Legislative Report November 2013

Electrical Welfare Club                       Legislative Report                         November 2013

On Election Day, over 1 million New Yorkers took to the polls and the voters made a very loud statement when over 73% put their trust behind Democrat Bill de Blasio to lead our great city for the next 4 years. Mayor-elect de Blasio comes out of Brooklyn’s powerful progressive movement and hopes to “level the playing field” and give all New Yorkers the same opportunities to succeed.
Labor unions are looking to forward to be able to sit down and discuss the issues that have for the most part been ignored over the last twelve years. Many have been working without a new collective bargaining agreement for years.

Also elected on November 5th, another voice out of Brooklyn, Democrat Letitia James, as the next NYC Public Advocate.  With over 78% of the vote, Ms. James will become the first African American female to hold city wide office. Ms. James, as a member of the New York City Council, stood up against the Bloomberg administration on many issues that affect labor unions and all working New Yorkers. Arguably, with the second most powerful position in New York City government, Ms. James pledges to continue to fight for social and economic justice for all New Yorkers.

A new Comptroller of the City of New York was elected as well. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer will succeed John Liu and become the next Comptroller. With over 80% of the vote, Stringer will become New York City’s Chief Fiscal Officer as well as Chief Auditing Officer.  This office is extremely important to the members of Local Union No. 3 IBEW and all labor unions in NYC. The comptroller is a watch dog on all city contracts and protects workers with regards to the prevailing wage in NYC.  We certainly
hope that Mr. Stringer continues the excellent work that John Liu has done and Bill Thompson before him.

In the races for Borough President, all four endorse candidates won; Bronx: Ruben Diaz Jr., Brooklyn: Eric Adams, Queens: Melinda Katz, Staten Island: James Oddo

For City Council representing the 24th District, including Electchester, Local Union No.
3 IBEW endorsed Democratic candidate Rory Lancman easily won.

As for the New York State Propositions, both Proposition #1 and #5 were voted in favor
of.  Hopefully that will lead to many new work opportunities for labor unions across the state and thousands of good paying jobs.

Unfortunately, the voters in New Jersey re-elected Governor Christie and in Nassau County, Tom Suozzi failed in his re-election as County Executive.

Don’t just sit on the sidelines, be an active member of YOUR UNION, LOCAL Union No. 3, IBEW! Let’s not wait until next Election Day to have our voices be heard!

Always remember in Unity there is Strength.

Let’s stand United in Solidarity.

We Can Not and We Will Not Be Silent!

To keep up-to-date on all important issues that affect our industry, visit www.local3.com and www.ibew.org and while you are there, remember to sign up to be an E-Activist.

If you have not done so already now is the time.

Marc Deutscher
Eddie Harap
James Marer
Legislative Committee