MAKING NEWS — PEF President Roger Benson stands among members from the coalition to keep the Telephone Claims Center in lower Manhattan as Tosh Anderson, project director of the New York Unemployment Project, speaks to the press on September 9 in New York City.
— Photo by Olubiyi Sehindemi
Layoffs create delays in unemployment services
PEF partners with immigrant advocacy groups to stop closure
By DEBORAH A. MILES
The atmosphere at the state Department of Labor’s (DOL) unemployment Telephone Claims Center (TCC) in lower Manhattan is flooded with emotions.
PEF Division 245 members are still fighting to keep the TCC in the city. Yet, they are disheartened because the governor and DOL Commissioner Linda Angello have shown nothing but a deaf ear.
To turn up the volume on their plight, more than 100 members from the TCC joined a coalition of immigrant worker-advocate groups who told their stories to reporters at a press conference on September 9 in New York City.
Speakers told members of the media the move will cost taxpayers millions of dollars in translation fees, training and unrecoverable payments, and explained how the layoffs already have affected service to non-English speaking clients.
Because of community outcries, the coalition of 15 advocacy groups called the press conference.
“The foreign-speaking residents were unable to get through to the claims center, so they started knocking on the doors of various immigrant advocacy groups who help them navigate through government systems. That is how the coalition got started,” said Evarist Nicholas, a labor service representative at the TCC.
Three days to get through
Because of the layoffs at the lower Manhattan TCC, the waiting period for a client to speak with a representative has increased from 45 minutes to as much as three days, according to Nicholas.
“People filing unemployment claims become frustrated, irate and difficult when they can’t get through,” she said.
At the lower Manhattan TCC, more than 45 workers have been laid-off. On the day of the press conference, DOL cut 27 more people and many of them elected to retire.
The ripple effect of the layoffs is further crippling the service this multi-lingual staff once provided to unemployment claimants.
“All the calls are now routed to Albany, then are transferred back down to New York City,” Nicholas said. “People are sending faxes saying ‘help me.’ This is really a disservice to the residents of this state.”
FAMILY STYLE — PEF members from the TCC march in the Labor Day parade in Manhattan.
— Photo by Richard Dillard
Fight intensifies
When DOL made the closure announcement last April, members juggled the option of being forced to transfer upstate or lose their jobs. Hundreds gathered for a rally. Many testified at a state Assembly hearing. They got thousands of people to sign petitions. The union filed a lawsuit against DOL and Angello. And ads (see) are appearing in The New York Times, New York Post and the Amsterdam News.
PEF leaders said they will continue the fight to keep the claims center from closing. In August, the PEF Executive Board allocated an additional $100,000 for this campaign.
At PEF’s 27th Annual Convention in September, hundreds of delegates took part in a “blast fax” movement by electronically sending letters to Angello.
And PEF leaders will testify at a New York City Council Labor Committee hearing in late September.
“The state knows when a management decision adversely affects our members, PEF will take them on in a very forceful and public way,” said PEF President Roger Benson.
The claims center is scheduled to close in the fall of 2006. With continued pressure, union leaders said they will keep pushing until they get a response from Angello and the governor.
The
Communicator October 05
Features
NYS wasting $$$ on contractors
Go Public bill now law
PEF, groups fight for TCC jobs
Can't delay agency, union switch
Parole
targeted for
going public
Katrina
makes fed's budget
a mess
Departments
President's
Message
Member's
Mailbag
Health Notes
Member Mobilization
Retirees In Action
Member Highlights
PEF
Membership Benefits &Travel
Union Matters
More
$ for dependent care in 2006
Hutchings PC gains more beds
Reach out and help Katrina victims
Health care workers
salaries up
Region 12 backs Alessi and wins
Audubon Society honors member
Circulation
& Ownership Statement
PEF Audit 2005
Other Links
Professional
Directory
Members'
Classified
Member
Communicator Feedback
Do You Prefer The
Online Edition?
How To
Advertise Here
The
Communicator Staff
Questions on
this site?
Email the Webmaster