HENRY GARRIDO
Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO

As the new Executive Director of District Council 37, I am proud to have the unique opportunity to work with you to help shape the future of our union. In this new year, we must build on our strong foundation and proud tradition. And we must all recognize what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called "the fierce urgency of now."

The mission of our union has always been to promote and protect public services and the hardworking men and women who provide them. But we have also always stood up for all of our city's working families, because the union is not just a provider of services but also an engine of social change.

Our union and our community partners must stand strong as the great hope to level the playing field at a time when wages are stagnating, inequality has returned to where it was in the Great Depression and corporations waste taxpayer money by promoting the privatization of public services.

In Washington, the new Republican majority in Congress is talking about gutting Medicaid and Social Security, while continuing to shield corporations and the richest individuals with tax breaks and subsidies. A highly politicized, right-wing Supreme Court has devalued voting rights and hampered unions.

In state after state after state, extremist governors and state legislatures have made it more difficult for workers to organize and bargain contracts. And here in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio's own efforts to level the playing field have been met by strong resistance from conservative media and business groups.

Back to basics

As we move forward together in 2015, we need to look inward to see how we can strengthen our own institution.

We must hold our elected officials accountable, and the best way to do that is to shore up our political strength.

We plan to redouble our efforts to increase our membership, which has dropped by 12,000 since 2008. We want to strengthen our shop steward network by encouraging more members to become active. A stronger network will help our union have a stronger presence in the workplace to fight management abuses and to enforce our contract.

We need to go back to the basics of unionism to learn about our history and understand better how the union protects our standard of living and our families.

Too many of us take our benefits for granted and think they are gifts of management. In fact, our benefits are the result of the collective action we took as a union to fight for a secure retirement, health care coverage, prescription drugs, tuition assistance, legal assistance, dental and vision care.

Locally, we need to become even more involved in our communities. We typically reach out for support during contract and budget campaigns. And community organizations also turn to us for support. But our alliances must be permanent.

Our union must be an organization dedicated to all workers. We achieve this, for instance, when we fight for public housing, better public services, an increase in the minimum wage, immigration reform and health care for 9/11 workers. Why not push for tuition-free public universities?

We have a big challenge ahead of us. During a time in which unions face political and litigious attacks throughout the country, I urge you to get involved in our efforts to strengthen DC 37. Please join us in our mission of fighting for public services, defending our rights in the workplace and creating a more just society.