By GREGORY N. HEIRES

A mighty force of nearly 1,000 stewards and political activists turned out at DC 37 on March 13 to gear up to win a new contract.

“With the crisis in the city and money being drained away on the war effort, it is very important that we all act together,” said Local 2627 member Frank Robinson.

Elected a shop steward only two days earlier in the Finance Dept., he said he was eager to get involved in the contract fight. “There is going to be a crisis like we have never seen before, and we have to be united to defend public services and the workers who provide the services,” Mr. Robinson said. Stewards and activists at the gathering expressed their indignation that public employees are being asked to shoulder an unfair share of the pain in the city budget crisis.

As homeowners and renters, DC 37 members are feeling the impact of the recent 18.5 percent property tax hike, and they will soon be paying $2 to ride the subways, up from $1.50. Yet the Bloomberg administration is threatening to carry out massive layoffs as it seeks $600 million in benefit givebacks from municipal unions.

“We are the working poor,” said Local 1549 member Elizabeth Thompson, a shop steward at North Central Bronx Hospital. “We work hard for our wages and pay our taxes. The rich need to be taxed more.” “It’s important to stop the city from exacting 1 cent from this union. We worked for our benefits,” said Human Rights Specialist Tom Trottier, a Local 154 shop steward.

The March 13 rally was a joint meeting of the DC 37 Political Action Committee and the Stewards Mobilization Action Committee. Union leaders briefed the participants about DC 37’s legislative and budget priorities and the contract campaign. The meeting was an important step toward turning out a lot of members April 29 at City Hall to fight layoffs and demand a reasonable new contract.

Wanda Williams, director of the DC 37 Political Action and Legislation Dept., outlined the union’s lobbying efforts on legislative and budget matters and called for “the biggest show we ever have had” on April 29. “Are there going to be any givebacks?” asked DC 37 Treasurer and Local 983 President Mark Rosenthal, eliciting a loud “No!” from the enthusiastic audience.

José La Luz, founding director of AFSCME DC 95 in Puerto Rico, gave a rousing speech. “Sisters and brothers, what is at stake here is the right to have a union,” Mr. La Luz said. “We are prepared to fight. We are not going to allow Bloomberg, we are not going to allow Pataki and we are not going to allow Bush to take away our freedom.”

“April 29 is the time to stand shoulder-to-shoulder and let the mayor know we need a raise,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. “This is not a time to be divided. Stay together and stay fired up, because we have a fight ahead of us.”

Veronica Montgomery-Costa, DC 37 president and Local 372 president, led the stewards and political activists in a pledge to devote their energy to the contract mobilization and to stir up interest among their co-workers. Field Services Director Barbara Ingram-Edmonds and Program Director Frances M. Curtis, who are coordinating the contract mobilization, chaired the meeting.

Associate Director Oliver Gray and Rep Henry Garrido described the union’s effort to expose the millions of dollars of waste in taxpayers’ money that results from contracting out. As the meeting wrapped up and members prepared to go home, Mr. Roberts urged them to “take the message back” to their workplace.