BURLINGTON — Union workers from across Vermont rallied against potential job cuts for city employees atop a parking garage in Burlington Tuesday evening.
Nearly 100 people, including Burlington city councilors, union leaders from across Vermont and elected state officials, rallied following a “car picket” around Burlington City Hall.
Damion Gilbert, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 1343 and an organizer of the event, said unions and their supporters were calling on Mayor Miro Weinberger to promise no city employees will lose their jobs due to budgetary shortfalls.
In early June, Weinberger told the unions to expect layoffs unless contracts were renegotiated, Gilbert said.
The unions refused and Weinberger has since withdrawn the request.
The city is expecting a $10 million revenue shortfall due to the coronavirus pandemic’s economic effect.
In an interview at the event, Gilbert said he and fellow organizer David Van Deusen, president of the Vermont State Labor Council AFL-CIO, considered canceling the event since Weinberger withdrew his request.
“The thing is two weeks after we talked to [Weinberger], he managed to find $2 million laying around,” Gilbert said. “I think it was just a cat and mouse game.”
Ultimately, Gilbert said he wants city officials to pledge no city employees will lose their jobs as a result of budget cuts.
“If you start laying people [city employees] off you’re going to lose your infrastructure,” Gilbert said. “That’s what we are, we’re the foundation of Burlington, the foundation of the state.”
City Councilor Zoraya Hightower said she and the other Progressives on the City Council are still piecing together a plan for the city’s economic recovery from Covid-19 strains.
Fellow Progressive Caucus Councilors Brian Pine and Jack Hanson were also at the rally.
Hightower said the mayor first submitted a budget to the City Council that cut city employees’ salaries and made other cuts that Progressives have fought against.
“We pushed back on cutting certain services the city really needs and we pushed back against cuts on workers that can’t really afford cuts,” Hightower said. “The city has a rainy day fund, but the city isn’t excited about using it. If there ever was a rainy day, isn’t it today?”
The city council is looking at ways to cut the Burlington Police Department’s budget and better support renters and workers.
At Monday night’s Board of Finance meeting, 250 Burlington residents participated in a public forum urging cuts to the police budget.
More than 100 people signed up to comment on the Burlington Police’s use-of-force policy during a public forum the Police Commission held Tuesday.
The City Council is set to vote on Burlington’s 2021 budget next week, but that will likely be pushed back.
“We’re definitely hoping to see some revisions,” Hightower said. “We’re supposed to vote on it next Monday. I think we’re probably going to push it back because chances are we won’t see what we want to see.”
Get the latest statistics and live updates on our coronavirus page.
Sign up for our coronavirus email list.
Tell us your story or give feedback at coronavirus@vtdigger.org.
Support our nonprofit journalism with a donation.
