Nassau County government does not recognize Juneteenth. Democrats once again seek to change that.

Nassau County is expected to be among the last municipalities on Long Island to operate government buildings and agencies on Juneteenth Thursday, despite Democrats' years of effort since 2021 to get the Republican-controlled legislature to recognize it as an official public holiday.

Democratic legislators have proposed an ordinance that would add June 19 to the county's list of official holidays, calling on Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman to begin good-faith negotiations with employee unions to implement the policy. The bill, a version of which had been filed in 2021, 2023 and 2024, creates a 14th paid day off for county workers. 

Mary Studdert, a spokeswoman for Republican legislators, who hold a 12-7 majority and decide whether the measure would be debated and put to a vote, told Newsday on Tuesday the Democrats' bill would not get on the calendar. 

"Recognition without observance is just performance. You can’t say you honor a holiday and then ignore it when the calendar date arrives," Legis. Olena Nicks (D-Uniondale), who is sponsoring the 2025 version of the bill, said in a statement. "From the epicenter of world commerce on Wall Street to the post office down the block, America pauses for Juneteenth. So why is Nassau County still treating it like business as usual?"

Government activity in the state, Suffolk County and nearly all local governments including the towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead and Oyster Bay and the cities of Long Beach and Glen Cove will be closed with employees off to observe June 19, which became a federal holiday in 2021. The holiday marks the date — June 19, 1865 — when African American slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free following the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation declared on Jan. 1, 1863.

When asked, Blakeman told Newsday in a statement on Tuesday he would be "amenable" to making it a public holiday if the county's public employee unions gave back another holiday. 

"The evil of slavery is something we should never forget, and the emancipation started a journey for racial equality that we are still traveling. 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," said Blakeman, who is scheduled to attend a Juneteenth celebration Wednesday night. Blakeman is running for reelection in November against Democratic challenger Seth Koslow, a legislator from Merrick. 

Leaders of Nassau's largest public employee union do not believe they should have to give back another holiday. As of now, Nassau County workers have the following days: 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, the Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. 

"Of course we want Bruce to make Juneteenth a holiday for our Nassau County members. We have a lot of members who are upset about it and they see other local governments giving this holiday," said Jarvis Brown, Long Island region president for the Civil Service Employees Association, representing about 7,000 county employees across all agencies.

Brown said CSEA and Blakeman discussed the holiday in the last round of collective bargaining talks, but the issue was overshadowed by conflicts over health care coverage and the schedule of pay raises. 

"We have definitely addressed it but we do not think we should give anything up," Brown said. "Our Nassau County employees have gone through a lot. There is nothing more to give up."

Chris Boyle, a spokesman for Blakeman, did not respond to Newsday's question about how much it would cost to close county government for the day.

Former President Joseph Biden in June 2021 signed legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday, after a bill unanimously passed in the Senate and was overwhelmingly approved in the House of Representatives.

Former New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, now running for New York City mayor, created the holiday for state employees by executive order in 2020.

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.