Laborers Local 1010 LECET, NewsGuild of NY/Daily News Union, and NYC CLC Testify at City Council

On Monday, Laborers Local 1010 LECET testified before the City Council Committee on Park and Recreation to call out NYC Parks’ troubling procurement practices. Griffin’s Landscaping and Dragonetti Brothers now control more than half of all active street tree planting contracts. Both companies have histories of misconduct that should disqualify them from city business, yet despite these violations, both continue to profit from taxpayer dollars while responsible, law-abiding contractors are overlooked. Taxpayer dollars should never go to contractors with criminal convictions — yet Parks continues to award multi-million-dollar street tree contracts to companies whose principals have pled guilty to fraud and corruption. The NYC CLC submitted testimony calling for an end to current and pending contracts with these contractors, as well as better oversight going forward. Watch video of the hearing here!

The NewsGuild of NY, Daily News Union, and the CLC also testified Monday before the Committee on Civil Service and Labor in support of a Resolution 1015, introduced earlier this year by Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa, condemning Alden Global Capital cuts and managerial hostility towards unionized Daily News staff and calling on the hedge fund to reach a contract deal with the newspaper’s union.Watch video ofthat hearing here, and read more about the Resolution and the Daily News Union's fight for a fair contract here!