Latest news with #CentralNewYorkers
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TGCPlayer workers fight back against ‘union busting'
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR) — TCGPlayer workers, unionized with Communications Workers of America Local 1123, are preparing to lose their jobs after finding out eBay's motives to shut down the Syracuse-based location. eBay alerted Syracuse employees on Thursday that their operations would be consolidating to Louisville, Kentucky. But 100 soon-to-be-let-go workers, and their supporters, displayed a united front during a rally Tuesday afternoon. 'When we fight, we win,' protestors said in unison. 'We're coming for you, eBay.' TGCPlayer workers fight back against 'union busting' Town of Onondaga, city to see upcoming I-81 lane reduction Most Syracuse councilors dodge questions about cuts to city budget, except two running for mayor It's been a wet May in Syracuse, but cool too? 'It's an ugly bill'; Schumer says Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' will cut SNAP for 100,000 Central New Yorkers Union members accused the global online marketplace of 'union busting' with the decision to close their center and cut over 220 jobs. 'They dropped this on the workers and only notified our union about five minutes in advance of the closure,' Ethan Saleriusm, former TCGPlayer employee, said. 'They didn't bring it to the bargaining table at all. We've been with them at the bargaining table for over 600 days.' On that fateful day, six-year employee Richard Vallejo remembers the morning starting like any other in the office. The donuts were in their typical spot on the breakfast table, but the termination email was out of place. 'We all feel like the floor has just been completely dropped out from below our feet,' Vallejo said. In the middle of the rally, employees cried, consoled, and supported one another as they realized they were about to lose their family. 'It is absolutely unconscionable what eBay is doing to them right now, and so I wanted to be here to support these workers and, importantly, call on eBay to return the generous tax breaks and public dollars they received when they acquired TCGPlayer,' Alexander Marion, City Auditor of Syracuse, said. Currently, the next step for employees is demanding compensation and respect before walking out the door for the last time during the summer. 'The severance that TCG is offering right now is frankly unacceptable and insulting,' Salerius said. 'The members want, you know, as much severance as they can possibly get because they've poured their lives into this company and they deserve to be compensated for that.' eBay also responded to NewsChannel 9 about allegations regarding emotional and physical abuse from trained security guards at the Syracuse location. 'We take the well-being and safety of our team members around the world extremely seriously. We are committed to ensuring that all eBay safety procedures are consistently followed and that our workplace remains respectful and secure for everyone.' Sharing a few points on background: We are conducting an internal investigation following recent claims to confirm that personnel followed protocol and conducted themselves in line with our policies. Security staff are not permitted to physically engage with anyone under any circumstances, and we have strict protocols in place to ensure their conduct aligns with these protocols. We consistently monitor and enforce these protocols to maintain a respectful and secure environment for all team members. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘It's an ugly bill'; Schumer says Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill' will cut SNAP for 100,000 Central New Yorkers
FULTON, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Senator Chuck Schumer was in Fulton on Tuesday, where he held a press conference following President Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' passing in the House last week. The senator said the bill contains the largest cut to food assistance in American history. He detailed the devastation this bill could have in Central New York. 'Oswego County has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in all of New York. It's one of the counties hit the hardest. This is a hunger hotspot,' Schumer said. 'When it comes to feeding the hungry, this bill is anything but beautiful. It's ugly and can be devastating for Central New York in so many ways. It's not a beautiful bill; it's an ugly bill.' 'It's an ugly bill'; Schumer says Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' will cut SNAP for 100,000 Central New Yorkers Local farms off to a late start due to cold, rainy weather Candlebox and Nothing More headline Krockathon Reboot at Chevy Court It's been a wet May in Syracuse, but cool too? Syracuse man accused of killing son, girlfriend charged with highest degree of murder Tim Bryant was at the conference and shared that SNAP became a need for him after suffering a brain injury and he couldn't work. 'SNAP gave me something incredibly basic, but incredibly powerful. The ability to eat, nourish myself and focus on healing,' Bryant said. 'It's hard to explain how grounding that is when everything else is uncertain.' Brian Reeves, the owner of Reeves Farms in Baldwinsville, said these cuts would mean fewer people would receive a sufficient diet. 'We need to feed everyone in our community. A well-nourished community is a healthy community,' Reeves said. 'A healthy community is a prosperous community. It's not only a good act, it's good business and as farmers, we should be concerned about that.' The Executive Director of the Food Bank of Central New York added that one in seven people is food insecure in the area. 'We are looking at snap cuts of 9.5 billion meals off the table every year,' said Karen Belcher. 'It weakens the food assistance and health care access, threatening the well-being of neighbors working hard to thrive.' Schumer said the cuts could potentially impact over 100,000 Central New Yorkers. At the conference, he says hospital funding will be affected, and energy costs will rise if the 'Big Beautiful Bill' passes. He has spoken to his republican colleagues in the Senate to work on getting SNAP cuts taken out of the bill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Local farms off to a late start due to cold, rainy weather
BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — It may have been sunny and dry on Tuesday, but farmers are still behind schedule after a very wet spring. Reeves Farms is taking advantage of the nice weather while it lasts. 'We do our best to try to sneak things in when the weather is nice, but you can only do so much in the few days we've had,' said Karin Reeves, co-owner of Reeves Farms. 'It's an ugly bill'; Schumer says Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' will cut SNAP for 100,000 Central New Yorkers Local farms off to a late start due to cold, rainy weather Candlebox and Nothing More headline Krockathon Reboot at Chevy Court It's been a wet May in Syracuse, but cool too? Syracuse man accused of killing son, girlfriend charged with highest degree of murder But even on days when the sun is shining, it's still not enough to make up for the rain that's fallen. 'Our crops need a certain amount of rain, but when you get into the more than two or three inches in a month, that starts to get excessive. So when we're talking about five inches this month, that's a lot, and then on top of the rain, we've had some really cold temperatures,' said Reeves.'…All of that just means that the plants are just maturing a little bit more slowly than normal.' Reeves says its strawberry fields are also behind this season. Many of the berries are still green and far from being fully developed. 'We picked strawberries on May 30th last year and right now, I am not sure when we're going to pick these. We're only three days away from May 30th and they're far from being ready yet,' said Reeves. Mother nature has also delayed planting for other crops like cucumbers and zucchini. 'We do lots of different things on the farm to try and manage the weather as best we can. But when you have a period like we did of five days of rain and cold, there's not much you can do about that. You're just waiting and hoping it gets better,' said Reeves. Despite a late start to the season, Reeves is hoping for a successful one. For updates on this year's growing season, check out Reeves Farms' Facebook page. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Typically, it is pretty low'; School budget voting turnout trending down in recent years
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Thousands of Central New Yorkers are making their way to the polls Tuesday to approve or reject their school district's proposed budget. This year, Central Square superintendent Tom Colabufo is hoping more people turn out to vote on his district's proposed budget. 'We have 25,000 eligible voters. Last year we had 740 voters turnout. The year before that, we had 425 voters' turnout,' he said. By Tuesday afternoon, the North Syracuse Central School District had a few hundred come out to vote. 'We have 42,000 registered voters here in our district, and last year we had just over 1,800 people turn out to vote,' said district clerk Jilian Herrera. 'We are always trying to encourage voter turnout, but typically it is pretty low.' It's a similar story in Liverpool as well. The school district there shared that they have 36,500 active voters, but 1,491 voted in 2024. Those turnout numbers are surprising for former C-NS teacher Lois Exner. 'It's sad. These kids are our future. I feel very bad. They are missing out on helping our district,' Exner said. Voting started at noon for the East-Syracuse Minoa District. The district was seeing a good turnout when the polls opened. A former teacher in the district is telling us she makes the time to tell people to vote. 'I reminded several of the neighbors this morning, as well as my son, who lives with me. I said Be sure as soon as you get out of work to go vote,' Sandy Hought said. The New Hartford Central School District is also sharing with us that they have 12,528 registered voters. Last year, there were 1,629 people who voted. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Central Square superintendent explains tax levies ahead of school budget voting day
CENTRAL SQUARE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Tuesday, May 20, Central New Yorkers will vote on whether to approve or reject their local school districts budget proposal. Each district with the exception of Syracuse city schools, presents a budget, along with a tax levy that will impact property taxes. Central Square's Superintendent Tom Colabufo is no stranger to getting a school budget passed. This year, his district is looking to keep what's in their budget, much the same as last year. 'We're looking to keep the same number of kids that want to go to city BOCES, which is about 175,' Colabufo said. 'We want to be able to keep our 26 college courses that are free for students. We want to be able to keep a special patrol officer in each of our schools and counselors in our elementary, middle, and high school.' This year, the district has put forth a budget of a little under $104 million. That includes a 6.86% tax levy increase. Colabufo explains how that would impact people's property taxes. 'If somebody has a $200,000 house, it would go up $184 for the year. If they have a $100,000 house, it's $92 dollars. A $300,000 house, it's $276,' Colabufo said. Last year, the districts tax levy was around 4%. They decided to raise it this year because they're getting less aid from the state. 'For a district that roughly gets roughly $60 million in state aid, a year ago we got 4.5% percent state aid. To go from 4.5% out of 60 million dollars, down to 2%, we have to make that money up somewhere. Or we have to look at $2 million worth of cuts,' Colabufo said. So, on Tuesday, voters will decide if they pick up the rest of the bill for the district. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
