members

“The union is there when you need help. It provides job security.”

October 12, 2018 // 0 Comments

By GREGORY N. HEIRES Local 1549 member Geraldine Morina signed her union card in 1992, and since then she has remained a passionate activist. Morina, 63, is the local’s chapter chair at the Dept. of Transportation, where she enjoys being an advocate for her coworkers and a source of information about their workplace rights and union benefits. With a keen interest in politics, she keeps members updated on DC 37’s legislative and electoral priorities. “A lot of members are unaware of what the union provides,” said Morina, a clerical associate level 3. “I tell them they should view their membership as an investment. The union is there when you need help. It provides job security.” Through her own experience, Morina learned how joining the union makes a good investment. She once avoided being evicted from her apartment by going to the union’s Municipal Employees Legal Services [More...]

Local 1549 Shop Stewards Help Energize the Union

October 11, 2018 // 0 Comments

By GREGORY N. HEIRES More than 200 shop stewards in Local 1549 are fired up about carrying the union message to the workplace after they spent the Columbus Day weekend at a training conference. The stewards had a full agenda at the gathering, whose theme was “Rise Up & Stay Strong Shop Steward.” They learned about communicating effectively with their coworkers, organizing members to strengthen the union, dealing with workplace conflict, and getting involved in politics. “The conference provided members with a wonderful opportunity to strengthen their skills in communicating with their coworkers and defending them in the workplace,” Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez said. “By gathering everyone in one place, the conference encouraged our stewards to interact and trade stories about what they do at work to be the voice of the union.” “We have this [More...]

Our Pensions and Renewable Energy

October 9, 2018 // 0 Comments

By HENRY GARRIDO Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO NEW York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and other trustees of the city’s pension funds recently announced a new goal to double the funds’ investments in climate change solutions to $4 billion, or 2 percent of the city’s $195 billion pension portfolio, over the next three years. This plan builds upon an earlier announcement to divest city pension funds from fossil fuels within five years. Opponents have engaged in scare tactics. In recent months, the Daily News has published two hyperbolic op-ed pieces criticizing these moves and falsely assailing the motives behind them. On the internet, opponents exploit the anxieties of pensioners and urge them to sign a petition, essentially just saying no to the future. Safeguarding our retirement As a trustee of the New York City Employees [More...]

Pay Dates Set for 2017-18 Raises

October 5, 2018 // 0 Comments

Full-Time and Local 372 Hourly Salary calculators below: Full-Time Salary Calculator Local 372 Hourly Calculator   By GREGORY N. HEIRES The city has set the dates for the 2017 and 2018 pay increases of most of the DC 37 members covered by the new economic agreement. The contract calls for raises of 2 percent on Sept. 26, 2017, and 2.25 percent on Sept. 26 of this year. Mayoral agencies The rate increase and retroactive for 2017 was included in the Oct. 5 pay checks of workers at mayoral agencies. The 2.25 percent raise for 2018 is scheduled for Oct. 19. Dept. of Education At the Dept. of Education, administrative, full-time and hourly employees received the 2017 rate increase and retroactive pay on Oct. 5. They will receive the 2018 increase on Nov. 2. Family workers will receive their rate increases and retroactive pay on Dec. 4. School Crossing Guards receive their 2017 rate and [More...]

Union Mourns Passing of Retirees Association’s Former President

October 1, 2018 // 0 Comments

By ALFREDO ALVARADO Rochelle Mangual, who began her career as a civil servant working at the City University of New York, passed away on Aug. 13. Mangual worked at Hunter College in the Bursar’s Office and was a member of City University of New York and Educational Opportunity Centers Local 384. Shortly after joining the city workforce, she became active in the union and served as a shop steward and executive board member. In 1999, Mangual retired, and in the following year she became active in the DC 37 Retirees Association. She served as the associate recording secretary and in May 2013 Mangual became president of the 27,000 member association. Mangual played a role in several committees that advocated on behalf of senior citizens. She was a member of the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee for the Metropolitan Transit Authority and was also the community director for the local [More...]

Yes We Can. Yes We Did. DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido on the Democratic Primary Victories of Gov. Cuomo And Public Advocate Letitia James

September 17, 2018 // 0 Comments

“Thursday’s primary election victories by Governor Andrew Cuomo and Public Advocate Letitia James were good news for the state’s working men and women. The Governor and the Public Advocate are true friends of DC 37 and the city’s labor movement. They are steadfast fighters against the extreme agenda of Donald Trump. They have fought for pay equity, protected immigrant rights and are firm supporters of working families. I am proud of our volunteers’ efforts to get out the vote that contributed to the high voter turn-out in New York City. As we enter the fall campaign, DC 37’s Green Machine will continue to work to help re-elect Governor Cuomo and to elect Tish James as the first African-American woman to serve as New York State Attorney General this [More...]

Disability Committee Pays Tribute to 9/11

September 14, 2018 // 0 Comments

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS The union’s Disability Advisory Committee paid special tribute to World Trade Center victims and survivors on the 17th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. “Our lives changed forever,” said Shaun D. Francois I, Board of Education Employees Local 372 president and chair of the union’s Disability Advisory Committee. “9/11 took out thousands of lives in one day. First responders came to save others and lost their lives. Today we remember and pay respect to their sacrifice and memory.” Earlier in the day, DC 37 leaders and staff gathered in front of union headquarters to place a traditional wreath for the four members who made the ultimate sacrifice: Rev. Mychal F. Judge, FDNY Chaplain, Local 299; Carlos Lillo, Paramedic, Local 2507; OTB Betting Clerk Chet Louie, Local 2021, and Lt. Ricardo Quinn, Paramedic, Local 3621. September 11 is very personal for DC [More...]

On the Eve of Primary, Governor Cuomo Calls in to Speak With DC 37 Members

September 10, 2018 // 0 Comments

By MIKE LEE As Primary Day elections loom, the union recently hosted a live telephone town hall with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido. More than 14,000 union households dialed in to hear the Governor speak, and ask questions. In his introduction, DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido lauded Cuomo’s stalwart efforts on behalf of the union in the wake of the Janus decision and for his efforts on behalf of the victims of Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico last September. Referring to recent state legislation signed by Cuomo, he said: “The governor set an example for the nation by protecting our fundamental rights to collectively bargain and organize.” Cuomo noted the state’s progress since he was first elected in 2010. “Nobody has done what we have done here. We are the first state in the nation to pass a $15 minimum wage. Free [More...]

We Remember

September 10, 2018 // 0 Comments

  As we approach the anniversary of the terrible events on 9/11, we remember the courage and sacrifice of our DC 37 sisters and brothers who worked tirelessly that day and beyond, risking their lives and health to safe others, give comfort and to keep the city functioning during an unprecedented crisis. In 2011, AFSCME, DC 37’s national union, produced the following documentary on that terrible day, and the hardworking city workers—DC 37 members—who worked throughout the [More...]

Fighting Big Pharma’s Excessive Drug Prices

September 8, 2018 // 0 Comments

By NEAL FRUMKIN The costs of prescription drugs are too damn high, forcing working families and retirees to choose between food, rent and life-sustaining medication. That was the opening line of a resolution submitted by Edward W. Hysyk, president of the Retirees Association of DC 37, Juan Fernandez, president of Amalgamated Professional Employees Local 154 and myself, at the July convention of our national union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The resolution passed with the support of the 3,000 delegates at the convention in Boston. Our goal was to build a campaign against the outrageous ongoing cost increases faced by members of the Retiree Association of DC 37. The theme of the convention was “RiseUp.” I believe that DC 37 along with its labor and community partners should rise up and build a campaign against the criminal costs of prescription [More...]

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