By GREGORY N. HEIRES

Days after District Council 37's delegates elected new leaders, AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee said he believes the union is in good hands.

Mr. McEntee, head of DC 37's national union, met March 4 with the new officers, Executive Board and local presidents. He said he believes DC 37 is more politically powerful and fiscally healthy than before the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees took control in 1998. Turning toward Lillian Roberts, Mr. McEntee said, "You have elected an executive director with great skills and integrity."

He lifted the administratorship immediately after the Feb. 26 election of Ms. Roberts, President Veronica Montgomery-Costa, Treasurer Mark Rosenthal and Secretary Edward W. Hysyk. Ms. Roberts led DC 37's organizing in the 1960s and '70s as the membership grew from 30,000 to 120,000.

Accompanied by his top aide, Lee Saunders, who served as DC 37 administrator until Feb. 26, Mr. McEntee said DC 37's new safeguards should prevent the corruption that prompted AFSCME to intervene. He noted that 26 DC 37 officials went to prison or paid fines in the investigation of the financial corruption and vote fraud.

Mr. McEntee attributed much of the success of the DC 37 administratorship to an "infrastructure of people" at DC 37 who wanted to free the union from corruption. "With the international staff, you have cleaned up your house," he told the assembled DC 37 leaders.

Anti-union forces used the scandal to thwart AFSCME organizing drives nationwide. But the attacks receded as DC 37 regained its stature as one of the nation's most powerful unions, Mr. McEntee said. AFSCME is now organizing "like never before" and gained 61,000 new members in the last half of 2001.

Institutional reforms, political victories and significant bread-and-butter achievements during the administratorship have revitalized DC 37, he said. The international union also helped DC 37 recoup $2 million through insurance claims for stolen money, and the union is still pressing a demand for $2.5 million taken from Local 1549. The Feb. 26 vote marked DC 37's rebirth as "a union controlled more by its members," Mr. McEntee said.

"Your national union will never let what happened in DC 37 happen again," Mr. McEntee said. "If we seen anything like that, we will back in a blue minute. We will be vigilant and we want you to be vigilant."

Alluding to the city's budget deficit, Mr. McEntee noted that DC 37 faces "hard and difficult times" and called upon the union's leadership to remain strong and united.

"We are fighting against management fat and we expect to do very well in our negotiations," said Ms. Roberts.

"I am from the 1960s, and we believe in the power of the people," Local 371 President Charles Ensley said. "We believe we have returned the power to the members."

"I would like to thank AFSCME for helping the union get back on its feet and helping our 125,000 members get back their union," said DC 37 Treasurer Mark Rosenthal, whose charges in 1998 helped trigger the DA's investigation.