De Blasio Called Out On Broken Juneteenth City Holiday Promise

NEW YORK CITY — Last year, Mayor Bill de Blasio made a pledge that the next Juneteenth would be an official city holiday.

But this year the promised paid Juneteenth holiday off failed to materialize for city workers. They went to work Friday and de Blasio is taking heat for apparently breaking a promise.

One city parks worker asked de Blasio on the WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show why they didn't have a holiday off. De Blasio said the holiday off needed to be negotiated with unions but didn't elaborate on whether talks occurred.

“I made the announcement, I said we want to do this, but we have to negotiate the specifics,” he said.

It's true de Blasio acknowledged he'd need to work with unions when he announced Juneteenth would be an official city holiday.

"Starting next year, Juneteenth will be an official city holiday and official New York City schools holiday," he said on June 19, 2020. "We'll work with all the unions to work through the plan, give this day the importance and recognition it deserves. Every City worker, every student will have an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of our history and the truth, and to think about the work that we have to do ahead."

But as the New York Times reported — in the first piece highlighting the broken pledge — de Blasio is often criticized for failing to follow through on high-profile announcements.

THE CITY also reported in January that de Blasio still hadn't reached out to unions to negotiate the paid holiday, which would cost $150 million.

For his part, de Blasio on Friday said marking Juneteenth isn't just about a day off. He highlighted his new citywide expansion of $100 "baby bonds" as a step toward addressing generational inequities caused by slavery.

“This is the kind of generational wealth creation that people who care about Juneteenth have talked about how do we do something structural to change,” he said.