Public Employee Press

Teamwork for 2015
Labor, Faith and Community

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

Building a strong partnership among unions, religious groups and the communities of New York City is a "moral imperative" for DC 37 as well as a potential source of strength, DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido told 200 activists Nov. 20 at a meeting of New York AFSCME's Labor, Faith and Community Outreach Program.

Leaders and participants in the program gathered at DC 37 to discuss their goals for the coming year.

"We have to partner with groups and people that share our values and move beyond our narrow interests," said keynote speaker Naomi Walker, special assistant to President Lee A. Saunders of DC 37's parent national union, the 1.6 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Walker pointed to the successful campaign to increase Oregon's minimum wage to $15 an hour, which AFSCME supported, as an example of the outreach and coalition building that needs to happen nationwide.

Alliances of workers with students, clergy and community groups are essential to combating right-wing attacks on the rights and living standards of working people and those most vulnerable and struggling in our midst and building the "beloved community" Dr. Martin Luther King fought for, said Barbara Edmonds, DC 37 director of Field Operations.

Other speakers included Kevin McLaurin, coordinator of the program, Anthony Harmon of the United Federation of Teachers, who leads the city chapter of the NAACP, Maryann Rosa of the Central Labor Council, DC 37 retiree activists Audrey Iszard and Belinda Dixon and Rabbi Michael Feinberg, executive director of the Greater New York Labor Religion Coalition. Feinberg said enlisting new activists and establishing faith centers in each borough are key goals of the local program for 2015.

Public Advocate Letitia James told participants she enthusiastically supports their organizing and coalition–building efforts and will continue fighting for an increase in the minimum wage and fair rent regulations.

Members, retirees and leaders in the Labor, Faith and Community Outreach Program help advance AFSCME priorities with outreach in their houses of worship. The program involves activists from DC 37, the Civil Service Employees Association and District Council 1707 (which are AFSCME units), the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the Labor Committee for Latin American Advancement, the NAACP, many houses of worship and the Labor Religion Coalition.

Mobile markets hit the street

Turning their beliefs into practical efforts last year, volunteers from the program began working with two organizations that help families in need, First Book and City Harvest Mobile Markets. First Book collected and distributed 120,000 free books to city children in 2014, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy. The 42 Mobile Markets provided one-half million pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables last year in low-income communities where they were otherwise unavailable or unaffordable. The activists will be joining more of those efforts in 2015.

DC 37 members who want to help out at the City Harvest Mobile Markets, which are held in all boroughs on Saturdays from 8:45 a.m. to noon, can volunteer for shifts by emailing their name, phone number and borough to laborfaithcomgroup@gmail.com with City Harvest as the subject.

For information on future coalition meetings and training sessions and other opportunities to get involved in making a better New York for all, visit the union website at www.dc37.net.