District Council 37

  • Worker Solidarity Prevails in the Workplace
    By MIKE LEE at Care for the Homeless After a concerted organizing effort kicked off in October 2021, the union recently secured DC 37 representation at 21 of 24 locations at Care for the Homeless, a non-profit that provides services and shelter for thousands of at-risk New Yorkers. The non-profit was founded in 1985 and operates sites across all five boroughs. Care for the Homeless workers at Susan’s Place in the Bronx. From left: Registered Nurse Tiffany Bigwitch, Medical and Office Assistant Melika Fagan, and Senior Eligibility Enrollment Specialist Francheska Romero. The campaign’s success centered on a large-scale effort requiring four highly trained internal organizing committees comprised of workers representing the locations. The campaign was unique because each site required a separate certification election. District Council 37 brought in more than 100 workers after each certification vote passed by an overwhelming majority. The organizing committees were crucial to the campaign’s success, maintaining unity and focusing efforts on winning recognition. “The workers realized they were robust in numbers and would win,” Organizer Tanya Miller said. “They believed in one another. They had a plan to prepare for each vote and stuck to it.” By taking on leadership during the struggle to unionize, Care [...] — Jun 12
  • Women’s Work is Never Done: Developing Leadership From Within
    Story & Photo by JUSTINA RAMLAKHAN The sixth cohort of the Lillian Roberts Women’s Leadership Academy in front of the entrance to the New York Historical Society, one of the in-person field trips offered in the current curriculum. Whether it be at home, in the workplace, or in their own communities, women have always worked. While female workers occupy full-time jobs across all industries and professions— and, on average, get paid 16% less for doing the same work—  there is a staggering gap in the number who pursue leadership roles in comparison to their male colleagues. The DC 37 Lillian Roberts Women’s Leadership Academy (LRWLA) aims to close that gap. The LRWLA is a 10-session, 40-hour leadership training program designed to support women who desire taking on leadership positions within their profession and community. Named in honor of long-time DC 37 leader and former Executive Director Lillian Roberts, the Academy’s objective since its founding in 2019 is to help women understand the key elements in the relationship between gender and power dynamics when serving in leadership positions and to learn the most effective ways to lead groups in a gender-biased society. The program is based on the Women’s Leadership Academy [...] — Jun 12
  • Center For Brooklyn History: Building the Community’s Archive
    Local 1482 Archivist Dee Bowers looks over a collection of “Clown Wars,” an independent poetry and illustration publication, and items belonging to James Kelly, a vaudeville-performing subway foreman who also served as a Brooklyn Borough Historian. Story & Photo by ACACIA RODRIGUEZ As an archivist, fourth-generation Brooklynite Dee Bowers ensures the world’s largest collection of materials about Brooklyn remains at the fingertips of its patrons. From high school yearbooks to independently published magazines, Bowers and the Local 1482 Brooklyn Library Guild at the Center for Brooklyn History (CBH) organize, catalog, and preserve, providing access to historians, students, educators, and researchers worldwide. CBH is housed in a national historic landmark building designed by George B. Post that has remained largely the same since 1881. The Pierrepont Street building was formerly home to the Brooklyn Historical Society and Long Island Historical Society before the two organizations merged with Brooklyn Public Library’s local history collection. In 2020, Bowers helped manage the delicate process of consolidating the archive of historical objects and documents. Exterior of the Brooklyn Historical Society An archivist’s role is similar to a librarian, but instead of dealing in books and publications, they manage “special collections,” including unique or unpublished materials [...] — Jun 12
  • Representation Worth Fighting For. Meet DC 37’s New Local: 5911
    By JUSTINA RAMLAKHAN 911 Operators are the first line of defense on many New Yorkers’ worst days. Assigned to the New York Police Department’s Communications Section as emergency call takers, they also serve as radio dispatchers of police resources and perform all other administrative duties related to the provision of emergency services. Previously represented by Local 1549, Police Communication Technicians (PCTs) and Supervising Police Communication Technicians (SPCTs) voted on Feb. 22 to create a new DC 37 local. Local 5911 now represents approximately 1,500 PCTs and SPCTs. The members formerly populated the 911 Chapter of Local 1549, NYC Clerical-Administrative Employees. The push to organize their own, unique local started shortly after Local 1549 was placed under administratorship by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in September 2022. But the reasons for separating into a new local didn’t begin there. Members of the 911 Chapter had long advocated for the opportunity to govern themselves, honoring how their work responsibilities and concerns differed from the other clerical and administrative titles they were grouped with under Local 1549. “From the very beginning, we noticed our work was fundamentally different from aides and clerical staff,” said Barbara Terrelonge, DC 37 [...] — Jun 12
  • The Art of Coaching Double Dutch: Community Learns the Ropes from Local 299 Member
    Four generations at practice — Brown with his wife, daughter, granddaughters, and great granddaughter. Story and Photos by ACACIA RODRIGUEZ For Local 299 member Stanley Douglas Brown, double dutch is not a game. The Recreation Supervisor has coached double dutch since 1981 at the Sorrentino Recreation Center in Queens, where it is one of the largest member-based programs in the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. The “Stan’s Pepper Steppers” founder has taught more than 5,000 children how to jump and has won more than 500 double dutch championships. “You’ve got the game of double dutch and the sport. We do both, but I teach the sport,” Brown said. With its roots in telephone wire and rhymes recited near open fire hydrants, double dutch has remained an accessible means of exercise and community building. It can be practiced on the sidewalk, street, or gymnasium floor. Brown instructs the Pepper Steppers during training Brown and the Pepper Steppers have a tradition of competitive double dutch excellence. They’ve appeared on The Wendy Williams Show, ESPN, in Seventeen Magazine, and even the film Do The Right Thing. The small recreation center in Far Rockaway houses a dynasty team. Stan’s Pepper Steppers [...] — Jun 12