AUBURN, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The Cayuga County Legislature voted 10-1 Tuesday on a resolution that formally declares Juneteenth Independence Day a holiday that may eventually result in a day off for government workers.
The resolution was sponsored by Legislator Brian Muldrow, the first Black person ever elected to the Cayuga County Legislature.
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The act designates June 19 as the holiday, except on the years of which it falls on weekends. The holiday would then be observed on Friday or Monday in those cases.
The vote empowers the legislature chairwoman to now negotiate a possible day off with the labor unions that represent the county’s 700 workers.
June 19, 1865, is remembered as the day that Union soldiers made their way to Galveston, Texas to announce and enforce the freedom of African American slaves.
The holiday is already designated by the Federal Government and New York State.
Auburn is nationally known as the historic home of Underground Railroad Conductor Harriet Tubman, a former slave.