Public Employee Press

Roberts and Ensley battle for top post
Delegates nominate candidates for Jan. 27 vote on officer and Executive Board positions as four large “5 percent” locals elect board members.

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts and SSEU Local 371 President Charles Ensley will compete for the union’s top executive position in an election at the Jan. 27 Delegates Council meeting.

On Nov. 25, delegates nominated Ms. Roberts and Mr. Ensley for executive director.

The delegates nominated two slates for the union’s four top officer positions (president, treasurer, secretary and executive director,) and for 20 vice presidential posts on the DC 37 executive board. Ms. Robert’s leads the “Members First Slate” and Mr. Ensley leads the “Unity Slate.” Many delegates indicated their preference for candidates by wearing either a yellow “Members First” T-shirt or a blue “Unity” shirt.

Ms. Roberts and Mr. Ensley are running for a three-year term. Delegates elected Ms. Roberts executive director in February 2002 after AFSCME, DC 37’s parent union, lifted the administratorship it had imposed because of corruption.

Joan Reed, president of College Assistants Local 2054, nominated Ms. Roberts and recalled the years when “DC 37 was the shining star.” She called Ms. Roberts “the person who rose to restore this union to its former glory.”

Eddie Rodriguez, president of Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1549, nominated Mr. Ensley. “Charles Ensley and his Unity Slate are the strong leadership that we need now at District Council 37,” Mr. Rodriguez said.

Officer Candidates
The Members First Slate’s nominees for the other three top spots are Veronica Montgomery-Costa, incumbent DC 37 president and president of Dept. of Education Employees Local 372, for president; Maf Misbah Uddin, president of Accountants, Statisticians and Actuaries Local 1407, for treasurer; and Cliff Koppelman, president of Court, County and Probation Employees Local 1070, for secretary.

The Unity Slate’s other officer nominees are Gloria Acevedo, president of United Federation of Nurses and Epidemiologists Local 436, for president; Mark Rosenthal, incumbent DC 37 Treasurer and president of Motor Vehicle Operators Local 983, for treasurer; and Carolyn Harper, president of Dept. of Education Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1251, for secretary.

At the Nov. 25 meeting, delegates from the five locals that each represent at least 5 percent of DC 37’s membership held elections for their DC 37 vice presidents, who represent them on the Executive Board.

Faye Moore, Local 371 vice president of grievances and legal services; Santos Crespo, Local 372 executive vice president, and Mr. Rodriguez were elected to the board without opposition.

The delegates from Hospital Employees Local 420 elected President Carmen Charles over Executive Vice President Antonia Marte. Civil Service Technical Guild Local 375 must hold a run-off vote Jan. 27 among President Claude Fort, former President Uma Kutwal and 1st Vice President Milton Lovett, because its delegates failed to give any candidate a majority Nov. 25.

Election Committee
As chair of the DC 37 election committee, Local 1549 Executive Vice President Leonora Gates presided over the Nov. 25 nominations and elections, which were monitored by the American Arbitration Association. The election committee members are Deborah Lane, Local 384; Phyllis McLean, Local 957; Joe Puleo, Local 983; and Joe Napolitano, Local 1320.

Delegates nominated 40 candidates for the 20 vice president positions representing the non-5 percent locals (see box).