Public Employee Press

Cliff Koppelman retires from the front lines

By JOE LOPEZ

After 46 years on the front lines of the labor movement, DC 37 Secretary Cliff Koppelman is retiring at the end of 2015.

"Looking back you say it's been a long journey, but it didn't feel very long," Koppelman said of his nearly five-decade career. The East Flatbush, Brooklyn, native began working as a Criminal Court Reporter in 1969 after returning home from overseas duty translating Morse Code in the U.S. Air Force. He credits that job with teaching him how to listen and raising his interest in court reporting.

Almost instantly, Koppelman became an active member of Court, County and Dept. of Probation Employees Local 1070, attending meetings and being elected to chapter chair in 1970. Koppelman went on to serve as president of the local from 1996 to 2014. He has been on the DC 37 Executive Board since 1998 and served as DC 37 secretary since 2002.

Members faced many struggles over the years, including threatened layoffs due to budget cuts and attempts to use new technology to replace workers.

"There is a mindset that machines can do the job better than a human," Koppelman said, reflecting on attempts to bring in recording devices to take over for Court Reporters. In 1970, a committee of Court Reporters from various unions came together to compete against these gadgets and see if these machines could do the job better. The results proved the devices failed to surpass the skills of the workers.

Koppelman believes all members should find their own way to be active in the union.

"If you're a working person at any level, the best protection you have is the union," Koppelman said. He points out that being active doesn't necessarily mean being an officer in your local - day to day you can talk to coworkers to keep up with what is going on at the job, or you can be politically active in your own community.

"Just like running an army, you have your generals and you have your troops. The members are our troops," Koppelman said.

Sharing knowledge and history is important to Koppelman. "I have a great respect for the people who came before me," Koppelman said. He speaks highly of former Local 1070 presidents Mike Gentile and Paul Shelkin. "They worked with you and always let you know what they were doing," he said.

Now at the end of the road, Koppelman looks back with pride. "My time in the union was just like a good trip," he said.