Public Employee Press

DC 37/ AFSCME Strong: Mobilize, Agitate and Educate
Activists target non-union tech workers

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

The DC 37 AFSCME/Strong campaign has targeted non-unionized tech workers at the Health and Hospitals Corp. in an aggressive organizing campaign.

The approximately 200 employees work at HHC’s downtown offices as Senior Consultants, which HHC claims is a management title and therefore not entitled to union representation.

But on July 7, the Board of Certification rejected HHC’s argument that the employees are in a management title.

Robert Ajaye, president of Local 2627, also questioned the title characterization. “How can they be management if they don’t supervise anyone, or hire or fire anyone,” Ajaye asked. The board’s decision made HHC employees eligible for union representation. After the decision, Ajaye held several meetings with them to convince them to sign a union card and join DC 37.

The employees would become members of Local 2627, which represents data processing personnel. But the Organization of Staff Analysts also reached out to the HHC employees to get them to join their union. During his meetings, Ajaye stressed the numerous benefits that DC 37 members enjoy.

“Our benefits package is much better and being part of DC 37 means that you part of a union family of 121,000 members,” Ajaye said.

Ajaye and organizers from the DC 37 AFSCME/Strong campaign will be scheduling more meetings at HHC with the workers before the election when they vote to decide if they will be joining OSA or DC 37. Notices of the election went out on Sept. 11. Electronic voting via the Internet and smartphones, which began on Sept. 30, will continue until Oct. 16. Election results will be announced on the 16th.

“I’m confident we can win this election,” said Ajaye. “Our local specializes in IT, so this is a perfect fit for those employees.”

The DC 37/AFSCME Strong initiative — in partnership with DC 37’s national union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees—marks the beginning of an unprecedented campaign with the goal of reaching out to 50,000 members in one-on-one conversations by next spring to help build a more powerful union in the workplace. The campaign is being conducted by AFSCME locals throughout the country.

“There’s no doubt about it, our membership has to become more active in the union,” DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido said. “Public service workers and their unions are under attack all across the nation and we have to act now.”

The urgency is real with a pending decision to be made by the U.S. Supreme Court that could rule to overturn its 1977 Abood v. Detroit Board of Education decision, which ruled public employees have a right to form a union and requires non-members pay a fee because they enjoy the benefits and higher wages gained from collective bargaining.

If the court reverses its 1977 decision it would effectively nationalize a “right-to-work-for-less” law and jeopardize the ability of public sector unions to represent members and provide services.

Another DC 37/AFSCME Strong training will be held Saturday, Oct. 17, at union headquarters for Local 372 shop stewards. To confirm your participation, contact the DC 37 Schools Division at 212-815-1050. Local 420 will have a session on Oct.14. Local 1549 had one on Oct. 3.

DC 37 locals interested in scheduling a training session for their members can contact the union’s Director of Organizing Barbara Terrelonge at 212-815-1221 or send an email inquiry to DC37Strong@dc37.net