Category: Participation

Laborers Local 79 Discuss Career Opportunities with Youth

Fixing Flushing Meadows

More than a hundred laborers volunteered Saturday morning May 21 to help make Flushing Meadows Park beautiful. They did much more than simply clean up the park – laborers moved more than a ton of dirt to fill puddles and wheel ruts where erosion and cars had damaged the lawns.

“This is awesome,” said Luis Zuniga, supervisor, level 1, for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. In today’s tough budget environment, the Parks Department simply does not have the staff to do everything that needs to be done to keep the Park looking its best.

Recent storms added to the Park’s problems. “During the Tornado the park was hit very badly,” said Estelle Cooper, assistant commissioner for Queens Parks for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. “Local 79 is doing a wonderful job.”

Several locals thanked the volunteers for the good job they were doing. “I love it. It’s been a long time since this has been done,” said Queens local Neal Beekman, who came over to thank the Laborers. He and a group of friends fly model airplanes in the Park most weekends.

“We give back to the community, and this is how we do it,” said Jorge Gonzales from Local 79. Many Local 79 members work on construction projects in neighborhoods around the park, including a new recreation center for Flushing Meadows Park.

Union Beautifies Riverside Park

Nearly two hundred volunteers from Construction and General Building Laborers’ Local 79 gathered early on the morning of Saturday, May 14, to help beautiful Riverside Park in Manhattan.

“We want to show that care about the communities where we work,” said John Delgado, business manager for Local 79. For Delgado, volunteering at the park is part of building a strong relationship with the neighborhood nearby and its elected officials.

“This is so important,” said Gale Brewer, City Council member for the Upper West Side. “We can’t thank you enough.” Brewer has a long history of standing up for workers rights. When non-union contractors bring shoddy construction standards to public construction projects in her district, she walks on picket lines with Local 79 members. On the New York City Council, she has also worked with Local 79 to pass laws that require tough new safety standards at construction sites.