling reason to ensure that the millions in federal dollars the city receives are used as intended. Maloney suggested creating a Congressional caucus on contracts that would work with state and city lawmakers to ensure the proper use of those funds. Congress member Towns suggested a tracking system that would allow lawmakers to analyze the real impact of layoffs in the community in the longterm.   

Speakers questioned the city's lack of contract oversight saying it jeopardizes the safety net that provides services to the city's most vulnerable populations. They spoke out against efforts to privatize Social Security, Medicaid, other social services. They also pointed out that outsourcing denies city residents job opportunities at a time of high unemployment and slow economic recovery particularly when the city awards contracts to companies outside the country.

Roberts recommended that Congressional lawmakers 1) ensure that the funds recovered from fraudulent city contractors be used to recall laid off city workers, 2) monitor the $8 billion in federal assistance to the city to ensure it is used properly, and 3) refer instances of misuse of federal funds to the U.S. Inspector General.    

Speakers and guests attending the briefing included New York Congress members Carolyn Maloney, Yvette Clarke, Edolphus Towns and Jerrold Nadler; New York State Senator Ruth Hassell-Thomas; Assembly members Karim Camara and Helene E. Weinstein; NYC Comptroller John Liu; NYS Comptroller for Budget and Policy Analysis Tom Nitido; NYC Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez; NYS AFL-CIO Chief of Staff Mario Cilento; and Fiscal Policy Institute Deputy Director & Chief Economist James Parrott. City Council members Robert Jackson, Gail Brewer, Letitia James, Darlene Mealy, and Jimmy Van Bramer also participated in the discussion, along with DC 37 Associate Director Oliver Gray, DC 37 Research & Negotiations Sr. Assistant Director Moira Dolan and presidents and members of District Council 37 locals.

DC 37 is NYC's largest public employee union with 125,000 members and 50,000 retirees.

Contact: Zita Allen, Communications Director
Molly Charboneau
Rudy Orozco
212-815-1535

SOURCE District Council 37