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Public testimony highlights: Legal Aid bargaining, EMS pay parity push, delivery workers oppose e‑bike criminalization and PATH funding cuts
Summary
Public testimony at the budget hearing highlighted four urgent local issues: Legal Aid Society contract bargaining and a call for roughly $74M in additional funding, EMTs pressing for pay parity and $50M for EMS, delivery workers opposing criminal summonses for e‑bike infractions, and community groups asking the council to restore PATH anti‑hate funding and support community violence intervention.
Members of the public used the executive‑budget hearing to press for funding or policy changes across criminal‑justice and public‑safety topics.
Legal Aid Society union and public defenders
Jane Fox, chair of the Legal Aid Society Attorneys Union (UAW Local 2325), said bargaining has stalled and warned members were prepared to withhold labor if the employer did not present an economic offer before the contract expiration. “By our employer's estimate, this council needs to increase funding to the legal aid society by at least $74,000,000 to make sure our demands at the bargaining table are met,” she said. Union speakers argued that current public‑defender salaries lag comparable cities and that attrition is reducing experienced counsel on…
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