Public Employee Press

After Sandy
Bringing the union to members

By GREGORY N. HEIRES and ALFREDO ALVARADO

The union - displaced from its headquarters by Hurricane Sandy's damage - has stepped up its workplace visits, especially in areas where members were hit hardest by the superstorm.

DC 37 teams have been holding meetings at work sites and in storm-ravaged neighborhoods to keep members up to date on union news and services and hear their concerns.

"We have felt the need to increase our outreach because we are decentralized and scattered in offices around the city," said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts, who recently met with members on Staten Island.

"At these meetings we focus on the role of the union in providing the services, benefits and representation that are so important to members," said Field Operations Director Barbara Edmonds. "We also stress the importance of being involved in their locals, communities and faith institutions."

Since Sandy, as DC 37 confronts the challenge of decentralization, the union has been addressing the difficulty members have had communicating with leaders and staff about their concerns. Benefits and services have been less efficient since Sandy destroyed the phone system and crippled computer operations at headquarters.

DC 37 Professional Division Director Nola R. Brooker led a union team that met with members of several locals Jan. 25 at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn. The team held three hour-long sessions, informing workers on all shifts about union activities and benefits, and meeting with them individually.

Brooker described the estimated $10 million in damage at the union building in lower Manhattan and explained how the union is responding to the challenge of working outside its headquarters, which will likely be closed until the summer.

"We are bringing the union to you," Brooker said. "DC 37 is now keeping in touch with the membership from 18 locations around the city."

Reaching out to members

Health Services Employees Local 768 President Fitz Reid participated in the Kings County meeting, urging members to monitor their workplace very closely. He said the Bloomberg administration and the Health and Hospitals Corp. are intensifying their anti-labor practices because they believe the closing of the headquarters site has put the union on the defensive. "Our job is to prove them wrong," he said.

On Jan. 29, Roberts and union staff as well as representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency held a meeting at New Dorp High School on Staten Island to reach out to members affected by Hurricane Sandy.

"We're here because we care about you," said Roberts. "Hopefully we'll be stronger because of what we've been through."

Roberts praised the members in attendance, most of them School Aides, for their dedication and hard work during the storm. "You are a great example of how public servants respond during a crisis," she said.

Patty Punch informed the members that the DC 37 Education Fund is again processing tuition reimbursement checks, although the current manual process is slower than before Sandy. "Right now prescriptions, dental and medical are a priority," she said.

Lisa Riccio, of the Research and Negotiations Dept., reported on the mass grievance filed for workers forced to take annual leave because they couldn't get to work during Hurricane Sandy. She also met members to learn about cases where their pay was docked because of the city's storm policy.

Leo Morris, from the union's Political Action Dept., advised the members to keep the pressure on their elected officials to make sure that relief funds reach their neighborhoods. "Your involvement is key," Morris said.

Members said they enjoyed the opportunity to be updated on union business, learn about benefits and report workplace problems.

Dental Assistant Marco Martinez, a Local 768 member at Kings County Hospital, said he appreciated learning about the union's legal services, which he said he hoped to use for his divorce.

"I was very happy to hear about the college prep classes," said Local 371 member Rose Clark, a Peer Counselor at the hospital.

Reports at both locations covered contract negotiations and Education Fund, Health and Security Plan and legal benefits.