"Cuts Hurt Families" Campaign Saves Jobs in Rochester, NY

"CUTS HURT FAMILIES" CAMPAIGN SAVES JOBS IN ROCHESTER, NY

In early 2002, the 775 social service caseworkers, examiners, and other workers in the Rochester, NY, area represented by the Monroe County Federation of Social Workers, IUE-CWA 81381, were hit with a hiring freeze and threats of structural reorganization and layoffs due to a county budget crisis. With support from IUE and CWA, the Federation developed a mobilization and media campaign to fight back.

The theme they developed, "Cuts Hurt Families," used a logo of a teddy bear with an arm in a sling. This image proved to resonate with the community and media.

The county offered an early retirement incentive with the hope that enough employees would retire to minimize the number of layoffs, but by mid-August it became clear that an additional 32 people would be involuntarily laid off. Also by this same time the company hired to do the reorganization started to emerge as the real threat to the union, with potential title changes, duty changes and talk of privatization.

A bad situation became worse. The Federation had to come up with a number of strategies to face the layoffs, reorganization, and a likely county budget battle in
November.

Public education was the strategy for facing the budget battle. The focus of the campaign was the impact on the children, the elderly, and the poor. Letter writing drives, signatures on teddy bear cutouts, monthly rallies at the county legislature with singers, religious leaders, labor leaders and social service agency executives pushed this idea of the impact on the vulnerable into the minds of the average citizen.

In October, the county executive released a budget slashing aid to human service agencies across the county and significantly decreasing staffing levels for the Department of Social Services in an effort to keep a pledge of no tax increase. This budget helped rally the coalition of partners the Federation had been building over the preceding months. Rallies intensified and speakers numbering 30 and more jammed the public sessions of the legislature meetings.

With the support of the CWA Defense Fund, the Federation was able to print teddy bear cutouts, teddy bear buttons, postcards to legislators, and air two key radio ads…one after Labor Day and one the week before the budget vote. Staff from CWA headquarters helped produce a publication that attacked the reorganization and raised community awareness of the issues. Additionally, coalition partners increased calls to key legislators and encouraged participation at the rallies.

When budget night came, there was a sense of impending victory. The legislature was packed. Some of the majority Republicans were joining the Democrats to turn down the county executive's budget and submit one of their own.

The amended budget included a modest tax increase, restoration of most of the human service cuts, and an additional 13 caseworker positions for IUE-CWA 81381. The County Executive promptly vetoed this budget. Within minutes enough Republicans joined the majority to override the veto and the budget was passed.

While this was clearly a victory for the Federation, the struggle is not over. The workforce has been reduced by 25 percent and retraining has been insufficient. Much of the reorganization has come to pass. Clients are suffering through this time as well, even though workers are going out of their way to ease the burden for them.

Fortunately, the coalition partners are still meeting and planning strategies for this year's budget fight. We're working to elect a Democratic County Executive this fall.

While never a pleasant experience, this struggle has done much to energize and mobilize the members of the Federation. The process was a huge educational experience which is crucial to the fight ahead.