By LILLIAN ROBERTS
Executive Director
District Council 37, AFSCME

Well before Election Day, this union said loud and clear, “People power can beat money power Nov. 4.” The thousands of members who volunteered for election work proved us right as the voters responded to our message and defeated the job-killing, anti-democratic charter changes by better than 2-to-1.

The vote Nov. 4 also showed how this union comes through for its friends. Our powerful, well-organized team of activists carried the day. Every City Council candidate we endorsed won. In the toughest races, where we focused our forces, our candidates defeated strong opposition.

On Question 3 — an attempt to cancel the Democratic primary vote and have elections without political parties — the electorate rejected the mayor’s plan by a crushing 70-30 margin.

If Question 3 had passed, they might as well have put up a “Billionaires only” sign over the door to City Hall. As if to prove that point, the mayor put up $2 million of his own money to push it through.

The pro-Question 3 committee mailed a glossy 8-page brochure to likely voters at about $2 apiece. They filled radio and TV time with “vote yes” commercials, and on Sunday, Nov. 2, tape-recorded telephone messages brought former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani’s voice into voters’ homes, calling for a yes vote.

We fought back with education and activism. Our volunteer workers and retirees explained the issues in tens of thousands of member-to-member phone calls. They leafleted city employees and the public before work and on lunch hours. Labor united, and starting at 6 a.m. Election Day there were union volunteers at every polling place with friendly smiles and last-minute reminders to vote no.

Advocates of the charter changes outspent us by at least 5-to-1. But our people power beat their money power.
On Question 4 — a virtual license for layoffs that would have made it much easier for the city to hire consultants in the dark and contract out our jobs — DC 37 was the only major institution organizing the no vote. We used our people power, we got our message to the voters and they defeated the mayor’s plan.

Our tremendous Election Day victory will ripple out beyond the borders of politics and make itself felt at the bargaining table. No mayor with common sense would ignore the needs of union members who just helped mobilize 70 percent of the electorate.

Nov. 4 was our second wake-up call to the mayor in a week. It came right after our huge contract rally Oct. 29, when thousands of members chanted “Contract Now!” outside City Hall. These two magnificent examples of people power sent one powerful message: “We mean business, Mr. Mayor. Come to the table ready to negotiate seriously. And bring your money, because we have waited long enough for a fair contract.”

And I am telling the mayor, pleading poverty will not work with us. Our White Papers have shown the way to massive municipal savings — more than enough to fund a decent contract package. This message is getting results in city agencies (see page 6) and in the state Legislature (see the November PEP).

White Paper editorial is honored
The White Papers recently won important recognition. The International Labor Communications Association included on its list of the best union editorials of 2002 my column, “We Can Do the Work,” which appeared in PEP’s special White Paper issue. The judges also rated PEP the number two union newspaper in its category nationwide and gave it awards for writing, photography and graphic design.

What the ILCA said about the editorial bears repeating: “Rather than simply inveighing against budget cuts, the author gives practical arguments and alternatives to contracting out, using rank-and-file members’ own ideas.” That’s the choice we have given the mayor: Keep wasting the taxpayers’ money on consultants and contractors, or make a fair contract offer with decent pay increases for the hardworking, dedicated employees who keep this city running.

Based on our people power victory at the polls, I believe Mayor Bloomberg must now move quickly toward a reasonable contract settlement.