April 4, 2025

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Federal policies may threaten city’s efforts to close gender and racial pay gaps

City Council, advocates mark Equal Pay Day

BY CRYSTAL LEWIS clewis@thechiefleader.com

Policies ordered by the Trump administration are threatening to undo progress in closing the gender and racial wage gap, advocates said at an Equal Pay Day rally last week.

Union leaders, members of the City Council, and advocates from Legal Momentum gathered at City Hall to mark Equal Pay Day, which represents how far into the current year women had to work to have earned what men earned the previous year. This year, Equal Pay Day was March 25.

Women in New York earned 87 cents for every dollar compared with men, the advocates noted. But the pay gap was substantially worse for women of color across the state: on average, Black women earned 66 cents for every dollar earned by white men, while Latina women earned 60 cents compared with their white male counterparts.

Nationally, Latina women were paid 51 cents for every dollar earned by white men on average; Black women earned 54 cents for every dollar.

The City Council has passed several pieces of legislation in recent years aimed at closing gender and racial pay disparities, including pay transparency and salary history laws. But recent federal executive orders eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs could cause

workplaces to move backwards, the advocates warned.

“Today we need to be prepared to fight even harder, because disparities are only going to get worse as attacks on women, people of color and the LGBTQ community become even more widespread and severe,” said Seher Khawaja, the deputy legal director at Legal Momentum.

She noted that the policies could impact private-sector companies’ hiring and compensation decisions.

“As we navigate under this cloud of misinformation, coercion and lawlessness, we must make clear that the administration’s executive orders do not change employers’ obligations under federal laws like Title VII and the Equal Pay Act, and they certainly do not change employers’ obligations under our much stronger state and local laws,” she said.

The Council is weighing a series of bills that would strengthen the pay transparency laws, including by requiring employers to advertise benefits, nonwage compensation — such as stock options — and transfer and promotion opportunities in job listings. Another bill would require businesses that have more than 100 employees to report employees’ salaries, job title, gender, race, ethnicity and birth year, to the city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, in order to achieve better data on the wage gap and increase transparency.

“As a Council, we will continue to find creative and meaningful ways to address pay disparities on a city level, especially at a time when our

rights and opportunities as women are under attack by the federal government under he whose name will not be repeated,” Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said. “New York must step up and lead, we are the

leaders of the nation. When women have equal access to opportunities, all of us succeed.”

Majority Leader Amanda Farías stated that the wage disparities have cost women “hundreds of

thousands” of dollars over their lifetimes.

“Black women lose over $1.1 million and Latinas lose $1.3 million in See EQUAL, page 6

Accepted payments for expediting inspections BY

CRYSTAL LEWIS clewis@thechiefleader.com

A former chief in the Fire Department’s Bureau of Fire Prevention was sentenced to 20 months in prison and two years of supervised release for accepting more than $50,000 in bribes in exchange for expediting building inspections, prosecutors announced.

Brian Cordasco, 50, of Staten Island, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman in the Southern District of New York. The ex-chief, who joined the FDNY in 2002, was fined $100,000 and ordered to forfeit $57,000 — the estimated amount in bribes he received.

Cordasco pleaded guilty to conspiracy to solicit and receive a bribe in October.

“Today’s sentence makes clear that City government officials who

monetize their offices and require New Yorkers to ‘pay-to-play,’ taking money in exchange for expediting government processes, do so at the risk of prison time,” city Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said in a statement. “By providing preferential treatment to clients of a former FDNY colleague, expediting their plan reviews and inspections in return for over $50,000 in bribes, the defendant prioritized his personal financial interests over delivering ethical leadership and equitable

‘Brian Cordasco abused his position of power by expediting fire inspection services for those who paid him bribes.’

—Matthew Podolsky, ACTING

U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

service to all New Yorkers.”

The Bureau of Fire Prevention oversees the installation of fire safety systems in commercial and residential buildings. Often, a building requires bureau approvals before it can be occupied or opened, and the bureau typically processes applications for inspections on a first-come, first-served basis.

Prosecutors said that from 2021 through 2023, Cordasco and Anthony Saccavino, 59, another former chief in the Bureau of Fire Prevention, schemed with Henry Santiago Jr., a retired FDNY firefighter, to solicit bribes from developers and property owners in exchange for bumping up certain FDNY plan reviews and inspections to the front of the line. At the time, there was a large backlog of inspections due to the pandemic.

In total, Cordasco, Saccavino and Santiago received an estimated $190,000 in bribe payments for expe-

See CORDASCO, page 3

Columbia unions unite against Trump, university UAW locals urge reinstatement of terminated staff, p. 2

Unions urge more funding at state Labor Dept. Labor groups fear federal cuts could hurt workers, p. 6

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, p. 4

EXAMS FOR JOBS, p. 11

LABOR AROUND THE WORLD, p. 12

128th Year — Vol. CXXIX, No. 6 Print and web subscriptions 212-962-2690 | thechief.org

Outsourcing of

BY DUNCAN FREEMAN dfreeman@thechiefleader.com

“DOT wanted to show that they can replace us,” the union leader said of DOT’s decision to outsource work.

“They put passengers at risk that night, and they did it to try to break the spirits of the crew on the vessels. There was no reason for them to do it. It was just done out of pure spite to try to break the will of a union that was fighting for their contract.”  Rexha pointed out that the

The city’s Department of Transportation broke city labor law when it outsourced Staten Island Ferry service to a private contractor on New Year’s Eve 2022, the Board of Collective Bargaining ruled last month.   DOT, concerned about excess passengers drawn by celebrations across Manhattan, used the employees and equipment of NY Waterways – a private company – to transport New Yorkers between Manhattan and Staten Island the evening of Dec. 31. By outsourcing the work the city was “unilaterally transferring” the “exclusive bargaining unit work” entitled to members of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, the BCB ruled in a split decision.  At the time, the roughly 120 members of MEBA had been working on an expired labor contract for 13 years and were embroiled in contract mediation and a dispute over prevailing wages with the city. Managers at DOT had been unable to reach some employees and, instead of reaching out to union leadership, sought the aid of NY Waterways to increase operations, DOT officials testified to the BCB.  It was the first time ever that DOT had used a private service to operate the Staten Island Ferry in a non-emergency context and without the approval of MEBA leadership, Roland Rexha, the union’s secretary-treasurer, said Monday.

Brian Cordasco, flanked by then-FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh and thenChief of Department John Hodgens, at his February 2023 promotion to FDNY deputy assistant chief. Cordasco was sentenced on Monday to 20 months in prison and two years of supervised release for accepting bribes for expediting building inspections.

Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit

City Council members, including Speaker Adrienne Adams (at left of lectern), and union leaders Rebecca Damon of SAG-

AFTRA (at lectern) and CWA Local 1180’s Gloria Middleton (at right of lectern) marked Equal Pay Day at City Hall last week. The advocates highlighted legislation passed by the Council aimed at combating gender and wage disparities, which they said was important given efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle programs aimed at increasing diversity.

Columbia unions unite against Trump, university management

BY DUNCAN FREEMAN dfreeman@thechiefleader.com

Unions representing more than 5,000 workers at Columbia are demanding the university stand up to the Trump administration’s attempts to control it.  In a letter sent last week to the university’s president and cochair of the board of trustees that listed 10 demands, three United Auto Workers locals implored Columbia’s leadership to protect students and reinstate workers that have been expelled and terminated.

“We, the undersigned labor organizations at Columbia University, stand united in defense of our members and of the University itself,” the letter reads.

“We see the Trump administration’s actions as a single aggression with a common goal: to silence opposition to the authoritarian regime emerging in Washington, to cripple and take control over universities, to wreck critical research, to erode our first amendment rights, and to disempower Columbia’s workers.”

President Trump revoked $400 million of Columbia’s federal funding in March and sent the university a list of preconditions that it had to meet to get the money back. The extortion demands included instituting a mask ban, hiring “special officers” with arrest powers to patrol campus, changing judicial

procedures, expelling students involved in pro-Palestine protests, changing curriculum related to the Middle East, and more.

University management ceded to most of Trump’s demands on March 21, including by firing and expelling Grant Miner, the president of the Student Workers of Columbia union a day before he was supposed to begin bargaining for a new contract.

While quick to cede to Trump, Columbia has yet to implement demands brought by its employee unions that include reinstating Miner, prohibiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement from coming on campus, and tapping into the University’s $15-billion endowment to protect all workers and research. The unions also want Columbia to sue the Trump administration, protect student and employee free speech, resist government control and advocate for the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a former union member who’s been detained by the Trump administration for leading pro-Palestine protests on campus.

The organized demands are the first time that the three UAW locals – and two nascent UAW bargaining units – have joined together to stand up for all their members facing a barrage of pressures. Brandon Mancilla, the director of UAW Region 9A, told The Chief at a rally

March 27 that the unions were taking unprecedented action for an unprecedented moment.

“Things that Columbia has all negotiated away with the Trump administration, they all concern our members,” Mancilla said. “Our

Prosecutor makes offers to state prison guards charged in inmate’s death

BY MICHAEL HILL Associated Press

A special prosecutor said Monday he made offers to resolve criminal cases against 10 New York prison guards indicted in the beating death of a handcuffed man. Six correctional officers were charged with murder last month in the December death of Robert Brooks, 43, whose brutal beating at Marcy Correctional Facility was captured on body-worn cameras. Three other prison employees were charged with manslaughter and another with evidence tampering. The offers were publicly revealed during a pretrial court conference by Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who declined to provide details afterward.

Federal prosecutors are also looking into Brooks’ death

The individual defendants will appear in court in April to either accept or reject the offers.

The prosecutor’s offer to David Walters, charged with second-degree manslaughter, was to plead guilty to the existing charge with a recommendation for a mid-range sentence, his attorney Nick Passalacqua said.

“We’ve not been made an offer as I define it. We’ve been asked to plead guilty to the charge,” Passalacqua said, adding that he believed other defendants received similar offers.

Other attorneys declined comment after court.

Walters was due back in court April 30. Fitzpatrick also told defense attorneys that he talked to federal prosecutors looking into Brooks’ death about the offers.

“They are actively pursuing the matter. I have suggested to them that the dispositions I have offered would satisfy the case completely,” Fitzpatrick said in court. “They have not agreed to that, but they did respond in a favorable manner indicating they would consider that.”

The body-worn camera video shows officers beating Brooks the night of Dec. 9 while his hands were cuffed behind his back. Officers are seen striking him in the chest with a shoe, lifting him by the neck, and dropping him. Brooks died the next day.

Brooks had been serving a 12year prison sentence for first-degree assault since 2017. He had been transferred from a nearby facility to the prison 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of New York City shortly before the videotaped beating.

Three other prison employees have reached plea agreements, Fitzpatrick has said.

Fitzpatrick also is investigating the death of Messiah Nantwi on March 1 at nearby Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy. A court filing by the attorney general’s office said there is “probable cause to believe” that as many as nine correctional officers either caused or could be implicated in his death.

job as a labor movement is to stand in solidarity with each other and realize our power because, again, nothing moves on this university campus without the workers.”  International students at Columbia are especially fearful, said Andrew Little, president of UAW Local 4100, representing postdoctoral researchers at Columbia. The majority of Local 4100 members are not U.S citizens, he said, and many have been afraid to join rallies or speak out for fear of being detained like Khalil and several other outspoken pro-Palestine students at other universities.

“Its both more important than ever that people are protesting but also there are people who were not here today because they were scared to be out here,” Little said.

“For the people who are here, we need to keep doing this to continue to fight for these rights and continue to give our colleagues confidence to feel that they are safe here as well.”

A spokesperson for Columbia did not reply to a request for comment about the UAW demand letter.

Other groups have also been calling out the university’s acquiescence to Trump. Both the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of University Professors sued the Trump administration over the $400 million in cuts to Columbia last week.

The suit specifically targets two

of President Trump’s executive orders and his “ideological-deportation” plan which, the suit says, was exemplified by Khalil’s detainment.

“The Trump administration is going after international scholars and students who speak their minds about Palestine, but make no mistake: they won’t stop there,” AAUP president Todd Wolfson said in a statement on the lawsuit. “They’ll come next for those who teach the history of slavery or who provide gender-affirming health care or who research climate change or who counsel students about their reproductive choices. We all have to draw a line together—as the old labor movement slogan says: an injury to one is an injury to all.”

AAUP members also rallied at Columbia days before the UAW members held a rally of their own.

Little said that the unified UAW rally March 27 was just the “start of a more long-term campaign” to get Columbia to support and stand with its employees and students. The unions face long odds against both university management and the Trump administration, but Mancillla said unions have faced down larger challenges before.   Miner, the expelled SWC president, in response to a question about those long odds pointed out that in the biblical story of David and Goliath, it was the underdog David who won.

FERRY: DOT outsourced work

Continued from Page 1

for the ferry service because a week prior, a fire aboard a Staten Island Ferry vessel caused an emergency evacuation and $12.7 million in damages. A report from the National Transportation Safety Board found that incident was partially the result of the workers on board not being properly trained about the ship’s new fuel system.

There was a shortage of ferry workers in 2022 — which MEBA officials attributed to the expired contract — resulting in 2,000 fewer trips than the year before. Also, earlier in 2022, Mayor Eric Adams suggested that MEBA members were engaging in a coordinated sickout to protest the lack of a contract agreement, which the union denied.

The city, in arguments before the BCB, posited that the combination of short staffing and New Years’ rush constituted an emergency in which it was appropriate for an exclusive bargaining unit to be awarded to other non-union employees without consulting MEBA. Only one round-trip service was conducted by private operators, the city said.

But the BCB definitively dis-

missed the city’s arguments, ruling that “the City cannot unilaterally transfer exclusive bargaining unit work.”

A representative for DOT did not respond to a request for comment on the Bargaining Board’s ruling.  MEBA and the city eventually agreed to an unprecedented 16year contract on Labor Day 2023 that granted mariners a raise of over 34 percent for the life of the contract and substantial back-pay packages. Since then, ridership on the ferry has increased and customer injury rates have declined, according to the preliminary Mayor’s Management Report.

“Our  members are happy and I think the passengers are happy knowing that the service is there,” Rexha said.

“They made their best efforts to try to hurt this group of workers, but in the end, these workers held strong, knew their worth, knew what they wanted and how they were going to get there and received one of the most incredible wage increases and job corrections that the city’s ever seen,” he added. “That doesn’t happen without people understanding that they’re not going to break us with these actions.”

Photo: NDZ/STAR MAX/IPx

Whitehall

UAW Region 9A

Unions representing thousands of workers at Columbia University are united in opposition to the $400 million cuts in funding threatened by the Trump administration. Workers have chastened Columbia leadership for quickly acquiescing to the administration’s demands.

UAW Region 9A

Members of United Auto Workers locals at Columbia University rallied March 27 in protest of the Trump administration’s attempts to control the university.

300 union transit jobs created in MTA’s capital plan with labor agreement

BY DUNCAN FREEMAN dfreeman@thechiefleader.com

The MTA will hire 300 additional unionized employees to renovate, upgrade and repair stations in the aging subway system, leadership of the MTA and the Transport Workers Union announced last week. The proposed increase in staff would be tasked with carrying out the state-of-good-repair jobs laid out in the MTA’s $68-billion capital plan for 2025-2029.

These jobs include installing platform barriers, fixing stairwells, painting stations and repairing railings, said Demetrius Crichlow, president of New York City Transit, in an interview last week. Crichlow insisted that it’s “more efficient” for the MTA to use in-house union labor than to outsource to contractors for this work.

“The more we can get our inhouse folks to do, the better it is for management and the union,” he said. “The contractor just isn’t able to do the quality of work or be as efficient at installing [barriers].”

The work for these 300 employees represents only a small slice of the $6 billion budgeted for employees in the capital plan, David Solimon, vice president of facilities for NYCT, told the MTA’s board last week. But awarding the work to these employees who have “more flexibility and technical expertise” instead of allowing outside contractors to bid for it will save the MTA between $50 million and $100 million, he said.

The 300 will become members of TWU Local 100 once they’re hired.   “We successfully made the case

that work done by TWU members is of higher quality, more cost-effective, and is completed more quickly than projects given to private contractors,” Local 100 President John Chiarello said in a statement.  “We fully support this capital plan and want to see it funded and imple-

Trump’s executive order ends collective bargaining at agencies involved with national security

BY DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

President Donald Trump moved March 27 to end collective bargaining with federal labor unions in agencies with national security missions across the federal government, citing authority granted him under a 1978 law.

The order, signed without public fanfare and announced late last Thursday, appears to touch most of the federal government. Affected agencies include the Departments of State, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Justice and Commerce and the part of Homeland Security responsible for border security.

Police and firefighters will continue to collectively bargain.

Trump said the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 gives him the authority to end collective bargaining with federal unions in these agencies because of their role in safeguarding national security.

The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 820,000 federal and D.C. government workers, said late last Thursday that it is “preparing immediate legal action and will fight relentlessly to protect our rights, our members, and all working Americans from these unprecedented attacks.”

“President Trump’s latest executive order is a disgraceful and retaliatory attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of patriotic American civil servants — nearly one-third of whom are veterans — simply because they are members of a union that stands up to his harmful policies,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said.

New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento said the order was a flagrant aggression on workers’ rights.

“This executive order is a direct attack on working people, an assault on workers’ rights, and a blatant attempt to silence workers. It strips workers across the federal government of their fundamental right to unionize and collectively bargain. It is a textbook example of union-busting,” Cilento said in a statement.

“Let me be very clear, the Union Movement in New York State stands united. We will fight this outrageous assault on working people with all the strength of our collective resolve.”

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement, “It’s clear that

this order is punishment for unions who are leading the fight against the administration’s illegal actions in court — and a blatant attempt to silence us.” She also vowed, “We will fight this outrageous attack on our members with every fiber of our collective being.”

Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, condemned Trump’s action as “union busting.”

“These workers provide important benefits and services to all Americans; they need to be treated with dignity and respect — and that includes being able to have a collective voice about their working conditions and concerns,” Appelbaum said in a statement. “Even though the Trump administration is coming for federal workers today, all workers are under threat by these actions — and we will not remain silent.”

The announcement builds on previous moves by the Trump administration to erode collective bargaining rights in the government.

mented. It’s essential in order to have a safe and reliable system, and to avoid slipping backward to the bad old days of rampant break downs and delays.”

John Samuelsen, international president of TWU, said union members doing the work is the best way

of “ensuring that the final product is better and less expensive.”

“It’s higher quality for a lower price,” Samuelsen said. “We’re the best at it and it’s not a question.”

But the union leader argued that MTA’s openness to using union labor is not a given under Janno Li-

eber, the agency’s CEO. Samuelsen said Lieber is prone to outsourcing work to consultants or contractors and otherwise implementing policies “destructive to the TWU.”

Just days ago the MTA’s board greenlit $186 million to two large infrastructure consulting firms to oversee the Second Avenue subway extension.

Crichlow argued that in the case of the 300 additional staffers, the union and transit management are in “lockstep” and “making good use of the funds we have.”

“This is an instance that management and union agree on the skill and talent of the workforce and we both see the value of utilizing our resources, our people who are doing a great job, and utilizing them to the best that we can,” he said. “We’re trying to install a level of confidence in our riders that every dollar we receive, every dollar that we put out and all the projects that we’re doing are being managed efficiently.”

The MTA’s capital plan relies on $14 billion in funding from the federal government, which has been sparring with Governor Hochul and the MTA and threatened to withhold money over congestion pricing and a false assertion that subway crime is on the rise.

Samuelsen said that “everybody should be concerned” about the threats from the Trump administration. But both he and Crichlow said leadership in the state legislature and assembly have offered assurances that the state will be able to cover at least the state-of-goodrepair  portions of the capital plan.

CORDASCO: Sentenced for expediting inspections

Continued from Page 1

diting inspections on about 30 projects, according to prosecutors. DOI launched its probe of Cordasco and Saccavino in the spring of 2023 after the FDNY discovered the pay-to-play scheme and reported the matter to federal investigators.  The homes of the two ex-chiefs were raided in February 2024 and the pair were arrested in September.

“As a chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention, Brian Cordasco was entrusted to protect the people of New York City and to fairly represent their interests.  Instead, he repeatedly abused his position of power by expediting fire inspection services for those who paid him thousands of dollars in bribes,” Matthew Podolsky, the acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.

“The sentence imposed today sends a clear message that government officials who betray the public trust to line their own pockets will be met with just punishment.”

Saccavino, who has been with the department since 1995, pleaded guilty in January to a single charge of conspiracy to solicit and receive a bribe. He must also forfeit $57,000 as part of his plea agreement and is expected to be sentenced on May 14. A spokesperson for the FDNY did not return a request for comment.

Last month, DHS said it was ending the collective bargaining agreement with the tens of thousands of frontline employees at the Transportation Security Administration.

The TSA union called it an “unprovoked attack” and vowed to fight it.

A White House fact sheet on Thursday’s announcement says that “Certain Federal unions have declared war on President Trump’s agenda” and that Trump “refuses to let union obstruction interfere with his efforts to protect Americans and our national interests.”

“President Trump supports constructive partnerships with unions who work with him; he will not tolerate mass obstruction that jeopardizes his ability to manage agencies with vital national security missions,” the White House said.

Trent Reeves/MTA Construction & Development

L train tunnel rehabilitation work in 2020. Under its 2025-2029 capital plan, the MTA will hire 300 more union workers to help repair, renovate and upgrade stations.

Daniel Torok/The White House

President Donald Trump at an event celebrating Women’s History Month March 26 in the East Room of the White House.

COMMENTARY COMMENTARY COMMENTARY

LETTERS

TO THE EDITOR

Restrained

To The ediTor:

The Independent Rikers Commission is calling for the appointment of a “point person” at City Hall to focus on closing Rikers Island by 2027. This is deemed necessary because of a law passed by the City Council mandating the closure of penal island.

But two problems exist. First, the jails that are supposed to replace Rikers are not scheduled to be completed until 2029 (Brooklyn), 2031 (the Bronx) and 2032 (Queens and Manhattan).

Now even if by some miracle these jails were completed by 2027, they would only hold 4,500 prisoners. Rikers currently holds 6,800. Does the City Council propose just releasing the excess prisoners?

Meanwhile, the allegedly progressive Council refuses to pass a law that would guarantee that city retirees don’t have their current health coverage replaced with a private, Medicare Advantage plan. So are these allegedly progressive Democrats trying to compete with the Trump Administration in the stupidity and evil department?

Richard Warren

Polarization

To The ediTor:

As Abraham Lincoln astutely observed, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Regrettably, this is precisely the state of affairs in America at present.

We witnessed a highly contested election last fall. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump engaged in a

contentious battle, and it was not until the outcome became apparent that the nation’s concerns were fully understood. Despite the Republican Party securing victories in both houses of Congress, the country is deeply troubled about the future trajectory of our nation. (It is imperative to recognize that both parties share responsibility for this state of affairs.)

Our profound political divisions have impeded our progress and perpetuated the fragmentation of our nation. Attempts to address this issue have only exacerbated the situation. History has demonstrated that internal conflicts and wars can lead to the disintegration of countries. Leaders who exploit democracy for their own gain, disseminating falsehoods and appointing judges who prioritize party interests over the nation’s well-being, cause significant harm, particularly when the country is already deeply anxious about its destiny.

Robert Sica

Omissions

To The ediTor:

Willful ignorance poisons the public good and civic virtue needed for a healthy, constitutional democracy.

One example was the 2024 election of Donald Trump. Voters apparently forgot that in his first term there were endless lies, incompetence, chaos, attacks on dissent and the authoritarian tendencies that define his administration today.

There also was Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020

election, his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, and four indictments and a civil trial that, before his election, resulted in two guilty verdicts, including a 34-felony-count conviction.

A second example is the political comeback of Andrew Cuomo. According to the polls, he is city residents’ overwhelming first choice for mayor. Have New Yorkers forgotten why Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021, when 11 women accused him of sexual harassment? There was also evidence that he implemented a policy that caused a significant increase in nursing home deaths from Covid.

A final example is the never-ending unconditional support for Israel. It’s telling that in 2023 the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s President Putin. He is accused of war crimes over the abduction and deportation to Russia of 20,000 Ukrainian children. The U.S. assisted in the investigation, with the State Department creating a database of the abducted children.

By contrast, when the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the action was ignored by the Biden administration and loudly denounced by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. Unmentioned was Israel’s indiscriminate bombing in Gaza. It has resulted in the deaths of 18,000 children, created 19,000 orphans, and produced the largest population of child amputees in the world.

Howard Elterman

Document, please

To The ediTor: In rebuttal to “No method to the madness” (The Chief, Letters,

March 28):

According to sources on the Internet undocumented immigrants in 2022 contributed $65 billion to Social Security. That same year Social Security paid out $1.07 trillion dollars in retirement benefits alone. The contribution by undocumented immigrants is 6 percent. Wow! I guess Social Security would collapse without them

What about the gangs importing the highly poisonous fentanyl?

What about the murder of Laken Riley and her grieving family? According to the ICE website, 2,894 non-citizens were arrested in 2024 who had been convicted of homicide. What about their victims? The argument “citizens commit more crimes” is little comfort to the victims of undocumented immigrants.

And as I have posted twice and heard crickets from the “let everyone in” set: what about the unaccompanied 9-year-old girl I saw on the subway about a year ago, hawking candy and gum? Low-hanging fruit to be kidnapped, human trafficked, sexually abused. My heart ached for her. My father (RIP) and mother (still with us at 92) were far from perfect, and in fact when I was 9 years old, my father was in a prolonged period of underemployment. My sister and I were never sent out into the street to make money. I don’t know if this country is better or worse because of undocumented immigrants but I do know I would like to see all the facts.

Nat Weiner

Shenanigans

To The ediTor:

Donald Trump promised a great economy for the people from Day 1 of his presidency, and prices are rising on everything, and the stock

market that used to be his measuring tool for economic success is tanking, so Trump says he’s not focused on the stock market.

Trump’s tariffs will clearly damage our economy and the economy of many of our former allies, especially Canada and Mexico. He now stupidly says he will take revenge on any automakers who pass the tariff costs on to purchasers of cars.

Trump’s attempts to take over the world, including Greenland, Panama and even Canada, have led to profound mistrust among our allies. Canada will never trust our nation as long as it is led by Trump and his Project 2025 racist, xenophobic autocrats.

Trump is even trying to run (ruin?) American museums, removing people and symbols of justice and courage and revert to pre-Civil War days. Does anyone doubt he has more respect for Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis than he has for Ulysses S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln? It’s clear that Trump wants to return Blacks to their former status before real heroes, among them Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr. and many others, helped change racist America.

Does any rational person who is paying attention to Trump’s clownish antics really believe he will make it, mentally and emotionally, through the next 3 3/4 years? I doubt it. Then we will have Project 2025 leaderless, and like the headless horseman running roughshod on America and its moral values. True Christians and people of all religions who value justice and morality are praying “God help America.”

Michael J. Gorman

THE CHIEF welcomes letters from its readers for publication. Correspondents must include their names, addresses and phone numbers. Letters should be no longer than 300 words and are subject to editing for clarity and length. Preference will be given to correspondence that references New York City and State topics. To submit a letter online, visit thechief.org and click on Letters to the Editor.

We must resist cuts to Medicaid

BY RALPH PALLADINO

1549.

was also a

of

Transition teams of former Governor Elliot Spitzer and Mayor Eric Adams.

It is ludicrous for the TrumpMusk government to say they just want to cut Medicaid “fraud and waste.” I know this from my 40-plus years of being involved in health care policy, working at Bellevue Hospital, the country’s oldest public hospital, as well as being a patient (Bellevue saved my life from a near fatal asthma attack in 1985) and having had close relatives, including my mother, on Medicaid. Such “waste” rarely exists. Just 5.1 percent of Medicaid costs were in error but most of those were not fraud-related, according to KFF health policy research. Much of that is recoverable upon reviews. Contrast that to the 20 percent of private for-profit health insurance claims found to be fraudulent, according to Forbes Magazine. Medicaid is the least expensive health insurance system in the country. The overhead just for “administrative costs” is just 2 to 5 percent. Those costs reach upwards of 20 and 30 percent at private profit-oriented health care institutions and insurance companies.

The program also creates economic activity in local communities. Medicaid contributes to the local economy more than $2 for every dollar spent on the program. Cuts in the budget could adversely affect these communities. For instance, when Bellevue Hospital closed temporarily following Superstorm Sandy, the local eatery nearby closed permanently.

Eligibility for the Medicaid program requires a lot of documentation and is monitored. Statistical data is available for public inspection. I know all this since I represent-

ed and testified at a City Council hearing on behalf of the eligibility specialists for Medicaid working in the city’s Human Resources Administration as a union local vice president for 20 years. The little fraud that exists is committed mostly by shady providers and pharmacies, not patients. Usually, those responsible are caught and prosecuted. Most of the patients are children and elderly. That is where most of the costs for care goes.

To demand that Medicaid recipients have a job is absurd since the program chiefly benefits low-income earners and the poor. If that became the condition for eligibility, then those people cut off from the program would be uninsured and

only be able to go to an emergency room for care. That might help with their initial health issue, but they would not be eligible for follow-up aftercare and monitoring.

It would also lead to higher insurance rates for all of us since hospitals would have to charge insurance companies at a higher rate to make up for lost non-reimbursable funds. We all would be paying higher insurance premiums as a result. Medicaid is the lifeblood of our care for the elderly and disabled in long-term care. The workers within the system are underpaid already, whether they work for an institution or in home care. To cut “waste” is to cut staff, salaries, or services. In any event, the patients lose.

The number of people on Medicaid in New York State is just over 4 million or 20 percent of the population. 2.9 million of the 8 million people living in New York City are on Medicaid. Health care facilities would have to institute staffing and other cuts. Some likely would have to close.

“We’re certainly very, very worried, given the size of the cuts that have been talked about,” Dr. Mitchell Katz, the president and chief executive of NYC Health + Hospitals, testified at a recent City Council hearing on the health care system’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

The potential cuts, he said, could mean “hundreds of millions of dollars” in losses for the health care

system, likely leading to reduced services. Jobs could be lost. The Commonwealth Fund estimates that 72,000 healthcare jobs could be lost in New York State because of the proposed cuts.

Health care facilities would have to cut services and some would close. A CBS news report found that almost 50 hospitals have closed in New York State since 2000 already. The City news site reported that more than a dozen have closed in New York City alone since then. Beth Israel Hospital in lower Manhattan is on the brink of closure and SUNY Downstate in central Brooklyn is at risk also.

The budget cuts are being proposed by the Trump-Musk administration to ensure that the very rich get further tax cuts. It is about the rich getting richer at our expense. Any money we might get from such a tax cut is minuscule compared with what the wealthy would derive or to the amounts we will have to pay out of pocket for health care in this country. The United States has the highest costs for care while ranking 20th in health care outcomes! The Trump-Musk policies regarding Medicaid would make things worse.

The Republicans’ claims of fraud and waste are phony. That is evidenced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.’s recent announcement that HHS inspector generals would be among the estimated 20,000 laid off from the department. This is more about gaining that much more wealth for the country’s 814 billionaires.

The proposed cuts to Medicaid, like those to other programs, must be fiercely opposed.

If you agree, then please join me and thousands of others at Bryant Park in Manhattan at a 1 p.m. rally Saturday, April 5, against these and other cuts by the federal government.

Michael Nigro/Sipa USA via AP Images

Participants at a March 22 protest against the cutting of spending on federal health-care programs in Brooklyn.

WAKE-UP CALL

Rules for suckers

BY RON ISAAC

P.T. Barnum, who said “There’s a sucker born every minute,” lived before the population explosion and the present era of warp speed mass gullibility. Today, a sucker is born every nano-second. And all persuasions are equal opportunity suckers for exploitation by multilateral sources of propaganda.

Government, news media and the advertising industry especially take advantage of the fact that the former ideal of educating people to make up their minds based on objective information, rather than prefabricated opinions that fit an ideologically driven narrative.

Bastions of integrity are few and far between. Like cemeteries that are still around, although disused and overgrown, the monuments to newspapers of record still stand.

I used to tell my students that journalists must keep their own biases to themselves when reporting what they represent as straight news. We always knew the editorial orientation of publishers, but rarely did newspaper and television network owners allow their stories to so massively and insidiously descend into partisanship as has become the norm. The more that the means to discover the truth has proliferated and become quickly accessible to anyone with a computer or smartphone, the more lazy and less keen on doing the research has become for the citizenry backbone.

People make up their minds with no intellectual involvement. Passions are set in stone and their marrow. They believe what they want to believe. Recent years have produced a new wave of activist egos.

Hypocrisy On Supreme-Court Choice

years of been Justices the more have women is 4 over decision to African-Amerhe all, we qualified comical if ignoJobs the and What an President for selectblue-ribbon apconfirm or politicontext is Ronto woman immedifrom find obvious1991,

And the dozens of cockamamie ingredients that read like the inventory of a chemical factory on the back of a widely available lemon chicken wrap.

Perhaps the advertisers will get off the hook by citing First Amendment rights of creative expression, and the government can publish “Buyer Beware” in 200 languages.

local affairs and almost everything else are sacrosanct and unimpeachable, and that the movements, cults and vogues with whose racket we have chosen to affiliate ourselves have a monopoly on truth.

BY DESTINY FIERRO

THE CHIEF-LEADER,

W.C. Fields, who predated television, was an accidental prophet of modern advertising, when he counseled, “Never give a sucker an even break.” He might as well have been identifying the current phenomenon on prescription medication advertising which targets susceptible patsies whose capacity for thinking for themselves has atrophied, due to educational neglect and calcified brain matter.

George Herbert Walker Bush had to replace the first African American, Thurgood Marshall. He looked all over the country and the “most-qualified” was Clarence Thomas, also an African-American? Of course not. Clarence Thomas is an African-American conservative and he got the gig. Expect a Top Candidate

The cynically slick commercials for prescription medicine, which were banned from television until a few decades ago, are devised in consultation with ruthless industrial psychologists who know the tricks of worming messages into our subconsciousness and bypassing the firewall of discernment. Typically, there are scenes of “patients” who are laughing, partying and engaging in social bonding and vigorous outdoor activities as though they no longer have a care in the world, even as the voiceover tells us that side effects include sudden death, stroke, heart attack and a profusion of cancers.

At the bottom of the screen, the disclaimers about lethality are printed for a few seconds,  sometimes consisting of a hundred words in tiny, faded font. Maybe Robert Kennedy Jr. and other federal agencies like the FCC and FTC can look into predatory marketing.

TAX STRATEGIES

Let’s please stop the nonsense in this country. We have never had an African-American woman on the court. Biden will not be selecting a cashier from Stop-and-Shop or a pilates instructor from the local sports club. He will select a highly educated, highly credentialed woman who attended a top college, top law school, clerked for a Justice, served on the Federal appellate court and all the other “credentials” deemed necessary in this day and age for a Justice. The attacks on this decision should be seen for what they are. They are idiotic political theater from a cohort that sees even a tiny effort at progress as threatening the white male position in society.

Vincent Scala is a former Bronx Assistant District Attorney. He is currently a criminal-defense attorney in New York City and its suburbs.

BY BARRY LISAK

MANY TAXPAYERS FEAR an IRS audit. Although the IRS audit targets change with the times, below you’ll find some of the high-risk tax- audit areas that the IRS has examined in recent years:

BARRY LISAK

• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC is a tax credit designed for low-and moderate-income taxpayers. The more children you have, the greater your EITC will be. The IRS checks tax returns against the Federal Case Registry, and identifies custodial and non-custodial parents. The EITC is the highest audited sector of the tax-filing population.

• Higher wages. The higher your income, the more difficult it is to escape the IRS audit radar. Some refer to this as the IRS “deep pocket” theory; each error or omission with the high-earner group will lead to higher returns of audit dollars.

• Large amounts of tax deductions. If your itemized tax deductions on your tax return exceed a target range as set by the IRS, the chances of being audited by the IRS increases. Nevertheless, you should take all valid tax deductions on your tax return if they are amply backed up.

• Appearance of the return. Don’t underestimate this factor. A carelessly prepared return that is incomplete or hard to read invites closer in-

additional deduction because she is 70 years old. Her standard deduction for 2021 is $14,250 ($12,550, the standard deduction for 2021, plus $1,700, the 2021 additional standard deduction for the singles who are over 65 or blind). Example 2 In 2021, Nicole and her spouse are joint filers. Both qualify for an additional standard deduction because they are both over 65. Their Form 1040 standard deduction is $27,800 ($25,100, the 2021 standard deduction for joint filers, plus 2 x $1,350, the 2021 additional standard deduction for married persons who are over 65 or blind). The above examples reflect the benefit of the new standard deduction. Millions of taxpayers won’t be itemizing this year to reduce their Federal income-tax bill.

It is central to the entrepreneurial mission to make fools and guinea pigs of potential consumers of products and information. They will stop at nothing they can get away with. And because the level of consumer sophistication has hit historic lows, we are made-to-measure stooges for the kind of chicanery that showman P.T. Barnum used when he posted on a sign to attract paying visitors to his museum, “This way to the egress.”

Among people on whom dozens of honorary doctorates have been conferred for lifetime achievement, and among winners of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, are some people who have subscribed to some extremist positions on crime and punishment and revisionist hypotheses on terrorism.

Letters to the Editor

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of my father, Lenin Fierro — one of the first municipal workers to succumb to complications from Covid. As we commemorate this week, we reflect on his profound impact on our city’s safety and his enduring legacy. He was a dedicated public servant and a visionary who championed initiatives that continue to protect and save lives. He played a pivotal role in advancing New York City’s Vision Zero initiative, a program to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries. His unwavering commitment to this cause was evident through his leadership and advocacy.

he would talk about the Navy and his leadership role during his time in the service. I remember seeing how excited he was for DCAS’ Fleet events. Whenever he was going to be on the news, he would text my mom and me to watch it live or tell us to record it so we could see it together later.

Audacity to Criticize Molina

To the Editor:

Of course, the “good old days” as we today reflect on the childhood that we think we remember probably were different from what we experienced at the time.

On Feb 19, the NY Daily News published an article entitled, “As NYC Correction Commissioner Molina cleans house, critics worry he’s coddling jail unions.”

But the commercials, which reveal so much about contemporary tastes, were not the Big Pharma elixirs for life-limiting illness, but with dire contraindicators. but rather for anodyne drinks like Tang, Ovaltine and Bosco Chocolate Syrup. There were cereals like Frosted Flakes and Maypo (with pitches by Tony the Tiger and Mickey Mantle, respectively), and over-the-counter remedies for aches of the head or stomach.

Whether it’s a newly elected Mayor, Governor or President, every new administration replaces personnel, notwithstanding their work performance. No reason is needed to remove someone in an appointed position within NYC government with the exception of the Commissioner of the Department of Investigation, even though there is more than enough justification to fire all the top managers in DOC.

But it worked both ways.

Although there was not yet a cornucopia of cringeworthy ads for attorneys angling for business for class-action lawsuits or recruitment lures by cancer doctors like we have to put up with now, tobacco companies were among the most ubiquitous sponsors until 1971. Cartons of Old Gold cigarettes were given out as consolation prizes to quiz show contestants and tunes for Winston and Kent were hypnotically catchy.

Where have the truth-gathering purists and presenters gone? If the recent allegations concerning CBS’ “60 Minutes” and Politico are accurate, they are just as seedy as Fox News and their kin and kind. The Truth doesn’t do any nude modeling anymore. It is subject to the dressing of the dual-aisled tycoonocrats.

“I do not agree with what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it,” wrote Voltaire in the 18th century. Some of our contemporary free-speech advocates preach this enlightened tolerance in the same breath as they order SWAT teams against their adversaries, gag orders against political prisoners, firings of contrarian science researchers, and harsh discipline of upholders of traditional orthodox views.

THE CHIEF-LEADER welcomes letters from its readers for publication. Correspondents must include their names, addresses and phone numbers. Letters should be submitted with the understanding that all correspondence is subject to the editorial judgment of this newspaper. To submit a letter to the editor online, visit thechiefleader.com and click on Letters to the Editor.

“What goes around, comes around.” That’s not Voltaire, but karma. The past victims of freespeech suppression eventually get the chance to indulge in payback and they seize the opportunity.

criminals and probably require arrests, prosecutions and imprisonment?

My father led efforts to train 70,000 staff members in safe driving, personally teaching thousands himself. He helped build the first-ever citywide collision management system, enabling more effective tracking and prevention of crashes. He also analyzed fleet collision data and surveyed city drivers.

Top managers likely get their jobs through political connections and serve entirely at the pleasure of the Mayor. Moreover, the personnel that Louis Molina removed were in charge of critical units which they failed to lead effectively.

It’s not a Democrat-Republican thing. It’s a human nature thing. It’s got some ugly sides which are not curable, but they are treatable by a strong dosage of civic and moral education. It’s medicine that must be spoon-fed from childhood and self-administered as needed thereafter.

Exploitation has always been a moveable genre in the various iterations of the propaganda business.

If the homeless who are removed from the subways refuse to cooperate with programs designed to help them turn their lives around, what are the penalties? Will they be arrested or placed in secure mental facilities where they will be less likely to do harm to others?

He helped the city and U.S. Department of Transportation officials develop the Safe Fleet Transition Plan, which introduced new safety technologies to the city’s municipal fleet. He often represented the city in Spanish news segments, such as those that appeared on Univision, on Vision Zero. He led a partnership between Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ Fleet Management and NYC Public Schools to create paid internships, driving training and job opportunities for automotive tech high school students. My mom and I always talk about how passionate he was about Vision Zero and working for DCAS. The last time I saw him so passionate about his job was when

It meant a lot to my family and me when DCAS and Together for Safer Roads, a coalition of global private-sector companies dedicated to preventing road crashes, created the Lenin Fierro Vision Zero Advocacy Award. During a time of intense sadness for my family and me, it meant a great deal to us that my father wasn’t just another number or statistic. It profoundly moves me to see his hard work and dedication recognized through this award, especially knowing how much he genuinely loved his job. I hope this award inspires fleet and transportation management workers to make our roads safer in New York City and other cities throughout the country and globally. I joined DCAS Fleet Management in February. People always tell me how my father wasn’t just a good leader and hard worker but how he touched everyone in the office with his charisma, kindness, work ethic and humor. It is comforting to know that his presence isn’t just missed in my family but also by the people he worked with. My father left a significant legacy and enormous shoes to fill at work and in my own family. But as his eldest child, I hope to fill those shoes and take pride in the work he did. As a 24-year-old woman just starting at DCAS — my first city job — I can’t yet map my future, and don’t know where I will end up or what I will accomplish. But I know I am dedicated to being the best public servant I can be. I hope to do great things for the City of New York, much like my father did.

Sheep are independent-minded freethinkers compared with much of our current polarized population. Most of us are convinced that our positions on world, national and

DOC was on the brink of an implosion as a result of the feckless leadership of Vincent Schiraldi and his coterie. Now Schiraldi, who was the worst DOC commissioner in its 127-year history, is questioning Molina’s personnel decisions.

How is it that Schiraldi, a so-called juvenile-justice reformer and expert, failed so miserably in managing DOC?

spection.

Its main active ingredient, given a not too indecent heart, was the intellectual discipline and clarity that still are the fruits of developed critical thinking skills. Tragically, these are no longer fused into school curriculums or embedded in our views of the world and ourselves.

Those homeless people who are mentally or emotionally incapable of living safely with others have to be “imprisoned,” either in prisons (if convicted of crimes) or in secure mental institutions. Those who refuse to cooperate with reasonable and necessary treatment from qualified and competent authorities have to be treated the same way—prison or secure mental facilities.

How is it that Oren Varnai, the head of DOC’s Intelligence Bureau and a “former covert officer in the CIA,” could not stop the scourge of gang violence from dominating and ravaging Rikers? Varnai, at least, must be commended for wishing Molina success, and I must say he has impressive credentials.

• Use of too many zeros. A tax return that smacks of estimates (lots of zeros) is an open house for auditors. If you submit figures like $5,000 in auto expenses, $2,000 in gas mileage and $4,000 in lodging, it may look like you pulled these numbers out of thin air or inflated them by rounding.

Only those homeless who cooperate with those who provide necessary treatment, and can live peacefully with others, should be placed in housing in the neighborhoods in all five boroughs of the city.

MICHAEL J. GORMAN

Skeptical of Union ‘Health’

gest and most audited items by the IRS for individuals in their own businesses, and employees of companies who use their car for business, is the tax deduction for business transportation. It is important that you keep good records of all tax-deductible automobile expenses and a mileage log showing business miles driven.

How does Sarena Townsend, the Deputy Commissioner for Investigations and a former prosecutor who preferred departmental charges on thousands of uniformed staff—resulting in scores if not hundreds of correction officers being fired or forced to resign—now cries foul when she gets fired ?

• High DIF. When your tax return is filed, IRS computers compare it against the national Discriminate Information Function (DIF) average. Tax returns with the highest DIF scores are scrutinized to determine the best chance for collecting additional taxes upon audit.

• Self-employment. Self-employed Schedule C filers who report a business loss are likely to face more questions from the IRS. Also, the IRS believes most under-reporting of taxable income occurs among those self-employed; these individuals are audited by the IRS far more frequently than employees collecting a salary.

• Running a cash business. Small business owners, especially those in cash-intensive businesses, are tempting targets for IRS auditors. Experience shows that those who receive primarily cash are less likely to accurately report all of their taxable income.

Schiraldi praises his managers who created a “war room” to redeploy staff on an emergency basis. That “war room” should have also been utilized to generate and implement new policy to stop the devastating inmate violence that inflicted pain and suffering on officers and inmates alike. Further, the now-garrulous Schiraldi was speechless when the unions continuously sounded the alarm regarding chaos, bedlam, lawlessness and gross mismanagement by top bosses. Commissioner Molina is addressing all those issues.

• Automobile logs. One of the big-

Neither Schiraldi, nor any of his senior managers, have the credibility or standing to

• Failing to report a foreign bank account. The IRS is interested in people with offshore accounts, especially those in tax havens. Failure to report a foreign bank account can lead to severe tax penalties.

• Using a shady preparer. If your tax preparer tries to convince you to claim deductions that sound too good to be true or doesn’t ask for receipts for deductions, find someone else. Be aware that you are responsible for the accuracy of the tax return You should take every deduction you’re entitled to on your tax return, and you should not be frightened by the potential of an IRS audit. Substantiation and proof of deductions is the key to a restful night’s sleep.. Barry Lisak is an IRS enrolled agent specializing in personal and small business taxes for 30 years. Any questions can be directed to him at 516-829-7283, or mrbarrytax@aol. com.

To the Editor: The proposed New York Health Act would provide on a statewide level what Medicare-for-All would provide nationwide. Yet in recent issues, it has been claimed that the reason some unions oppose this is because the medical plans they already have provide benefits that this proposal would not include. Now as a retired transit worker, I have always had good health coverage since I started working for the system in 1979. But one friend who was an excellent Transport Workers Union Local 100 rep had serious health issues before he recently passed away. He had a stroke while he was still working, and had to fight numerous large bills for medical care that was supposed to be covered. I remember him saying, “I have great coverage as long as I don’t get sick.” Under the New York Health Act, patients would not have to worry about fighting bills. They would not

Seth Wenig/AP Photo Breakfast at the former Kellogg’s Cafe NYC in Union Square.

Lenin Fierro (far right) with DCAS officials, including former Commissioner Lisette Camilo (right from center) during a Veterans Day event at Surrogate’s Courthouse.

Lenin Fierro, the director of fleet safety and Vision Zero initiatives for DCAS Fleet Management, was among the first city employees to succumb to complications from the Covid pandemic. He is pictured during a firehouse event with DCAS fleet interns. His daughter, Destiny, joined the department last month. DCAS

Unions fearing federal cuts urge more funding at state Labor Dept.

BY CRYSTAL LEWIS clewis@thechiefleader.com

Unions, labor advocate groups and community organizations sent a letter last Friday to Governor Hochul calling on the state to increase funding at the Department of Labor in anticipation of federal cuts that could threaten workforce development and job training programs.

A 19-member coalition of unions and advocate groups urged the governor to provide $200 million to the Department of Labor, citing concerns that the Trump administration will make significant cuts to the federal budget.

They noted that the state receives as much as $244 million annually in federal funding for job training, public employee safety and career counseling programs. For example, nearly 80 adult literacy programs in New York receive more than $150 million each year in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding, including at the New York Public Library, the city public school system and CUNY.

The advocates suggested strengthening DOL funding was crucial given that under the Trump administration, the National Labor Relations Board has reversed several policies aimed at protecting workers, including protections against noncompete agreements.

“Dedicating additional funding to NY’s DOL would ensure that New York’s workforce remains strong and supported up against any threats to union density, worker safety, workforce development, un-

employment, and rights on the job,” the coalition wrote in the letter. The coalition also suggested that additional funding is essential to implement legislation aimed at improving workplace conditions.

They cited the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act, passed last year, which will require warehouses to undergo annual inspections starting in June. They also cited the Temperature Extreme Mitigation

Program bill that, if passed, will require employers to provide outdoor workers working in extreme heat with water and rest breaks.

The advocates noted in the letter that the state “has made great

strides to ensure safe and dignified working conditions. But as many of our state’s greatest assets face unprecedented threats, we must prepare for all possible scenarios.”

The Alliance for Greater New York (ALIGN), the Worker Justice Project and the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health were among the community and worker groups who signed the letter.

“As the federal government retreats from its duty to protect workers, New York must step forward. Passing the TEMP Act, alongside implementing critical legislation like WWIRA and the Retail Worker Safety Act, represents our commitment to workplace safety regardless of extreme conditions,” Charlene Obernauer, the executive director of NYCOSH, said in a statement. “A $200 million investment in our Department of Labor isn’t just funding — it’s a declaration that New York stands with its workers when Washington won’t.” Transport Workers Union Local 100, the Professional Staff Congress at CUNY, 32BJ SEIU and the Communications Workers of America District 1 were among several unions demanding increased aid.

“New York is a leader in worker protections — that’s why we have to stand up to federal threats and make sure workers aren’t left behind. We are proud to stand with our allies in labor and community to urge the Governor to fund the Department of Labor and keep workers safe,” said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union, which also signed the letter.

Health and Human Services to lay off

workers in a major restructuring

BY AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press

In a major overhaul, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will lay off 10,000 workers and shut down entire agencies, including ones that oversee billions of dollars in funds for addiction services and community health centers across the country.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized the department he oversees as an inefficient “sprawling bureaucracy” in a video announcing the restructuring last Thursday. He faulted the department’s 82,000 workers for a decline in Americans’ health.

“I want to promise you now that we’re going to do more with less,” Kennedy said in the video, posted to social media.

The nation’s top health department has been embroiled in rumors of mass firings, the revocation of $11 billion in public health funding for cities and counties, a tepid response to a measles outbreak, and controversial remarks about vaccines from its new leader.

Still, Kennedy said a “painful period” lies ahead for HHS, which is responsible for monitoring infectious diseases, inspecting foods and hospitals, and overseeing health insurance programs for nearly half the country.

Overall, the department will downsize to 62,000 positions, losing nearly a quarter of its staff — 10,000 jobs through layoffs and another 10,000 workers who took early re-

tirement and voluntary separation offers encouraged by President Donald Trump’s administration.

The staffing cuts were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Public health experts, doctors, current and former HHS workers quickly panned Kennedy’s plans, warning they could have untold consequences for millions of people.

“These staff cuts endanger public health and food safety,” said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, in a statement.

“They raise serious concerns that the administration’s pledge to make Americans healthy again could become nothing more than an empty promise.”

But Kennedy, in announcing the restructuring, blasted HHS for failing to improve Americans’ lifespans and not doing enough to drive down chronic disease and cancer rates.

Cancer death rates have dropped 34 percent over the past two decades, translating to 4.5 million deaths avoided, according to the American Cancer Society. That’s largely due to smoking cessation, the development of better treatments — many funded by the National Institutes of Health, including groundbreaking immunotherapy — and earlier detection.

The reorganization plan also underscores Kennedy’s push to take more control of the public health agencies — the NIH, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — which have traditionally operated with a level of autonomy from the health secretary. Under

the plan, external communications, procurement, information technology and human resources will be centralized under HHS.

FDA and CDC face the deepest cuts

Federal health workers — stationed across the country at agencies including at the NIH and FDA, both in Maryland — described shock, fear and anxiety rippling through their offices last Thursday. Workers were not given advance notice of the cuts, several told The Associated Press, and many remained uncertain about whether their jobs were on the chopping block.

“It’s incredibly difficult and frustrating and upsetting to not really know where we stand while we’re trying to keep doing the work,” said an FDA staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. “We’re being villainized and handicapped and have this guillotine just hanging over our necks.” HHS on March 27 provided a breakdown of some of the cuts.

3,500 jobs at the FDA, which inspects and sets safety standards for medications, medical devices and foods.

• 2,400 jobs at the CDC, which monitors for infectious disease outbreaks and works with public health agencies nationwide.

1,200 jobs at the NIH, the world’s leading public health research arm.

• 300 jobs at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicare and Medicaid.

HHS said it anticipates the changes will save $1.8 billion per year but didn’t give a breakdown or other details.

The cuts and consolidation go far deeper than anyone expected, an NIH employee said.

“We’re all pretty devastated,” said the staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “We don’t know what this means for public health.”

Union leaders for CDC workers in Atlanta said they received notice from HHS on March 27 morning that reductions will focus on administrative positions including human resources, finance, procurement and information technology.

At CMS, where cuts focus on workers who troubleshoot problems that arise for Medicare beneficiaries and Affordable Care Act enrollees, the result will be the “lowest customer service standards” for thousands of cases, said Jeffrey Grant, a former deputy director at the agency who resigned last month.

Beyond losing workers, Kennedy said he will shut down entire agencies, some of which were established by Congress decades ago. Several will be folded into a new Administration for a Healthy America, he said.

Those include the Health Resources and Services Administration, which oversees and provides funding for hundreds of community health centers around the country, as well as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which funds clinics and

oversees the national 988 hotline. Both agencies pump billions of dollars into on-the-ground work in local communities.

“Burying the agency in an administrative blob with no clear purpose is not the way to highlight the problem or coordinate a response,” Humphreys said.

The Administration for Healthy America will focus on maternal and child health, environmental health and HIV/AIDS work, HHS said.

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, created by a law signed by then-Republican President George W. Bush and responsible for maintaining the national stockpile that was quickly drained during the COVID-19 pandemic, will also be eliminated and moved into the CDC.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington warned that the fallout is clear.

“It does not take a genius to understand that pushing out 20,000 workers at our preeminent health agencies won’t make Americans healthier,” Murray said in a statement. “It’ll just mean fewer health services for our communities, more opportunities for disease to spread, and longer waits for lifesaving treatments and cures.”

Associated Press writers Matthew Perrone, Lauran Neergaard and Kevin Freking in Washington; JoNel Aleccia in Temecula, Calif.; Carla K. Johnson in Seattle; and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed.

Continued from Page 1

earnings. That is money that should be building homes, funding education and securing financial security for families,” she said.

Unionized women face smaller gaps

The Council has also been working to close the pay gaps faced by women and people of color within the city’s municipal workforce. Much of the pay gap among city workers is driven by occupational segregation, in which women and people of color are overrepresented in the lowest-paid titles.

Last year, the Council passed a legislative package that requires the city to offer career counseling to inform city workers about promotional opportunities, and to administer anonymous workplace culture surveys that ask employees about management practices, access to promotional opportunities and equity at their agency.

The package builds on the work of Local Law 18, passed in 2018, which requires the city to publish municipal employee pay data annually.

The law was enacted after a lawsuit by Communications Workers of America Local 1180 charging that the city had discriminated against the women and people of color who made up a majority of administrative managers. The union argued that the title was paid significantly higher salaries in the 1970s, adjusted for inflation, when it was mostly held by white men. The city and union reached a $15-million settlement in 2019.

Rebecca Damon, the New York executive director at SAG-AFTRA, highlighted the fact that women who belong to unions fare better when it comes to the wage gap.

“Women’s Equal Pay Day for union members is celebrated in February. Now that’s still not right, but it is a full month earlier than Equal Pay Day for everybody else. It is clear that unions help us level that playing field,” she said.  Gloria Middleton, president of CWA Local 1180, said she was grateful for the Council’s efforts to address pay disparities among city workers, “but we want all women to have equal pay.”

Don Pollard/Governor’s Office

Several unions, including the New York State Nurses Association and 32BJ SEIU, were among 19 labor advocate organizations to sign on to a letter sent to Governor Hochul calling for $200 million in additional funding for the state Department of Labor amid looming threats of federal budget cuts. Above, the governor celebrated legislation to increase wages for essential workers with 32BJ members in September 2021.

UPCOMING EXAMS LEADING TO JOBS

Below is a roundup of New York City and State exams leading to public-service positions. Most of the jobs listed are located in the New York Metropolitan area and upstate.

There are residency requirements for many New York City jobs and for state law-enforcement positions.

Prospective applicants are advised to write or call the appropriate office to make sure they meet the qualifications needed to apply for an exam. For jobs for which no written tests are given, candidates will be rated on education and experience, or by oral tests or performance exams.

DCAS Computer-based Testing and Application Centers (CTACs) have re-opened to the public. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, walk-ins are no longer accepted and appointments must be scheduled online through OASys for eligible list or examination related inquiries.

All examination and eligible list related notifications will be sent by email only, you will no longer receive notifications via the US mail.

All new hires must be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, unless they have been granted a reasonable accommodation for religion or disability. If you are offered city employment, this requirement must be met by your date of hire, unless a reasonable accommodation for exemption is received and approved by the hiring agency.

For further information about where to apply to civil service exams and jobs, visit the thechief.org/exams.

The Federal Government has decentralized its personnel operations and holds few exams on a national or regional basis. Most Federal vacancies are filled by individual agencies based on education-and-experience evaluations. For information, contact the U.S. Office of Personnel Management or individual agencies, or see www.usajobs.gov.

SUFFOLK COUNTY EXAMS

JOB HIGHLIGHT

The MTA is accepting applications for facility maintainers through April 15 for positions at several of its depots. Practical skills exams for the positions are scheduled to begin May 19.

The minimum salary for facility maintainers at the authority’s Spring Creek Depot is $27.87 an hour for a 40-hour workweek, increasing to $39.81 in the fourth year of service. The current minimum salary for at the Yonkers, Eastchester, Col-

MTA hiring facilities maintainers starting at $28 an hour

lege Point, LaGuardia and Baisley Park depots is $29.56 an hour for a 40-hour work week, increasing to $42.24 in the fourth year. Benefits include, but are not limited to, night and weekend salary differentials, paid holidays, vacation and sick leave, a comprehensive medical plan and a pension plan. The application fee is $68.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Facility Maintainers, under supervision, perform general facility and building maintenance work at MTA bus depots, repair shops, buildings and facilities. They install, test, re-

pair and maintain electrical, plumbing, air conditioning and heating systems; perform carpentry, masonry work and repair fire suppression and bus wash, lift and fuel systems; change filters; paint; repair flooring and walls; keep records; operate vehicles, prepare reports and perform related work.

Some of the physical activities performed and environmental conditions experienced by facilit maintainers are: driving, loading and unloading light utility trucks, operating fork and platform lifts, lifting and carrying heavy tools and equipment, lifting equipment overhead, climbing and descending ladders, working at heights of up to 50 feet, using hand and power tools, working on rooftops, crouching and kneeling to reach equipment being repaired, making visual inspections of equipment, distinguishing color-coded wiring, reading blueprints and schematics and working outside in al weather conditions.

ATTENDANT–395 eligibles between Nos. 13 and 424 on List 4074 for 2 jobs in NYPD.

MANAGER–47 eligibles between Nos. 429 and 474 on List 4076 for 1 job in Department of Transportation.

HEALTH SANITARIAN–15 eligibles between Nos. 8 and 311.5 on List 1171 for 2 jobs in Department of Correction. PUBLIC RECORDS AIDE–171 eligibles between Nos. 34 and 215 on List 2019 for 2 jobs at NYC Employees’ Retirement System.

WATERSHED MAINTAINER–3 eligibles (Nos. 11, 39 and 62) on List 3136 for 3 jobs in DEP

PROMOTION

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCUREMENT

ANALYST–6 eligibles (Nos. 1-6) on List 3572 for 1 job in Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

CHILD PROTECTIVE SPECIALIST SUPERVISOR–250 eligibles between Nos. 12 and 372 on List 3558 for 5 jobs at Administration for Children’s Services.

HIGHWAY REPAIRER–5 eligibles (Nos. 60, 177, 206, 306 and 550) on List 3512 for any of 25 jobs in DOT.

MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR (CAR EQUIPMENT)–4 eligibles (Nos. 1, 111, 149 and 253) on List 8720 for any of 40 jobs at NYC Transit.

SUPERVISING FIRE MARSHAL (UNIFORMED)–18 eligibles between Nos. 18 and 36 on List 3531 for any of 25 jobs in Fire Department.

SUPERVISOR OF HOUSING CARETAKERS–251 eligibles between Nos. 162 and 477 on List 2554 for 5 jobs at HA.

SUPERVISOR OF MECHANICS–46 eligibles between Nos. 7 and 62 on List 2546 for 1 job in Department of Education.

Facility maintainers may be required to work various shifts including nights, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

TO QUALIFY

By April 15, successful applicants must have met either of the following requirements: 1) Three years of full-time satisfactory mechanical experience performing the installation, inspection, testing, repair and maintenance of electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, fire suppression, carpentry and masonry components and systems in residential and commercial buildings

or facilities; or 2) Two years of full-time satisfactory experience as described in “1” above, preceded by one of the following: A) Graduation from a recognized trade school or technical school, with a major course of study in any trades included in “1” above, or closely related field totaling at least 600 hours; or B) Graduation from a vocational high school with a major course of study in the electrical, mechanical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, carpentry or closely related fields; or C) An associate’s or higher degree, from an accredited college or university with a major course of study in electrical, mechanical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, carpentry or closely related fields. This experience must include electro-mechanical or HVAC systems, and at least one other facility maintenance system, such as fire suppression, masonry or carpentry. Qualifying part-time experience will be credited on a prorated basis.

Candidates are responsible for determining whether they meet the qualification requirements for this examination prior to applying. They may be given the practical skills test before it is determined if they meet the qualification requirements.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Appointees must have either 1) A valid Class A or Class B commercial driver’s license (CDL) with no disqualifying restrictions; or 2) a valid driver’s license and a learner’s permit for a Class B CDL with no disqualifying restrictions.

Those who qualify under “2” will be subject to the receipt of a valid Class B CDL within 120 days. Those with serious moving violations, a license suspension or an accident record could be disqualified.

The required license must be maintained for the duration of employment in the title. Active or former members (discharged in the past year) of the military or New York National Guard and have experience driving a commercial motor vehicle in the military or New York National Guard may be eligible for a waiver of the commercial driving skills test.

Candidates will be examined medically to determine whether they can perform the essential functions of the position. They also must pass a drug screening in order to be appointed. City residency is not required. Candidates must be able to understand and be understood in English.

THE TEST

Applicants will be given a practical skills test. A score of at least 70 percent is required to pass this test. Scores on the practical skills test will be used to determine places on the eligible list.

The practical skills test may measure your knowledge, skills and abilities in the following and other related areas: Plumbing, electrical, carpentry, HVAC and mechanical, masonry, fire suppression.

For complete information on the positions and on how to apply, go to https://new.mta.info/careers/ mta-exams/exam-schedule.

LABOR AROUND THE WORLD LABOR AROUND THE WORLD LABOR AROUND THE WORLD

Judge blocks Trump admin from firing Voice of America staff

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press

The Voice of America can’t be silenced just yet.

A federal judge last week halted the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the eight-decade-old U.S. government-funded international news service, calling the move a “classic case of arbitrary and capricious decision making.”

Judge James Paul Oetken blocked the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which runs Voice of America, from firing more than 1,200 journalists, engineers and other staff that it sidelined two weeks ago in the wake of President Donald Trump ordering its funding slashed. Oetken issued a temporary restraining order barring the agency from “any further attempt to terminate, reduce-in-force, place on leave, or furlough” employees or contractors, and from closing any offices or requiring overseas employees to return to the U.S. The order also bars the Agency for Global Media from terminating grant funding for its other broadcast outlets, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Afghanistan. The agency said March 27 it was restoring Radio Free Europe’s funding after a judge in Washington, D.C. ordered it to do so.

“This is a decisive victory for press freedom and the First Amendment, and a sharp rebuke” to the Trump administration’s “utter disregard for the principles that define our democracy,” said the plaintiffs’ lawyer Andrew G. Celli Jr.

Trump administration’s approach is criticized

At a hearing March 28 in Manhattan, Oetken faulted the Trump administration for “taking a sledgehammer to an agency that has been statutorily authorized and funded by Congress.”

The judge criticized the agency’s leadership, including special adviser Kari Lake, for pulling the plug “seemingly overnight” on the U.S. government’s global, soft-power megaphone with “no consideration of the effects.”

Oetken ruled after a coalition of Voice of America journalists, labor unions and the nonprofit journalism advocacy group Reporters Without Borders sued the Trump administration last week to block the cuts. Ultimately, they seek to have VOA return to the air.

The plaintiffs argued the shutdown violated a court’s finding during Trump’s first term that VOA journalists have a free-speech firewall protecting them from White House interference. Their absence from the airwaves has left a vacuum that’s being filled by “propagandists whose messages will monopolize global airwaves,” the plaintiffs said.

Trump and other Republicans have accused Voice of America of a “leftist bias” and failing to project “pro-American” values to its worldwide audience, even though it is mandated by congress to serve as a non-partisan news organization.

Voice of America went off the air soon after Trump issued an executive order on March 14 that pared funding to the Agency for Global Media and six other unrelated federal entities — part of his campaign to shrink government and align its with his political agenda. It also moved this month to terminate VOA contracts with news agencies, including The Associated Press.

The White House called the service “The Voice of Radical America” and said Trump’s order would “ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.” It cited coverage it said was “too favorable” to former President Joe Biden, as well as stories about white privilege, racial profiling and transgender migrants seeking asylum.

Congress has appropriated nearly $860 million for the Agency for Global Media for the current fiscal year.

Additional lawsuits are pending

Three federal lawsuits in Washington, D.C. are challenging other aspects of the cuts, including one brought by Voice of America’s director and three journalists. Oetken said he’ll rule at a later date on the government’s request to move his case there.

Voice of America has operated since World War II, beaming news into authoritarian countries that don’t have a free press. It began as a counterpoint to Nazi propaganda and played a prominent role in the U.S. government’s Cold War efforts to curb the spread of communism. According to the lawsuit, Voice of America employees were told to finish their live broadcasts on March 15, then vacate the building. Soon after, the lawsuit said, they lost access to agency computer systems, including email. Voice of America’s news website hasn’t been updated since.

Lake, a former TV news anchor and political candidate, said she has been determining how many people are required to operate some of these outlets at the minimum staffing levels allowed by law.

Some people have been brought back to work and at least one service — Radio Marti in Cuba — has returned to the air, Lake told One America News Network in an interview posted March 27 on X.

“We’re going to get lawsuits,” Lake said. “This is just par for the course. We’ve been victims — President Trump has, I myself have — of ‘lawfare’. It’s the same cast of characters that is trying to put landmines in the ways of every step President Trump and this administration is trying to do to get this government back in line to where we can actually afford it.” Lake, echoing the White House’s complaints, said: “We want to make sure that these agencies are in line with what our American values are. We’re telling America’s story. We’re not telling our adversaries’ stories.”

“By God,” she said, “we’re not going to be putting out anti-American garbage.”

As war draws men to fight, Ukraine’s women take tough new jobs in machinery and mines

BY VASILISA STEPANENKO and SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press

Kateryna Koliadiuk was curious. The 19-year-old Ukrainian agronomy student spotted an ad seeking women to enroll in a tractor driving course and decided to try. But the industrial vehicle was huge and complex, and she wasn’t sure she could operate it.

“In the beginning I was so scared. In the beginning I couldn’t do this,” she said. She now drives with authority, her manicured fingers resting at the wheel.

From driving tractors to working in coal mines, Ukrainian women are taking jobs once reserved for men, who are being drafted to the front lines in the war with Russia. Women have also signed up to join the armed forces at a higher rate.

Koliadiuk said her family was shocked.

“We were told that women should be in the kitchen, at home with children. That is why to go and study such equipment was so scary,” she said. “But then we took care of ourselves.”

It’s part of a crucial government effort to grow an economy devastated by three years of war and address labor shortages created by the mobilization, according to the economy ministry, which leads training programs in construction, agriculture and transport geared toward women.

“Ukrainian women are under a lot of pressure because their men are on the front line,” Economy Minister Yulia Svy-

Businesses want to hire again after the initial economic shock of Russia’s fullscale invasion, but the labor force has shrunk. About 5 million Ukrainians left the country and are abroad, the minister said, and another million are serving in the armed forces. That’s a lot considering about 9 million Ukrainians are currently employed, she added.

Svyrydenko is Ukraine’s first female economy minister and a symbol of the rise of women in the labor force because of the war.

Before, women were mostly employed in education and health care, social protection and government service, she said. Now there’s demand in the industrial and military areas.

“It is the mindset of both women and employers that is changing,” she said. “Employers are ready to take women on the job more often, and women are ready to diversify their skills.”

In coal mines in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, women are now hired to operate machinery to keep production going. There and elsewhere, men still dominate jobs that require heavy physical labor.

Former accountant Iryna Ostanko, 37, was looking for a new job and decided to become an elevator operator at a mine in the Dnipropetrovsk region. She was in-

‘This war has changed our women mentally, and they want to contribute to Ukraine’s rebuilding.’

– Yulia Skitchko, HEAD OF A CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY RENTAL SERVICE

spired by her husband, who has worked at the mine for 15 years. He supported her decision.

“Before, in this place underground, there were no women at all,” she said. “Women appeared here after the start of the full-scale invasion when a lot of men left to defend our country.”

Ostanko had never descended to the mine’s depths of 260 meters (yards). Her training involved one month of theory and another of hands-on training.

“War is making changes, always making changes,” said Viktor Kuznetsov, the mine’s head engineer. He said the lack of qualified personnel is the main challenge, as many male workers left to join the fight. He has hired over 100 women since Russia’s full-scale invasion, a drastic change.

Without them, the mine could not function, he said.

In Kyiv region, Yulia Skitchko watched new female trainees operate excavators, her high-heeled black leather boots caked in mud.

She is the head of Alef Stroy, a construction machinery rental service. For years, she had dreamed of hiring more women. The war gave her that chance, and U.S. funding gave her the ability to train female hires. They have trained 45 women so far.

“We were told that we are crazy people, this is not possible. Women? Excavator? They will never do this,” she said. “These days, our first women who graduated from this course already have jobs and started working on building construction sites.”

Modern building equipment is easier to operate, she said, and the idea that women can’t do it is a gender stereotype.

“This war has changed our women mentally, and they want to contribute to Ukraine’s rebuilding,” Skitchko said. “We need to give them an opportunity to learn.”

Con Edison will pay $750,000 to settle suit alleging harassment of female field workers

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The New York utility provider Con Edi-

son has agreed to pay $750,000 and implement a host of anti-harassment reforms to settle a lawsuit claiming it routinely ignored discrimination complaints brought by female field workers.

The settlement, announced Tuesday, comes after a multiyear investigation by the New York Attorney Letitia James found a “broad culture of harassment and discrimination, particularly directed toward women employees in the traditionally male-dominated field workforce.”

When female field workers complained of harassment, the company — which provides electricity to more than 10 million customers in New York City and Westchester County — failed to take those

claims seriously, the settlement states.

In one instance, Con Ed offered to relocate a woman who had complained about a “traumatizing” incident involving a male coworker, but it did not offer to transfer the man or limit his interaction at the woman’s workplace.

Female field workers also reported being blocked by their supervisors from applying for promotions and hearing exclusionary comments, such as “women don’t belong in this department.” The investigation also found female employees were disciplined at higher rates than their male counterparts.

“Con Ed failed to protect its workers, allowing toxic, dangerous, and unlawful behavior to persist for years,” James said in a statement. “The company’s inaction is unacceptable, and today we are ensuring

this illegal and discriminatory behavior is never tolerated again.”

A statement from Con Ed said the company was committed to creating “an environment free of harassment and discrimination for each and every one of our employees, including women in underrepresented roles in the field.”

“While this settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by Con Edison, it is in the best interest of our employees and an opportunity to learn from the experiences raised, and to evolve our processes,” the statement continued.

In addition to paying $750,000, Con Ed has also agreed to hire an independent consultant to oversee its investigative procedures and establish an employee resource group to discuss workplace conditions.

AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka

Iryna Ostanko, 37, center, walks in the tunnel of a coal mine in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Jan. 30, 2025.

rydenko said in an interview with The Associated Press. “When the man is mobilized, the woman is mobilized with him as well.”