By LILLIAN ROBERTS
Executive Director
District Council 37, AFSCME

My overriding goal as Executive Director of District Council 37 is to make our members’ lives better every year. We can make the New Year a great year for our membership if every one of us — officers, Executive Board members, local leaders and staff — hits the ground running in 2006. We need to be clear about our goals and work in unity to bring them to fruition.

In 2005, we maximized members’ gains by reaching an agreement with the mayor under our contract to make an additional 1 percent raise a reality for over 100,000 working women and men in our union. And we ended the year looking ahead by opening negotiations for a new economic agreement.

My number one priority for 2006 is concluding the new contract as early in the year as we can, with a livable pay increase for every member and funds to protect our drug, dental, optical, legal, educational and other benefits in this era of soaring costs. We have presented our demands, and in January we expect the city negotiators to come back to the table with their proposals, so we can begin the give-and-take of bargaining and advance toward an agreement.

DC 37’s concerns have always been broader than dollars and cents. Last year we made a lot of progress in other areas, and in 2006 I believe we can go even further toward helping members realize their dreams and aspirations.

I discussed our members’ housing needs with the mayor early in 2005 and reached a preliminary agreement with the Housing Preservation and Development Dept. in May. On Aug. 1, our new affordable housing program opened its doors, and in November the first union family took title to their house through our Municipal Employees Housing Program.

As the New Year dawns, many more union families are approaching that milestone, and I am aiming to expand the program into new areas. We are exploring the possibility of helping some members who may need it by using federal Section 8 vouchers. I am also looking into helping many members, especially seniors, to afford needed home repairs or renovations through grants or low-interest loans.
Last year we expanded our scholarship program for members’ children and grandchildren and saved the coverage of the PICA drug program (psychotropic, injectable, chemotherapy and asthma) when the city threatened to end it.

I want to make 2006 the year of day care for our members — the year we work closely with the city to set up programs in every borough to lighten the weight of child care for thousands of city employees.
In 2005, we stood by participants in the Job Training Program, provided them with grievance reps, and negotiated an increase in their pay from $7.50 to $8 an hour while they are in the six-month program. It will be a tough challenge to protect our civil service system as we identify the right job vacancies and move the JTPs into permanent jobs that pay considerably more.

2006: a year of political action
This will be an intense political year, as we consider the candidates and make our endorsements for governor, a U.S. senator and all our congressional representatives. I believe it is vital to involve more members in the political process, because many elections will be decided by the activists in the field and at the phone banks.

These are my goals for 2006, but I cannot achieve them alone. To get a good contract and make gains in other areas, we need to keep the ties among us stronger than any opponents. Strong support for our union leadership will be a vital necessity as we press for progress.

As we closed out 2005, we celebrated the long, hard, dedicated service of the hundreds of DC 37 staffers who attained 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and even 35 years on staff. Their work is part of all our victories for the members of DC 37, and I want them to feel the same satisfaction I do when we create a new program and win a new contract for our members. They are an important part of our union family, and I want to thank them for their dedication and loyalty in years past and the even better years to come.

In closing, I want to wish our officers, Executive Board, Delegates Council and every member a healthy and successful New Year. If we stick together, 2006 will be a year of many gains for the members of DC 37.