Public Employee Press

DC 37 celebrates Italian Heritage Month

By BILL SCHLEICHER

Opening with "Benvenuti," the Italian word for welcome, and moving quickly to an enthusiastic tribute to the first African-American woman to head District Council 37, Executive Director Lillian Roberts, the union's 19th Italian Heritage celebration was a beautiful example of the union's diversity and inclusiveness.

After a year off due to Hurricane Sandy, hundreds of leaders and members of the DC 37 family gathered again Oct. 18 at the Italian Heritage Committee's annual dinner-dance to honor the important contributions of Italian Americans to the United States, its labor movement and DC 37.

"Our strength and idealism have contributed to this country's greatness," said Committee Chair Mike DeMarco, the president of Traffic Employees Local 1455. "Our culture and traditions continue to have an impact on all Americans."

The majority of the vast wave of Italian immigrants who arrived in America in the early 1900s came from Sicily and the agricultural south with traditions of hard work and strong family, cultural and religious values. First taking jobs as laborers, they gained skills and education that let them move into the nation's growing mass production industries, where many played key roles in organizing major U.S. unions. Others landed with experience in Italian cooperatives, mutual benefit societies and socialist politics that made them natural labor activists.

In DC 37, Italian American descendants of those immigrants were prominent among the earliest organizers and led both blue collar and professional locals. Local 1407 President Arthur Tibaldi, a city Accountant, served as DC 37's treasurer during the years of rapid growth that made it New York's largest municipal union, and Laborers Local 924 President Joseph Zurlo became president of DC 37. Fiery orator Joe Tepedino and expert negotiator Alan Viani were jailed in 1965 as leaders of the month-long social service strike that won full collective bargaining rights for city employees.

Honoring Lillian Roberts, who retired Dec. 31, DeMarco said she "gave almost her whole life to the labor movement," in over six decades of fighting for working people.

Starting as a Nurse's Aide in 1948, Roberts organized Chicago hospital locals for DC 37's national union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, brought 15,000 New York City hospital workers into Locals 420 and 1549, built DC 37's education and affordable housing benefits, and served as state labor commissioner.

Beginning in 2002, she brought "that old-time religion," back to DC 37 as she was elected to five terms as executive director.

Presenting Roberts with the committee's top award, DeMarco called her "labor's leading lady."