NYC Charter Revision Proposals: A Hobson’s Choice | CityPragmatist

NYC Charter Revision Proposals: A Hobson’s Choice CityPragmatist: "We welcome your comments."



How can we vote on Question #2 on the NYC Charter Revision? This question is comprised of a hodgepodge of issues! And we are expected to vote either YES or NO on the entire list of disparate items?

This does not constitute a free and fair election process but rather is an indication of our "currently" elected officials who seem to be doing the voting equivalent of cramming everything under the bed. How insulting to the people of NYC!

I believe that my right to vote freely and fairly is hampered by this patchwork of issues. In a fair voting process, I would vote Yes on some of these issues and NO on others. What is it that our "officials" are trying to hide with this ram-rod jumble of issues in Question #2?

Debreh Gilbert

A news clip of interest

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/investigative/nyc-parking-ticket-judges-20100722

Essentially, PVB judges are complaining about quotas, being pressured to find motorists guilty, and that Chief Judge Mary Gotsopoulis has been hiding higher court rulings that favor motorists so that judges won't know they should dismiss certain tickets. Great footage of Mary running away from a reporter. Maybe a certain other Chief Judge might get the same journalistic treatment?

Has this ever happened to you?

Membership meeting Thursday January 14

Here are the details:

THURSDAY,

JANUARY 14, 2010

5 – 7 PM

UFT CENTRAL OFFICE,

52 BROADWAY

(enter at 50 BROADWAY)

2^nd FLOOR, ROOMS E & F

Refreshments will be available

A report from the New York County Lawyers Association regarding ECB

ALJs at ECB and other tribunals might find this interesting:

http://www.nycla.org/siteFiles/Publications/Publications1316_0.pdf

A little humor

I haven't had authorization to post anything here for a while, but I thought I would inject a little humor, particularly applicable for those of us at DOH. Enjoy.

An update on negotiations

It has been a while since this blog was updated, mostly because there has been little to announce. We have met with the City's representatives at OLR nine times since negotiations began, and our bargaining proposals have been presented and discussed by the parties, including issues that we know are of great importance to our membership such as wages and due process. As expected, the city has provided resistance on almost every one of our demands. The good news is that negotiation sessions, which had been difficult to schedule given the unusually large number of city agencies involved, are now coming at more regular intervals. We do not know if or when we will reach an agreement, but more frequent activity is most definitely a better sign than no activity at all.

When we have more concrete news to relay, we will let the membership know. In the meantime, please keep in mind that while bargaining is ongoing, your representatives on the Negotiating Committee cannot divulge details of the negotiations and asking them for specific information puts them in an awkward situation. Thanks for your understanding on this matter.