On the picket line

FDNY must hire people of color, pay back wages

In a class-action settlement announced March 8, the New York City Fire Department, which has historically been 97 percent white, must immediately hire 186 African-American and 107 Latino/a firefighters. The FDNY must also pay $128 million, as well as compensatory damages and costs of medical coverage, to applicants who took the 1999 and 2002 exam but were not hired. Captain Paul Washington, past president of the Black firefighters’ Vulcan Society, said, “This is a great victory for those who have been excluded from serving our City because of their race. We hope the FDNY moves quickly to welcome the 293 Black and Latino applicants who are entitled to be hired.” He added that the Vulcan Society has been fighting for nearly 75 years to increase Black representation in the FDNY. The federal judge who issued the ruling noted, “It has been in the City’s power to prevent or remedy the need for damages proceedings for a decade, and it has not done so.” He added that paying damages now for all members of the affected class is a “consequence of the City’s decision to ignore clear violations of federal law.” In earlier rulings the court found that the FDNY test was racially discriminatory, the discrimination was intentional, and it was “a persistent stain on the Fire Department’s record.” (www.ccrjustice.org, March 8)

Columbia workers protest proposed cutbacks

Administrative workers at Columbia, Barnard and Teachers College, represented by United Auto Workers Local 2110 since 1985, held a rousing rally and march on March 7 in their fight for a decent contract. Columbia, with an $8 billion endowment — yes, $8 billion — and plans to keep expanding into the Harlem community, is demanding that the workers pay huge increases in health care costs, while offering zero increases in wages and reductions in pension and tuition benefits. No wonder about 700 union members, supporters and students turned out to protest these ruthless cutbacks, which represent blatant corporate greed in the guise of academia. Picketing on both sides of Broadway at 116th Street, the demonstrators, holding handmade signs, blowing whistles and chanting, let Columbia’s administration know they’re willing to fight for a just contract. Local 2110 President Maida Rosenstein told the Columbia Spectator, “We’re dismayed at [Columbia’s] proposals especially in light of the wealth of the institution. It makes no sense whatsoever. The ball’s in their court. … If there is not an agreement or substantial progress, then … a strike action is on the table. It’s not where we want to go, but our members are very, very serious about a fair contract.” Local 2110 has a militant history. In 1995, the union went on strike for six months to stop a two-tier system of pensions. Stay tuned.

Immigrant car washers organize in New York City

Immigrant rights, community and labor groups announced on March 6 that they are starting a campaign to organize the 5,000 mostly immigrant car washers at about 200 sites in New York City. The industry’s violations of workers’ rights include lower-than-minimum wages, no paid overtime and failing to supply protective equipment to those working with caustic cleaners that burn their eyes and noses. A coalition of Make the Road New York, New York Communities for Change and the Department Store Union (RWDSU) plans to push for annual city and state inspections to make sure carwash companies follow labor laws, to set up a code of conduct for the industry and to hold government hearings to determine if legislation is need to safeguard workers. When the industry was last surveyed in 2008, 78 percent of carwashes in the five boroughs were in violation of minimum wage and overtime laws. (Crain’s, March 5) The NYC campaign follows the successful one in Los Angeles led by the Steelworkers union. Workers at two carwashes in South LA celebrated their first USW Local 675 contracts on Feb. 21. They are getting pay increases, safety equipment and on-the-job training to prevent injury and illness. (afl-cio.now.blog, Feb. 21)