We will be hosting a forum titled "Public Sector Black Lives Matter: Defund the NYPD, Tax the Rich, No Cuts, No Layoffs" on Monday, July 13th at 7:30pm. We will have presentations from City of New York union members in District Council 37, the United Federation of Teachers, the New York State Nurses Association, and the Professional Staff Congress. We will also have lots of time for discussion and strategizing.
We need you to be a part of this important discussion. Please RSVP here. If your organization would like to endorse, please contact Sean Petty at seanpetty@gmail.com
As the protest movement against police terror and for racial justice continues to develop, it is reaching a new stage. Concrete demands are crystalizing and numerous forces are gathering to win them, namely the immediate necessity of defunding the NYPD. As we all know, the organized workers of NYC are a key force necessary to fully win these important fights.
Additionally, looking further out into the next several months, there is a tsunami of budget cuts brewing here in NYC and NY State, induced by the overall contradictions of the capitalist economy combined with the immediate conditions of the COVID pandemic. These cuts will be an abject disaster for all working people, but will truly overwhelm the already brutalized Black community in this city. Layoffs and unprecedented reductions in healthcare, education, and many social services are all likely if New York state doesn't tax the rich in order to balance the budgets. We know the money is out there. During the COVID crisis alone, the billionaire class in the US, many who reside in New York state, increased their net wealth by $500 BILLION.
Finally, there are important long term racial justice demands in the public sector, like diversifying the teaching workforce in K-12 and CUNY, mandating anti-racism and intersectionality training for educators, and overhauling curriculum to be more inclusive of a culturally relevant and sustaining education.
In this context, the NYC Labor Branch of the Democratic Socialists of America is calling for a broad public discussion on the nature of this watershed moment for racial justice and its connections to the potentially titanic battles ahead to preserve and expand NYC's public sector services and workforce.