BY DIANE S. WILLIAMS

Protests paid off for more than 3,500 welfare recipients who will be hired in two six-month cycles as unionized City Seasonal Aides in a Parks Dept. Jobs Opportunity Program beginning in May.

Rallied by District Council 37, welfare reform advocates and Mark Rosenthal, DC 37 treasurer and president of Motor Vehicle Operators Local 983, the POP workers learned you can fight City Hall - and win.

"This is DC 37's first major public victory under new Executive Director Lillian Roberts. It is a tremendous gain for our members and poor people in this city," Mr. Rosenthal said. "Mayor Mike got our message. He showed compassion and he is wisely using federal dollars to stop the exploitation of poor people and minorities by creating real city jobs to help maintain our parks."

Six months ago, the POP program was all but dead when the former administration cut an 11th-hour deal with Florida-based Tempforce agency to administer its welfare-to-work program. Tempforce slashed the $9.38 an hour union jobs to $7.95 an hour temporary positions - without benefits or protections.

The program ended as the city nearly buckled under a recession and the onerous aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack that wiped out 100,000 jobs. At the same time another 80,000 welfare recipients, many of them single mothers with children, reached the end of their five-year lifetime eligibility limit.

In a battle many saw as unlikely to be won, DC 37 and advocacy groups fought for social justice with demonstrations at City Hall and meetings with city and state legislators. They convinced Mayor Mike Bloomberg to snatch back the Tempforce contract and instead use the federal welfare-to-work dollars to fund transitional jobs and training.

"We think the mayor should create transitional jobs in other agencies and other titles," said Ms. Roberts. She sent a video on the issue to the entire City Council and other political leaders, and she involved U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton in the union's struggle for fair federal welfare reform.

For now, thousands of POP participants will be able to support their families on a salaried POP job - instead of a handout. Many said previously they were stuck in a revolving door of WEP assignments and temporary jobs that provided no real training, work experience or skills transferable to full-time employment.

"I've been on public assistance all my life," said newly hired CSA Petra Sulsona. "Now I'm doing something positive with my life."