CWA 1180 - Calendar

Fight Forward!

Stewards galvanize an angry membership
in budget fight
Organizing around new contract survey this summer
June 2003

Hundreds of 1180 members rallied for fair taxes on April 15

"It was a wake-up call," said Theresity Smith about the member survey that 1180 mailed to stewards in March. The survey asked specifically about the concessions that Mayor Bloomberg was demanding from city workers. It was mailed to shop stewards, who circulated it among members. "The survey motivated people," explained Smith, a steward at the Department of Education. "It was the questions themselves. 'Are you willing to have unpaid holidays?' No! 'Do you want to pay for your health insurance?' No! People were like, we've worked too hard to give this up. And I said to them, well, that's what you're giving up if you don't speak up."

As 1180 members know all too well, the mayor has spent much of this year pressing for $600 million in concessions from municipal unions to help solve the budget crisis. He threatened layoffs if the unions did not give in and hand over the money. Led by the Municipal Labor Committee, the unions did spend months negotiating with the mayor about potential savings they could help the city achieve, savings that wouldn't take thousands of dollars out of the pockets of each city worker. In the midst of the negotiations, the mayor announced he would lay off workers anyway, regardless of whether the concessions were forthcoming. And then he threatened still more layoffs. Again and again, City Hall demanded that the people who make this city run be the ones that pay for its fiscal crisis—despite the fact that the crisis was caused almost entirely by irresponsible tax cuts that benefited the rich.

Meanwhile, Local 1180 members' last contract expired a year ago, on June 30, 2002. Amidst a climate in which the mayor was already trying to solve the city's problems on the backs of the working class, it was clear to 1180 leaders that winning a decent and fair new contract would take an extraordinary effort. It would take more than the usual fight back against cutbacks, layoffs and concessions. That's why the union decided to call this contract campaign Fight Forward. "We're calling the campaign 'Fight Forward' because we need to do more than just fight back. We need to build a pro-active movement that defines a positive vision for our city: a city in which the people have adequate services, the workers that provide those services are fairly compensated, and the rich do their fair share," said 1180 President Arthur Cheliotes.

"So far, members have responded to the campaign," said 1180 Staff Rep Gina Phillips, who has served as the coordinator of the Fight Forward campaign since it was first brainstormed at a weekend-long planning meeting by the executive board and staff in February. "Stewards have been mobilizing people, members have come out like never before. People are energized, people are ready to fight," added Phillips.

Local 1180 members are energized partly because they are—understandably—angry. "Bloomberg is giving working people a raw deal," said Shirley Littman, a steward at the Department of Homeless Services, echoing a sentiment felt by members throughout the union. "My personal opinion is he is going to ruin the city," FDNY steward Patricia Ruffin said. "It's the poor who are going to suffer. He's hurting a lot of people. And here at the Fire Department, we've taken a heavy hit on the layoffs."

"Members are angry. Very, very angry," Doris Thorbourne reported. "They're angry that managers aren't being asked to give. Why is it us? Why are we being laid off? Why aren't managers laid off? They're angry at City Hall," reported the steward from the Department of Buildings. Littman also talked about the layoffs and the unfair burden working and poor people are bearing. "In our agency, it's the lowest paid workers who are being laid off. It's very painful—instead of spreading the pain. He's sparing the rich and making the poor suffer. Everywhere you look, it's very uneven. No working person is spared the pain. Other people from higher income categories, they are spared.

"Bloomberg is balancing the checkbook but letting the babies go without food," Littman added. "He's the mayor of New York, a city of a lot of people. You cannot worry about the money and not the people. Which goes full circle to, why are we laying off the lowest paid workers? Are the fire houses near Gracie Mansion closing? I don't think so."

It is the unfair nature of who is paying for the budget crisis that has motivated people. "It's like Arthur said, complicity is not an option," noted Arlene Martin, a steward at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Rather than accept the question 'layoffs or concessions?' rather than engage in the debate about which services should be cut, Local 1180 has insisted that the wrong questions are being asked. Why should working people pay more taxes but not the rich? If property taxes, cigarette taxes, recreation fees, parking fines, subway fare and CUNY and SUNY tuition are all going up, why aren't the wealthy also paying more?

That question was at the center of the union's mobilization around the budget process this spring. Local 1180 was part of a chorus of voices that fought for more progressive taxation this year. In the end, 1180 and others did win a small increases in income taxes on individuals making $100,000 or more ($150,000 or more for couples). The income tax surcharge helped close the budget gap, though the brunt of the burden was still borne by working families. Nevertheless, it was a huge victory for workers, because it was the first time that the rhetoric of shared sacrifice actually resulted in the rich contributing to solving the problem.

Local 1180 members worked hard for the victory. On April 15, hundreds turned out for a rowdy rally at the General Post Office. "Save city services—tax the rich!" "Mayor Mike: tax your own! Leave us alone!" "Let's get down to the nitty-gritty, we're here to save the city!" members chanted as hundreds of last-minute tax filers walked by. Members also signed pledge cards vowing to fight for a fair budget, and distributed the union's booklet The Seven Deadly Budget Sins. The booklet was mailed to the entire City Council. Local 1180 also aired four television commercials that called for progressive taxation.

Throughout the spring, shop stewards went into high gear to get members involved. "I said, you guys always bitch and moan, now you have a chance to scream and yell as loud as possible," said Thorbourne about mobilizing members for the April 15 rally. "We did the surveys, now let's back up what we said in the surveys. And they came out. They're more involved."

"I went floor to floor, in fact I went building to building," said Smith about how she got members to fill out the survey, "and there's 17 floors in this building. I went to every floor and posted the survey. I put my fax number on each one. I talked to a good 30 people individually. I told them that it was so important. I told them that the union is only as strong as the members. The survey helped bring people out. [At the March membership meeting] you had some people who had never been to a meeting before. And it helped bring people out for April 15." In all, over 1,500 members responded to the survey.

Because the shop stewards have been the key to galvanizing the membership, the union has also increased its support for the stewards throughout the Fight Forward campaign. In April, stewards spent an entire Saturday in a training workshop designed to hone their skills. "I loved it!" Ruffin said about the day, reflecting typical responses from stewards.

"We shared skills, but it was more than that," Martin said about the April 26 steward assembly. "It was reinforcing how to organize our co-workers. How to make ourselves more powerful in the workplace. Power in a positive sense—knowing who we are, what our rights are, what we can and cannot do." Martin and others praised the "listening exercise" included in the workshop ("that really blew me out of the water!" said Martin) and also said the role-playing exercises were very helpful. The bottom line, explained Martin, was "trying to get our members more involved. And we're succeeding. We're growing more as a union. Our members are coming out. Our voices are being heard. And we are very well respected by many."

This spring's mobilization around the budget and the initial contract survey was just the beginning of what will be a long and difficult campaign to win a new contract. "There's an old union saying, 'we win what we are strong enough to take,'" said Cheliotes. "The Fight Forward campaign is all about being strong enough to win what we need at the bargaining table. And the key to that strength is participation by every Local 1180 member. We're in this for the long haul. It may be months before we even begin formal bargaining, and this year's budget battles will be repeated in the fall and spring. But as long as 1180 members stay the course and come out and fight, we can prevail."

This summer, the union is sending out a second bargaining survey to all members. (Look for it in your mailbox in early July! Click here to read President Arthur Cheliotes's column on why it's important for every member to fill out the survey.) This one asks not only about concessions, but also about members' priorities for a new contract. It also asks members to list what steps they are willing to take to win a fair contract—everything from handing out flyers to wearing buttons, lobbying legislators, speaking at rallies and more. Getting every Local 1180 member to participate in this survey is the next step in building the Fight Forward campaign. Stewards will spend the summer urging members to get involved; another stewards assembly is scheduled for June 25 to help them gather surveys. In the fall, the survey results will be compiled, and stewards will meet again to discuss the next steps.

"When I left there, I was ready," Martin said about the April 26 steward assembly. By the end of this summer, after members have had a chance to discuss the new survey and talk about what actions they are ready to take, we should all be ready to take on Mayor Bloomberg and fight for a fair contract.

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