MINEOLA, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — Democratic legislators gathered on Wednesday to call for Nassau County to recognize Juneteenth as an official holiday—in accordance with the federal and state governments, Suffolk County and every town and city within Nassau County, the Minority Caucus said.
“Juneteenth not only recognizes and represents freedoms, but it also represents the ending of a period of enslavement, and it shows how much our nation has moved forward,” Democratic Legislator Olena Nicks told 1010 WINS.
Juneteenth—which celebrates the day in 1865 that enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas learned they were free, over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation—became a New York state holiday in 2020 by an executive order signed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Nicks and the Minority Caucus first presented the bill to the Republican-controlled government in 2021, and four years later are still fighting for Juneteenth to have the same recognition as other nationally-acknowledged holidays. Nicks said that the push is about respect.
“We don’t treat the Fourth of July as just another day. So there’s no reason why Juneteenth is being treated as just another Thursday in Nassau County,” Nicks said. “And it’s very frustrating, especially for a lot of the residents who have lineage to enslaved Americans.”
Versions of the bill were also filed in 2023 and 2024, and would give county workers a 14th paid holiday. The ordinance would require the county to participate in good-faith negotiations with the union representing county workers to implement the new holiday.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said that he would be open to allowing Juneteenth to be a county holiday, but that it is dependent on bargaining.
“The evil of slavery is something we should never forget, and the emancipation started a journey for racial equality that we are still traveling,” Blakeman said in a statement. “The designation of holidays is part of collective bargaining and I have maintained that if the union wants to swap out another holiday for Juneteenth, I would be amenable to that.”
Currently, Nassau County employees have 13 paid holidays, which are: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Lincoln's Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Election Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
Civil Service Employees Association Long Island Region President Jarvis Brown said that the union is “in full support” of the Minority Caucus bill, stating to 1010 WINS that “it is time for Nassau County to honor the day that all Americans became free.”
However, he rebuffed Blakeman’s suggestion that county employees give back a holiday, suggesting the municipality honor its employees as well.
“The county should also honor the sacrifices that CSEA members have made to keep the county afloat,” Brown said. “For that reason, CSEA has no intention of giving back a holiday in exchange for Juneteenth. Our members have conceded enough.”
Nassau County is expected to be one of, if not the only, municipality on Long Island that has government buildings and agencies working on Juneteenth. Republican lawmakers hold a 12-7 majority in the county legislature, and Majority Caucus spokesperson Mary Studdert told Newsday that the Democrats' bill would not get on the calendar.
“The Republican Majority and County Executive have now had four chances to do the right thing, and every time they’ve blocked it or refused to act,” Democratic Legislator Seth Koslow said. “At a certain point, the refusal stops looking like oversight and starts looking like a statement. You can’t claim to honor liberty while refusing to honor Juneteenth.”