District Council 37

  • Nonprofit Workers Rally in the Bronx Against Unpaid Wages
    Story by JUSTINA RAMLAKHAN, Photo by THEA SETTERBO Members of Locals 95 and 205 with Assemblymember Chantel Jackson at an Aug. 1 rally outside of the shuttered Marshall England Early Learning Center in the Bronx. New York City’s nonprofit sector relies on the nurturing caregivers who attend to the needs of the bustling population, providing everything from child care to home-based health care. But what happens when those individuals are not compensated for the services they provide? For decades, Highbridge Advisory Council Family Services (HACFS) has offered free 3-K, Pre-K, and early childhood education programs in the Bronx. The agency receives funding from the City of New York, which is supposed to be used to pay their providers. HACFS centers temporarily closed in the late spring without notice, and employees were left to scramble and figure out whether they still had jobs. In July, the nonprofit’s chief executive officer resigned. On Aug. 1, members of Local 95 Head Start Employees and Local 205 Day Care Employees gathered outside the Marshall England Early Learning Center, the largest center that HACFS operates, for the second of a series of rallies to demand payment for their work after months of inconsistent paychecks led [...] — Sep 23
  • Key Wins in City Budget
    Story and Photo by MIKE LEE NYC Board of Education Employees Local 372 Vice President Donald Nesbit (left) and Local 3778 New York City Police Department Technical Professional Employees President Olivia Duong before speaking at a City Council hearing on May 9. When the year began, prospects for New York City’s budget looked dire, with massive cuts to the City’s parks, libraries, cultural institutions, and other agencies. However, after months of negotiations, Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council passed a $112.4 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2025 on June 30, that restored funding for several of the union’s priorities. “We fought for adequate staffing and increased funding for the City institutions that serve our communities,” said DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido. “It was a long struggle, but coming out of it, we moved toward completion of long-overdue school improvements across the City, secured more funding for our parks, and restored seven-day service for our libraries.” Schools, Pre-K and Daycare The City’s schools received $20 million to hire 1,000 more school food worker positions lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant restoration. The FY 2025 budget adds $150 million to complete cafeteria improvements in middle and high schools citywide, [...] — Sep 23
  • Coordinated Effort Key in Teleworker Organizing Win
    By MIKE LEE WORKING TOGETHER, MOVING FORWARD: Matriculate Workers Alliance members recently hosted a bargaining unit get-together to build solidarity. Both NYC-based hybrid and national remote employees attended. Workers at the national nonprofit Matriculate secured a win when they organized to bring recognition for their work and the need for fair wage increases. The workers approached DC 37 about union representation after a new CEO pulled back on several wage increases and froze promotions for a year without explanation. “The members of our bargaining unit perform a variety of roles at Matriculate, although we all work remotely,” said Ryan Kelly, Senior Associate, Student Learning. “The organization’s goal is to open access to traditionally underrepresented students and provide them aid by training college students to mentor and advise these high schoolers on their college applications and admissions journeys.” DC 37 Organizer Julian DeJesus explained the small unit represents many diverse roles. Matriculate workers recruit and advise high school students to get into college, others train them to become college advisors, and several others do IT work and accounting. Members of the Matriculate Organizing Committee were united in their demand for transparency from management and advocacy for better wages, job duties, and [...] — Sep 23
  • The Signs are Clear: Local 1455 Keeps Streets Safe at DOT Sign Shop
    Story & Photo by JUSTINA RAMLAKHAN Traffic Device Maintainer Peter Pizzo uses a silkscreen to bulk-produce traffic restriction signs. For the 4.4 million drivers that pass through New York City every day, traffic signs are a critical tool to maintain street safety for vehicles, passengers, and pedestrians alike. Every street and highway traffic sign in New York City — more than one million citywide — begin as a huge sheet of aluminum cut by Traffic Device Maintainers represented by New York City Traffic Employees Local 1455. The signs are created at the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Sign Shop in Maspeth, Queens, which produces more than 100,000 traffic signs each year, from the ordinary stop sign to special edition street signs. “Our members may produce as many as 500 traffic signs a day to meet the needs of the city,” said Michael DeMarco, President of Local 1455. “We make, repair, install, and replace all street and highway signs in New York City.” The dimensions of each sign are standard across the United States and must comply with the guidelines outlined by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Once the sheet is cut to the appropriate shape and dimensions, the edges are rounded [...] — Sep 23
  • More Than Meets the Eye at Materials for the Arts
    Story and Photo by ACACIA RODRIGUEZ In Long Island City, Queens, a warehouse holds 25,000 square feet of recycled items looking for a second life, including thousands of empty lipstick tubes, meters of vertical blinds, disassembled chandelier crystals, and discarded office supplies. Materials for the Arts (MFTA), a program run by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, was founded in 1978 to collect, store, and offer any of its donated materials for free to City agencies, public schools, nonprofits, social justice organizations, artists, and educators. Photo: MFTA reception area decorated with donated materials, where shoppers with an appointment are welcomed and checked in. “If you need materials for the programming you do in your job, we offer free materials as long as they’re being used in the capacity of the agency you work for,” Education Coordinator and Local 371 Delegate Will Niedman said. “Whether you work in Parks and are doing a tabling program, you work for ACS and need clothes in a shelter, or you work for NYCHA and you’re doing a community event, you can come here and access our materials for free.” Members of Social Service Employees Union Local 371 operate MFTA, which offers two dedicated shopping [...] — Sep 23