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

Too often, we take our benefits for granted. Our prescription drug coverage, health insurance plans and pensions aren't gifts from management. We earned these benefits by joining together and committing to the hard work of building a union.

It was the power of collective action that earned the respect of elected officials and built the bargaining table that made possible better working conditions, fair wages and benefits that help working families. At the same time, we fought for the public services that make the city a better place for all who live and work here.

And today, decades since the first collective bargaining agreements between the City of New York and its workforce, the struggle continues and we must come together as never before.

With the economy tilted so heavily in favor of the wealthiest New Yorkers, it will be the power of the union (in coalition with our community partners) that will help level the playing field.

Public employee unions are so important now because in the private sector, many companies have hurt working families by:
• eliminating employee pensions;
• shifting medical costs to employees;
• threatening job security.

This did not happen by accident.

It happened because, in too many places, private sector workers lost their voice as anti-union policies thinned the ranks of organized labor. Unions now represent only 6 percent of the private sector workforce. By contrast, more than 30 percent of public service workers belong to a union.

So now, there is a big target on our back. Across the country, extremist governors such as Wisconsin's Scott Walker and conservative legislators are undercutting the power of public-sector unions by restricting or eliminating collective bargaining rights. And just as importantly, a case before the U.S. Supreme Court could cripple unions financially by throwing out the "fair share" practice, which allows unions to collect dues to cover the cost of services.

The magnitude of the crisis demands we become more aggressive and deepen our commitment to social unionism, fighting not only for ourselves but for all workers and the communities we serve.

That is why, for instance, we are:

• working with a coalition that has launched a campaign for $65 million for six-day service, hundreds of new workers and improved services in the city's three public library systems - and more than $1 billion for capital projects;
• launching a campaign for a living wage for the thousands of DC 37 members who earn less than $15 an hour;
• pushing for pay equity for women. Decades after the women's movement raised the issue of equality, women continue to earn less than men. In the public sector, women earn 89 cents for each dollar earned by men;
• supporting free tuition at the City University of New York. CUNY used to have free tuition until the fiscal crisis of the 1970s.

The city could make higher education more accessible and affordable by eliminating a tax break that banks and financial institutions receive for promising to support a specific number of jobs - a promise often unfulfilled. That alone would pay for free tuition.

In recent years, this union has waged a campaign against outsourcing, helping blow the whistle on the CityTime project in which corrupt consultants stole hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars. We helped expose the botched 911 project at the Police Dept. We are continuing to press the city to end contracts and keep work in-house.

As we roll out these initiatives, I urge you to join the fight. It's not just a fight to protect our jobs and families. It's also a fight to improve the lives of all New Yorkers.