DC 37 statement on Adams administration’s budget cuts

NEW YORK— District Council 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido issued the following statement in response to the City budget cuts announced this morning:

“Less than 48 hours after celebrating labor workers and their contributions during the Annual NYC Labor Day Parade, and just one day after mourning the thousands of lives lost during and since the September 11 attacks, the Office of Management and Budget is rewarding City workers by giving them a 7.45% budget cut over the next two years. Making these cuts before meeting us at the bargaining table is the ultimate insult to our members, who have worked tirelessly since the pandemic began and gone without a raise for the last 16 months.

“We’re calling on City Council and the public to help us push back on these cuts, which will unnecessarily strain an already strapped workforce and severely impact the quality and level of City services New Yorkers rely on.

“We ask the Mayor to stop making the mistakes of the past by cutting vital services, and urge him to come to the table to negotiate in good faith. It’s time to give City workers a contract they deserve—a fair contract now.”

District Council 37 is New York City's largest public employee union, with 150,000 members and 89,000 retirees.