Paul Skoutelas, president of the American Public Transportation Association, said public carriers played their part throughout the pandemic, including transporting large labour to their workplaces, “making the need for additional emergency funding so much more urgent.” As part of the agreement, the railway guarantees that its contract partners will employ only trade workers in construction industry collective agreements on Long Island, a key theme for work, where many local jobs will be employed in recent years by non-governmental enterprises that employ non-union workers. “With the decisive part of the year for retailers looming, New York is launching a program that will allow struggling businesses to sell their products on the city`s sidewalks. The Open Storefronts initiative, deployed Tuesday by the mayor of Blasio, aims to see local businesses during the Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping season, a time of year that brings the lion`s share to many retailers. “This is an opportunity that will reach more than 40,000 small businesses in the city and allow them to sell their goods outdoors right in front of their stores,” de Blasio said in his press release Wednesday. “Store owners can log in immediately and start applying.” The program starts on Friday and runs until December 31. Since March, COVID-19 has decimated businesses throughout the city. With quarantine orders coming and fears remain high, consumers are flocking to online retailers. Michael Gartland De Blasio of the New York Daily News first warned of the prospect of mass layoffs in the summer, pushing unions to make $1 billion in savings to avoid job cuts. While the city took concrete steps to lay off workers in August, the mayor suspended the deadline. So far, the city has also agreed with the Uniformed Firefighters Association to delay retroactive payment in exchange for redundancy. And civil servants are delaying some reimbursement of teachers` salaries. These agreements are not enough to fill the void, but the mayor`s office is now saying that the city council does not expect to let workers go this year.
“This project work agreement is a real asset for both LIRR drivers and the men and women workers of local unions on Long Island,” said Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. “As the MTA makes progress on major repair and improvement projects, this agreement will help reduce costs while creating and maintaining good jobs on Long Island. I congratulate the leaders of the MTA and the Nassau and Suffolk Construction Council for their hard work in securing this agreement. Under the agreement, which runs until January 5, workers receive 90% of their wages in “telework,” according to the union. Peluso said about 800 TCU members, including office and IT workers, worked from home. State rules limit the number of employees allowed to work simultaneously in certain offices. Regional Council 37 and the city have agreed to save $164 million this year – and thus maintain thousands of jobs for now, as concerns about the city`s budget outlook are growing. The union represents 150,000 municipal workers who work a wide range of jobs, from office workers and building cleaners to school lunches and nurses. They agreed to delay payments that the City would have to make to union-controlled funds, covering tuition, prescription drugs and other expenses.
MTA spokeswoman Meredith Daniels did not confirm the details of the agreement with the TCU, but said the parties “continue an open dialogue on how best to maintain a crowded staff and a safe working environment in these difficult budgetary times.” U.S. Senator Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. said, “This agreement is an asset to Long Island commuters, the workforce and the economy.