Home

Jobs

In these difficult economic times we must reform our regressive tax system, not create new draconian sales taxes that burden our City's working families, while cutting vital services like health care and education that we need. We should create new economic incentive programs to encourage growth and job creation. I had the privilege of working on one such progressive economic program, the Second Avenue Subway Construction Grants Program, while serving as Chief of Staff to Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing. This program would provide economic and technical support to small businesses that were negatively affected by the construction of the Second Avenue Subway. Through innovative economic development and tax reform we will combat the threat of rows of empty store fronts and maintain a vibrant community by helping to keep small independently owned and operated businesses open and preserving jobs through even the most difficult of economic times.

Con Ed Lockout

Submitted by kaityhyman5 on Sat, 07/21/2012 - 10:46am

 

Today I went to support Con Ed workers as they protested outside CEO Kevin Burke’s house on 86th street and York Avenue. These men and women are among the 8,500 workers that have been locked out since the beginning of July after failing to reach a fair and equitable contract with Con Ed. Now New York State must provide unemployment insurance to all 8,500 workers amounting to as much as $430 per week. When you do the math, that means every week, $3,655,000 of taxpayer money is being used for unemployment payments.

This brings us to a question that a lot have been asking; if all of the workers are locked out, who is doing their job? Con Ed is forcing managers to fill the empty jobs. Three managers have already been severely burned, demonstrating the danger in forcing managers to do jobs for which they likely do not have the proper training. According to the New York Post, Con Ed also has been hiding the locations of black outs from the press. By keeping people in the dark about this (no pun intended), Con Ed is endangering the lives of many citizens, especially those who need electricity the most.

As I walked to meet Benjamin Kallos, a candidate for city council representing District 5 at the protest, I was bombarded with flyers and handouts with the titles “Stop Rewarding (Power) Failure”, “Dump Con Ed CEO Kevin Burke”, and “Con Ed To New Yorkers: Drop Dead!” Spirits were high among the protesters who are resisting Con Ed’s efforts to divide the union on the issue of health care and pensions. I wormed my way through the crowd of people wearing Tee- shirts with the words “If we go out, the lights go out!” on the back, and finally met up with Ben.

Soon I joined in the protest and learned from one protester that:

 

We are not on strike. We have been locked out. Con Ed has locked 8,500 union employees out, which means that they are not bargaining in good faith for a contract so they have decided not to have us employed anymore. We are not on strike. We are protesting to get our jobs back. We want to go back to work. We want a contract.

 

Con Ed has made a new offer to the union, which it has released to the press today. However, the protesters were less than pleased that Con Ed seemed to be bargaining in public instead of at the bargaining table. They are hopeful of reaching a fair contract soon and of restoring “the integrity of the City’s power system”, as we all are. 

Issue: 
Jobs

Support Con Ed Workers To Keep Our Power On

Submitted by kallos on Mon, 07/16/2012 - 12:00am

Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 17 at 5:30PM at 4 Irving Place off 14th Street, please join me, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and the New York City Central Labor Council in a rally to support more than 8,500 Con Edison workers who have been locked out of their jobs for more than 2 weeks since July 1.

Public safety must be the top priority.  We survived one heat wave, with injuries to three managers.  With 95 degree weather in store for New York City in the coming days Con Edison must end the lockout in order to avoid any possible economic or physical injury let alone fatalities that could result from short or long term power loss.

Con Edison has stopped reporting power outages.  If your power goes out and you still have smart phone service please tweet the location with the hashtag #BlackOutNYC

Issue: 
Jobs