City workers win round against layoffs
Published Apr 6, 2005 3:24 PM
In cities and towns
all over the United States, the billions of dollars of federal money being
siphoned to pay for the occupation of Iraq is resulting in local budget deficits
that threaten jobs and social services.
Hoboken, N.J., is a city of 38,000
located right across the Hudson River from New York City. Over the last 25
years, real-estate developers and banks have made millions and millions of
dollars from gentrification. Yet the Hoboken City Council has not yet passed a
budget this year—because of a $7.9 million deficit.
On March 21
members of the city council, blaming rising health-insurance costs for city
workers, voted not to approve a temporary spending appropriation, and
immediately shut down all “non-essential” services.
They
closed the only library. They stop ped services for seniors, including shuttle
buses elders rely on for transportation. And they suspended almost all other
city services for the workers and oppressed communities in Hoboken.
To the
politicians on the city council only the police, along with the firefighters,
are “essential.”
Four hundred fifty city workers were suddenly
without a job.
When the city council met again three nights later, these
workers fought back. They filled the council room and overflowed into the
hallways. And they made themselves heard.
By the end of the meeting they
had won a victory. Every worker was hired back—and paid for the days they
had been laid off.
The city council now has a May 7 deadline to resolve
the budget. In the meantime it’s the mayor and council members who will
not be paid.
This is only a temporary victory on a small scale, but it
shows what can be done by fighting back—especially if magnified by the
millions across the country.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
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