Public Employee Press

Ronnie Harris, clerical union builder and division chief

Former DC 37 Clerical Division Director Ronnie Harris died in January, losing his battle with leukemia. He retired in December 2011 after a long and important career at DC 37, fighting to establish Clerical-Administrative employees Local 1549 and protecting members' rights.

"Ronnie was dedicated to the labor movement and understood it well. He could always be counted on to get the job done, no matter how difficult," said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts.

"Ronnie and I go back over 30 years," said Local 1549 and DC 37 President Eddie Rodriguez. "He cared about members. He was a friend and he taught me to be a leader. When I did something wrong, Ronnie would correct me and show me how it's done."

Harris was born to immigrant parents, raised on Manhattan's Lower East Side and started work in the old Welfare Dept. straight out of high school to support his widowed mother. Working closely with former DC 37 leaders Jerry Wurf and Victor Gotbaum, Harris helped clerical workers build their own local and helped expand it to over 15,000 members.

"Ronnie was a skillful manager, a strong trade unionist and a real jewel of a person," said Clerical-Administrative Division Director Renee Gainer. "On his sickbed, he told everyone, 'I love you and thank you for being my family.' As sick as he was, he always appreciated and loved his DC 37 family."

At his retirement party, Harris thanked his wife, Sylvia, for supporting his commitment to the union. "It seems like yesterday when I was recruited to work for DC 37," he said. "It was the luckiest break of my life. I will be eternally grateful for DC 37."

Local 1549 plans to establish a scholarship in Harris's name, said Rodriguez, "so he is never forgotten. He gave his sweat and tears to this union. He loved his work."