Public Employee Press


60 years fighting for professionals
Local 1407 celebrates anniversary

By GREGORY N. HEIRES



More than 400 union members and guests attended a gala March 24 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Local 1407, a pioneer in organized labor's effort to unionize professional workers.

Accountants, Statisticians and Actuaries Local 1407 was founded in 1951, a decade before the major wave of public employee organizing swept the nation.

The local marked its anniversary with the theme, "Celebrating Our Past, Shaping Our Future."

The evening provided an opportunity to celebrate the local's continued growth; its membership has increased from 2,179 to 2,370 since Maf Misbah Uddin became president in 2000. Speaker after speaker at the event also underscored the depth of the current ­assault on labor, appealing to activists to stand up to the conservative tsunami engulfing the nation.

"We all know how much dedication and sacrifice it took over the last 60 years," said Uddin, who is also DC 37's treasurer. Union members need to continue that powerful commitment in light of the effort by conservative governors and legislators to repeal the collective bargaining rights of public employees throughout the country, he said.

Zachary Ramsey, assistant to the secretary-treasurer of ­DC?37's parent union, the American Federation of State, County and ­Municipal Employees, said 39 states have enacted or are considering legislation to curtail collective bargaining rights.

A moral struggle

"This is not a fight about deficits," said Ramsey, disputing the Republican mantra that their drive to restrict collective bargaining is an effort to control budgets. In fact, some of the states facing particularly dire financial troubles prohibit collective bargaining by public employees.

"This is about your future," Ramsey said. "In truth, it's a moral issue. It's about what's right and wrong."

Other speakers and guests included Congress members Anthony Weiner and Yvette Clarke, New York City Comptroller John Liu, City Council members James Sanders Jr. and Mathieu Eugene, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, New York State Sen. Tony Avella and New York State Appellate Division Judge Sylvia G. Ash. Local 1407's Jed Matalon and Trustee Verena Richards served as ­co-chairs of the anniversary committee, which Uddin chaired.

"You have made this union what it is," said DC 37 Executive ­Director Lillian Roberts. "We are going to be doing a lot of marching, a lot of fighting. But we are going to get there and we are going to win."

In recognition of the anniversary, Local 1407 received proclamations from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, DiNapoli, State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, and State Sens. Tony Avella and Diane Savino as well as Liu, Clarke, Weiner and Sanders. Sanders also signed a joint proclamation with Eugene and City Council members Robert Jackson, Ruben Wills, Letitia James, Darlene Mealy and Vincent Gentile.