By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

DC 37 and more than 600 Green Machine volunteers celebrated Election Day 2002 victories at a Dec. 6 holiday party at union headquarters.

“You’ve accomplished a remarkable feat,” said State Assembly member Brian McLaughlin, who is also head of New York City’s Central Labor Council. “DC 37 put an army of volunteers on the streets Election Day. And while the Democrats on a national level took it on the chin, DC 37 did not let that happen here.”

Political Action Committee Chair Leonard Allen, who hosted the event, and DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts beamed with pride over the union’s political accomplishments.

DC 37 members provide essential services that help New York City run smoothly. And hundreds of union members balance jobs, families, and civic pride as volunteers for DC 37’s Political Action team.

On Nov. 5 more than 1,100 volunteers, a record number, hit the streets to get the vote out in neighborhoods throughout the city. Their hard work paid off as 102 of 108 union-endorsed candidates won political office for 2003.

Queens Assembly members Michelle Titus and Brian McLaughlin, Brooklyn State Senators-elect Martin Malave Dilan and Kevin Parker, City Council member Eric Dilan and Senator Vincent Gentile, who will run for City Council in a special election in February, were a few of the local politicians who dropped in to thank DC 37 members for making the difference.

This year the Political Action Dept. honored 23 volunteers for their years of dedicated service and commitment to the union’s political agenda.

The Political Action Dept. also announced its plans for a new group of political mobilizers, union members appointed by local presidents to bring a greater union presence and more members to union rallies and demonstrations.

Executive Director Lillian Roberts told members to be ready for a “massive demonstration in February for the world to see and hear what we have to say. Our presence and activity on Election Day sent a powerful message,” she said. “We worked so hard to see that the right people get into office. DC 37 won the city. We can effect a powerful change in New York City politics.”

“DC 37 is an inspiration for other unions all over the city,” said Edward Ott, the Central Labor Council’s public policy director and keynote speaker for the night. Despite an unfair press that ignored New York’s economic and political problems, he said, “working people got the truth.”

“We saw more involvement in this election than in the last 20 years — in large part because DC 37 members came out in force,” Mr. Ott added.