Despite pledge, no paid Juneteenth holiday for city workers

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City municipal workers are not getting a paid Juneteenth holiday this year, despite a pledge last year from Mayor Bill de Blasio to make it one and as it becomes one for federal workers.

Juneteenth, on June 19th, marks the day in 1865, two months after the end of the Civil War and more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, that enslaved Black people in Texas were told by Union soldiers that they had been freed.

Its profile has risen in the wake of national conversations on racism and inequality, and last year, de Blasio said it would be “an official city holiday” starting this year.

But to make it one, the city would need to have labor negotiations with the unions representing city workers. As of Thursday, there have been discussions but no negotiations, according to the city.

President Joe Biden on Thursday signed legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

The New York Times first reported that city workers would not be getting a paid Juneteenth holiday.

In October, it became a holiday for state workers, after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation.