Public Employee Press

Local 375 celebrates Diwali and Eid

Local 375 celebrated the Muslim holiday of Eid at its October delegates meeting and marked Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, in November.

DC 37 Treasurer Maf Misbah Uddin, who is also president of Accountants, Actuaries and Statisticians Local 1407, was the featured speaker at the October 16 event, where he spoke about the significance of Eid. Eid marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

The local brought in Madan Naik, the deputy vice president of engineering services at New York City Transit, to speak at its Nov. 19 celebration of Diwali. In the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain religions, Diwali symbolizes the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and truth over falsehood.

Hasmukh Modi, vice president of Chapter 36 at CUNY, headed the ­Local 375 Diwali Committee, and Local Secretary Ahmed Shakir chaired the Eid celebration.

“We are proud of the diversity of our local, which celebrates an ethnic group about every month,” said Claude Fort, president of Civil Service Technical Guild Local 375.

On both evenings, Local 375 members and guests enjoyed a meal and musical performances. Appearing at both celebrations were dancer Sultana Khamam, a Local 1549 member, dancer Nowshin Tabassum, and Jeevan Thomas and Jyoti Thomas, a brother and sister dance team.

After discussing Diwali, Naik, a former Local 375 member, recalled that, “The union played an important role in my life.” He said that the unionized Architects and Engineers — Local 375 members—“make the agency look good at the top.”