City workers win round against layoffs

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.