Public Employee Press

DC 37 Clerical Division Director Ronnie Harris retires

A long, distinguished career fighting for DC 37 members ended Dec. 21 as Clerical Division Director Ronnie Harris retired. At a party on Dec. 14, staff and Local 1549 members spoke of their attachment to Harris, which lasted decades for some. The local's Brett Koch emceed the occasion with levity.

"When people like Ronnie Harris retire, we lose institutional memory," said Local 372 President Santos Crespo Jr.

Echoed by many, Assistant Division Director Dorothy Lorenzo said Harris "always helped me, always taught me."

Local 1549's Loretta Jones called him "the steel fist in the velvet glove. He always fought hard for the members."

Raised on the Lower East Side, Harris was the son of an immigrant cap maker. He went to work in the old Welfare Dept. straight out of high school to help support his widowed mother.

In an interview with PEP, he said his feelings about leaving DC 37 were "bittersweet" and acknowledged his indebtedness to former DC 37 leaders Jerry Wurf and Victor Gotbaum. He recalled the major transition he was part of as clerical workers, once spread out in various locals, "realized that we needed our own clerical local and built Local 1549."

Harris said he appreciated the support of his staff - "a wonderful team who contributed to my success as a director" - and the union leadership, especially Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez.

At the retirement party, DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts wished Harris well and thanked his wife Sylvia for supporting his commitment to the union.

"It seems like yesterday when I was recruited to work for DC 37. It was the luckiest break of my life. All we can ask of life is to have the opportunity," Harris said. "Now I'm on to a new part of my life - to spend more time with my wife and family, and I will be eternally grateful for DC 37."