Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
REMARKS
Importance of city government-focused hiring halls
0:52:55
ยท
3 min
Council Member Restler emphasizes the significance of city government-focused hiring halls and expresses concern about their discontinuation. Commissioner Molina responds by highlighting the expansion of hiring efforts.
- Restler praises the previous hiring hall model as innovative and effective for connecting people to stable city government careers
- Concern raised about the current approach potentially causing city government jobs to get lost in the shuffle
- Commissioner Molina notes the expansion of hiring efforts to include non-profit and private sector jobs
Lincoln Restler
0:52:55
Well I'll just I'll I have some more questions on federal government stuff.
0:52:59
I'll just close on the hiring hall piece to say I really think this was one of the more innovative things that happened in the Adams administration and it was working and people really appreciated it and city government jobs are great jobs and we connect people to stable careers, especially people of color, moderate income backgrounds to really good steady stable careers.
0:53:24
And we stopped that recruitment.
0:53:27
And I realized there's some efforts afoot, but it's nothing like what had been happening and it's just a hugely missed opportunity.
0:53:33
So I hope that you all consider bringing them back and that you get the resources to do so because I think you were doing a great job.
0:53:38
And I I, you know, when when the hiring hall came to District 33, I was not asked to co sponsor it.
0:53:45
The mayor asked everyone all the other elected officials to co sponsor it, but I still was happy that it was happening in my community even if they didn't want my name on it.
Louis Molina
0:53:52
So, remember if I could just add, I think you know from my perspective, I think what we have seen really is an expansion of that effort to connect New Yorkers to jobs.
0:54:02
Not only jobs that are available in the city, but jobs that may be available in non profits, jobs that may be available in the private sector.
0:54:08
I've attended a number of these more expansive hiring halls with my SBSPS commissioner colleague, and there's a lot of engagement.
0:54:17
We've also expanded on those that may be eligible for city purposes or 55 a program that may have disabilities, and we're making those accommodations as well.
0:54:27
Appreciate your feedback and always how we can support to enhance those efforts done by NYC Talent and SBS.
0:54:34
And we also, our human capital team meets monthly with the agency personnel officers.
0:54:38
Right.
0:54:39
And whenever they engage with us to tell us they have an issue specifically about a particular title where they're having a tough time recruiting, we will be there and prepared to help them have specific hiring halls for those titles.
Lincoln Restler
0:54:50
But but commissioner, the challenge we have is that when we do these hiring halls that are mostly private sector oriented, nonprofit oriented, they can hire people in a week.
0:55:00
We just talked about a process with the civil cervix exam where it's taken an average of fourteen to fifteen months to get somebody hired.
0:55:05
Or if we have agencies that don't need to be hiring off a list, best case scenario, it's still three to six months before somebody's actually starting a job.
0:55:12
If you get an offer, you don't have work, and you get an offer that you can start in two weeks or you can start in six months, you got to put food on the table.
0:55:19
Right?
0:55:19
There's no choice at all.
0:55:20
And our job as DCAS and gov ops, we're focused on how do we make sure that the vacancy rate in city government is down?
0:55:26
How do we make sure that every city agency is properly staffed?
0:55:29
I want SBS and the talent folks to do their job too, but I don't want to compete.
0:55:34
And I want you all to continue to be laser focused on making sure that city agencies have the resources and the staffing that they need to thrive.
0:55:40
And I just think that we get lost in the shuffle in these new approach to hiring halls.
0:55:45
I've heard from city agencies they don't find it nearly as effective as the previous hiring hall model that they were really enthusiastic about.
0:55:50
I've had conversations with Henry Guerito going back five years on wanting to see hiring halls just like this.
0:55:56
I think there's a lot of enthusiasm from labor, from labor unions across New York City, from city government, and from city agencies.
0:56:03
And it's just I think there's OMB put resource constraints on decast that made this impossible.
0:56:07
I said that.
0:56:08
You didn't say that.
0:56:09
But I wish that you all had the resources and we should continue to push for the resources for you all to be able to be the robust recruitment arm that the city desperately needs.
Louis Molina
0:56:17
I appreciate your support.
Lincoln Restler
0:56:18
Thank you.