Public Employee Press


DC 37/AFSCME STRONG: ENGAGE & EDUCATE
Organizers reach out to Urban Park Rangers

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

Union activists and organizers were busy last year taking the union message to members at work sites all over the city.

This year, they are just as busy as the outreach effort continues citywide.

The Organizing Dept. has been reaching out to members to form Member Action Teams, which will serve as the union's voice at workplaces. On Feb. 11, the department held its first MAT conference for 100 activists at union headquarters.

Organizers reached out to Urban Park Rangers and the Associate Urban Park Rangers, who are represented by Local 983. A large percentage of the UPRs have been working for the city less than two years and are unfamiliar with their rights as union members and the benefits they are entitled to.

Organizers joined Local 983 President Joe Puleo to visit parks all over the city - including Central Park and the High Line in Manhattan, Brooklyn's Prospect Park and Flushing Meadows Park in Queens - to spread the union message.

At these meetings, Puleo shared the local's history, including its successful campaign to negotiate better starting salaries and benefits. The team also collected union cards at the meetings.

"We've worked very hard to improve our benefits and improve the starting salary so we can retain these workers," explained Puleo. Retaining young workers is a challenge for the local, added Puleo.

Candidates for UPRs must complete a 12-week training period at Randall's Island at the Parks PEP Command facility. Once their training is completed, they have Peace Officer status, which means they can write citations and summonses and make arrests.

"They really care about their members"

Puleo, the Vice President Thomas Testa and Treasurer Marlene Giga, who are PEP Officers and grievance reps, visited dozens of parks around the city and met with members.

"They really care about their members," said Organizer Julian de Jesus, who has more visits scheduled for the spring. "The local understands the job, the urgency of the issues and what's at stake, and everyone is on the same page."

In addition to bringing the union message to the parks, the Organizing Dept. will continue their series of activist training sessions.

"These training sessions are part of our effort to strengthen the union from the grassroots," said Barbara Terrelonge, director of the DC 37 Organizing Dept.

"Our goal is to develop a membership that is more engaged and will be stronger so we're ready when we have a contract fight or a political campaign, especially now with all of these cuts to the budget coming from the Trump administration in Washington."

Two-part training sessions will be held on April 4 and 18 and June 7 and 21 at 5:30 p.m. at DC 37 headquarters.

Activists must attend both parts of the session. To register, call the Organizing Dept. at 212- 815-1095 or send an email to organizing@dc37.net.

Last year, the DC 37 Organizing Dept. held a series of lunch-time meetings at campuses of the City University of New York to build a group of activists that fought for and won a new contract.

Organizers also reached out to 18,000 members at NYC Health+Hospitals to mobilize support for a bill that addressed the inequity in the funding formula for the city's cash-strapped hospitals.