Public Employee Press
Strength in Diversity
Focus on Panama
Latino Heritage Month
The well-honed brass and pulsating percussionists of the
International Marching Band of Panamanians in the U.S. strode proudly
into the union hall Sept. 18 to kick off DC 37s 19th annual Latino
Heritage Month celebration.
The DC 37 Latino Heritage Committee honored Panama this year, and the
inaugural event featured traditional Panamanian songs and dances beautifully
performed by the Ballet Folklorico Estrellas de Panama in their flowing
native dresses.
Municipal Hospital Employees Local 420 sponsored the program, where keynote
speaker Dr. Marco Mason of the Panamanian Council of New York discussed
the countrys strategic role in the regions slave trade and
explained the history of Panamas neglected indigenous population.
Social Service Employees Union Local 371 President Faye Moore stressed
the importance of embracing diversity as she welcomed participants to
the locals event on Sept. 25. We are very proud to celebrate
all the cultures and traditions in our local, she said. Moore also
paid tribute to the memory of organizer Paul Simmons, a veteran of the
civil rights movement and a leader in the monthlong 1965 Welfare Dept.
strike, who died Sept. 24.
Building political power
Local 371s keynote speaker for the evening was Brooklyn City Council
member Diana Reyna, who praised the important jobs of the locals
members and particularly thanked the employees of the Administration for
Childrens Services for your hard work and dedication on behalf
of the children of our city.
Locals 372 and 1549 combined their efforts to put on the
months finale celebration Oct. 2, which included encore presentations
by the Estrellas de Panama and the marching band. Speakers included DC
37 Assistant Associate Director Henry Garrido, Local 1549 President Eddie
Rodriguez and Local 372 Executive Vice President Santos Crespo, who chairs
the Latino Heritage Committee. They stressed the importance of building
the unions political strength and urged participants to vote and
volunteer for get-out-the-vote efforts.
Alfredo Alvarado
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