MANHATTAN — Scores of embattled New York City tour guides are staging a rally on the steps of City Hall Monday morning in a desperate attempt to save their jobs.
The guides had been hoping for a holiday miracle from city government after City Councilwoman Gale Brewer petitioned the Department of Consumer Affairs for a rule change that would effectively bar the city’s largest bus tour operator from replacing them with an automated system.
But DCA Commissioner Jonathan Mintz said Friday he will not consider a new rule that would prevent Gray Line, which operates the city’s ubiquitous double-decker tour buses, from slashing more than 50 workers from its payroll on January 1.
The sightseeing giant announced in October that it would lay off all but 35 of its 159 licensed tour guides and replace them with an audio tour, citing costs associated with a 2010 law that requires tour buses to replace loudspeakers with a headphone system, a union representative said.
“What is particularly disheartening about this situation is that the bus companies are blaming a law passed by the Council...for these layoffs,” Brewer wrote to Mintz on Dec. 8. “Unfortunately, the law is being used as an excuse to undermine the employment security of the tour guides, and, in turn, the safety and security of passengers on sightseeing buses.”
Brewer has worked closely with the guides to try to secure a deal that would spare their jobs, as well as what she called “a quality experience“ for the thousands of visitors who use the hop-on, hop-off bus tours.
Meanwhile, Gray Line has backed away from a plan that would have forced most guides out on Jan. 1, offering a contract that would let 105 employees keep their jobs for the next nine months in exchange for a 25-percent pay cut, union representatives said.
“It’s gone back and forth, but now the union is drawing a line — we will not take a pay cut,” said Robert Murphy, shop steward for Local 225, the union representing the guides. “I’ll do better on unemployment.”
Gray Line has told union representatives it will retain live guides on most of its tours, but union representatives said the January schedule already includes automated features on buses.
Representatives for the bus company did not respond to multiple request for comment.
Gray Line currently employs 159 licensed guides, whose numbers swell to more than 200 in the summer. The guides have until December 28 to sign a new three-year contract, union reps added.
The rally will take place on the steps of City Hall on Mon., Dec. 19, at 10 a.m.
