By LILLIAN ROBERTS
Executive Director
District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO

THE TRAGEDY OF Hurricane Sandy and the triumph of President Obama have touched us all profoundly as public employees, New Yorkers and Americans.

As everyday working people, we, and our families have personally been devastated by the hurricane, which has uprooted our lives, leaving many of us homeless and economically distressed. But as city workers, we answered the call when crisis struck, and we are on the frontlines of the recovery effort.

DC 37 members and Election Day volunteers were part of the nationwide majority that re-elected Barack Obama and repudiated the conservative thrust against public services, government bene? ts and human rights. The right-wing agenda included tax giveaways to corporations and the wealthy, attacks on immigrants, all-out assaults on union rights and women's rights and a deliberate effort to suppress minority voting.

President Obama and Democratic Senate candidates won the vote in the states where Republicans took control in 2010 and pushed anti-union legislation - Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida. The election results suggest that labor will be a part of a growing progressive coalition that fights successfully for a more just society, including full employment, tax fairness, women's rights, immigration reform, secure Medi-care and Social Security and increased federal funding for state and local governments.

In the campaign, the national Republican Party showed that despite its pretenses, it is not an inclusive "big tent." It's actually more like an exclusive gated community of right-wing whites, anti-government Tea Party extremists and religious conservatives.

In contrast, Obama won with the support of a multiethnic and multigenerational coalition of African Americans, Latinos, women, young people and progressive white males. I was proud to see that women supported Obama by 11 percent over Mitt Romney. Next year, the Democrats will have four more women in the Senate and nine more in the House of Representatives.

Some Republicans blame Romney's loss on Hurricane Sandy, but even before Sandy, polls showed his campaign faltering. President Obama's fast, sure response to Sandy contrasts greatly with President George W. Bush's disastrous handling of Katrina in New Orleans and with the destructive budget slashes the Romney ticket proposed for FEMA, the federal disaster agency.

DC 37 members helped evacuate 350,000 people

Just as they did after the 9/11 terrorist attacks more than a decade ago, our members have poured their hearts into helping the victims of Sandy and will be at the center of the city's rebuilding work in the months ahead.

DC 37 members helped evacuate people from hospitals that had to close, set up and staffed shelters, handled hundreds of thousands of emergency calls, helped remove fallen trees that were blocking ambulances and fire trucks, prevented sewage from contaminating our waters and evacuated 350,000 people from devastated homes and neighborhoods. I'm extremely proud of the work they did, especially when so many of us performed their jobs with distinction while contending with hurricane-related problems of their own.

The hurricane knocked out our DC 37 building near the Hudson River, forcing us to scramble like we did after 9/11 to provide services for members from satellite offices and staffers' homes. The floodwaters rose nearly to the second floor, and we will be out of the building for some time as the electrical and phone systems are repaired and we make sure it is safe to return.

Meanwhile, we are working hard to continue services and benefits for members. A new economic contract, salary review, on-the-job safety and helping members hurt by the hurricane are my top concerns right now.

Our members' response to Sandy is a testament to our commitment to public service. One of the most resonating messages of the 2012 elections is that a majority of Americans shares our commitment to providing government services that meet the needs of working individuals and families and the poor.