For Surviving Family
Spitzer Vetoes Sanit Legacy Credit Bill

By REUVEN BLAU

Governor Spitzer has vetoed a bill to give children and siblings of Sanitation Workers killed on duty 10 additional points on their civil service exams.

RAFAEL CONCEPCION: Proof of job's dangers.

The measure, which was backed by the Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association, would have placed Sanitation Workers on the same footing as city Police Officers and Firefighters, whose surviving family members are already entitled to the legacy credit.

'No Comparable Risk'

Governor Spitzer, however, said those law-enforcement jobs are different. "The supporters of the bill submit no evidence to show that Sanitation Workers are subject to a risk of violent death comparable to that faced by Firefighters and Police Officers," his veto message stated.

The legislation was sponsored by Queens State Sen. Serphin R. Maltese and Brooklyn Assemblyman Peter Abbate Jr.

According to the veto message, supporters also failed to explain why children and siblings should be entitled to an advantage over brothers, sisters, or parents. "Whatever the merits of this approach to addressing tragedies that arise from public employment - and my general view is that any deviation from the merit-based process of selecting civil servants should be limited and rare - it makes little sense to bestow such benefits piecemeal on particular titles, without any limiting principle as to why they are included, and others are left out," Governor Spitzer said.

The USA has long argued that its members face routine dangers on the job, noting that several of its members have been killed on duty over the past few years. Assistant Highway Repairer Nicky Antico was killed in September 2005 by a hit-and-run driver while repaving a street in Staten Island. More recently, Sanitation Worker Rafael Concepcion died Dec. 15 when he was thrown from the cab of his truck after his co-worker lost control while rounding a corner.

'A Difficult Job'

Governor Spitzer acknowledged that it is a difficult job, noting that the sponsors of the bill justified the measure by citing the "care and devotion" Sanitation Workers "display for every neighborhood."

Nonetheless, he said he didn't believe that the appropriate way to honor that work was by creating a legacy credit to give children and siblings of deceased workers "a leg up over their competitors vying for state jobs."

The veto message also said the bill raised "serious constitutional concerns," noting that the "merit and fitness" principle is the foundation of the civil service system. "Yet the more the civil service system is used as a means to favor individuals for reasons unrelated to their fitness for the jobs at issue, the more it will drift from its constitutional moorings," Governor Spitzer said. "We should not permit that to occur."