Public Employee Press

DC 37 mourns Arthur Tibaldi

Arthur Tibaldi, the long-time DC 37 treasurer whose tenure coincided with the union's dramatic growth in membership and services, passed away March 4. He was 86.

"We have lost one of the pioneers of our union," DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts said. "As treasurer, Arthur was responsible for our financial health as we evolved into the leading municipal union in the country with a multi-million dollar budget and some of the best, richest benefits in the labor movement."

Tibaldi was an Assistant Accountant in the Comptroller's Office when he was elected president of Accountants, Statisticians and Actuaries Local 1407. He served in that position for over three decades. Former DC 37 Executive Director Victor Gotbaum tapped him for the DC 37 treasurer's post in 1967.

"Arthur was a great labor leader, a man with a vision," said Maf Misbah Uddin, Local 1407 president and DC 37 treasurer.

Uddin praised Tibaldi for his track record at Local 1407. Membership rose from 400 to 3,000 during his leadership and salaries increased tenfold. As treasurer of DC 37, one of his proudest achievements was purchasing the union's building at 125 Barclay St.

Tibaldi was 12 years old and didn't speak English when he arrived in the United States from Italy. He served in World War II, studied accounting and went to work in the Comptroller's office in 1952.

He became a union activist right away, and he devoted himself to building Local 1407. Organizing was a big challenge when many employees "felt a professional person doesn't join a union," Tibaldi said, "but so long as new generations build on the successes of the past, this great union will thrive."