In a fiercely contested election, the members of Municipal Hospital Employees Local 420 voted for Medical Surgical Technician Carmen Charles as their new local president.

DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts swore in Ms. Charles and other members of her slate as leaders of the 7,500-member local on May 14 at DC 37 headquarters.

"My first task will be to rebuild the unity of Local 420," Ms. Charles said at the ceremony in Ms. Roberts' office.

The election ended the 30-year presidency of James Butler, who was known in earlier years for his leadership in the battle against closing and privatizing municipal hospitals.

When Ms. Charles was announced as Local 420's newly elected president at the May 21 DC 37 Delegates Council, she spoke briefly of her vision for the local and made magnanimous remarks about Mr. Butler's "fighting spirit" and distinguished leadership in building the local and DC 37.

Calls for financial review
In addition to reuniting the local's membership after the bitter election battle, Ms. Charles also plans to have the union's financial affairs reviewed with an eye toward reducing members' dues - an issue she raised in her campaign.

In June she announced that she would cut her own pay to half of Mr. Butler's and would also reduce the local's overall payroll for officers' salaries.

An employee of Coler-Goldwater Memorial Hospital for 18 years and the local's vice president for the past three years, Ms. Charles received 580 votes to Mr. Butler's 526 in the Feb. 27 balloting. She lives in Brooklyn with her son and two daughters.

Alleging irregularities in the voting, Mr. Butler refused to concede defeat and filed election protests with AFSCME, DC 37's national union, and Local 420, as the union constitution provides.

In an effort to diminish such disputes, Ms. Roberts is pressing for an amendment to the DC 37 constitution (see below).

After several days of hearings in early May, AFSCME Judicial Panel Chairman John Seferian ruled in favor of Ms. Charles and affirmed the Feb. 27 election results.

Elected with Ms. Charles were Georgianna Neller, secretary treasurer; Terry Moses, recording secretary; and Cynthia Paterson, corresponding secretary.

As PEP went to press, a runoff election was being held for first vice president and vice president, because no candidate received above 50% of the vote for these positions on Feb. 27.

James Butler began his union career as an organizer in 1954 and was elected local president in 1972.
A passionate advocate for the public hospital system and its employees, Mr. Butler fought tirelessly against efforts by former mayors Abe Beame, Ed Koch and Rudolph Giuliani to privatize and close down institutions like Sydenham Hospital in Harlem and Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn.