By LILLIAN ROBERTS
Executive Director
District Council 37, AFSCME

As public employees, we are experienced at using the levers of political power to protect our jobs and benefits and fighting in New York City, Albany and Washington for progressive public policy and leaders who care about working people.

Saving the jobs of 1,500 workers at the Off-Track Betting Corp. is a terrific victory that proves again the value of DC 37’s involvement in state and local politics. Meanwhile, our national union is mounting a powerful drive to fight for the needs of public employees and all working families in the November election. To win back the White House from the most anti-labor, anti-minority, anti-woman administration in history, we need to raise our contributions to the union’s PEOPLE political action fund and volunteer for this campaign in record numbers.

When Mayor Bloomberg moved to close the city’s Off-Track Betting Corp., our members’ jobs were in danger. To me the members come first. We fought back swiftly and aggressively by mobilizing the OTB workers and reaching out to our friends in Albany and the City Council.

Throughout the long and difficult battle to save the jobs, Local 2021 President Leonard Allen did a fantastic job of keeping his members informed and involved. He was a passionate voice for his members in the mainstream media and the Public Employee Press, and many members interviewed by the media did a great job of spreading our message. We publicized OTB’s important $130 million net contribution to the state economy, and we made it clear that we were fighting not only for our own needs but also for the public interest.

As we fought to save the jobs, our friends in government and labor came through for us. Thanks to relationships that we built through years of working together on state policy and budgets, we were able to communicate with Gov. David Paterson, then-Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and forge an agreement for New York State to take over OTB, stop the layoffs and remove a financial burden on the city.

City Comptroller William Thompson Jr., City Council Finance Chair David Weprin, Council members Charles Barron, Bill de Blasio, Robert Jackson and Letitia James and Teamsters Local 858 President Barbara Reda joined us June 11 for a news conference, demanding that OTB remain open. State AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes and New York City Central Labor Council Executive Director Ed Ott provided critical support.

In the state takeover, the 1,508 workers affected — mainly members of Local 2021 — will become employees of a new public benefit corporation, the new Empire State Off-Track Betting Corp. Their pensions and medical benefits, as well as the health-care benefits of more than 1,000 retirees, will be protected.

Obama for America’s working people
Just as saving the OTB jobs shows the importance of union political action, this year’s presidential election presents an enormous challenge to the labor movement. Our parent union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is gearing up for maximum effort to elect Sen. Barack Obama president.

On June 19, the AFSCME Executive Board endorsed Sen. Obama as the Democratic candidate for president, and on June 24 the DC 37 Delegates Council voted unanimously to support him. Obama’s stand on economic, political and social issues shows that he will reverse the disastrous failures of the Bush administration and fight for the needs of our country’s working men and women.

Obama speaks out for the kind of change our members and this whole country need, and his campaign has brought millions of previously alienated voters and young people into the political process. Obama has shown that he cares about jobs, education, affordable housing, quality health care for all, and bringing our troops home from Iraq. And he has earned the support of our members with his commitment to end privatization, provide fiscal relief to state and local governments and fully fund public services and the public employees who provide them.

Working people cannot afford a third term of George Bush, which is what aMcCain administration would bring us, with its promises to continue Bush’s tax cuts for the rich, privatize Social Security and stick with the unpopular war in Iraq.

I am asking DC 37 members to join the giant nationwide mobilization of 40,000 activists that President Gerald W. McEntee promised when he announced ­AFSCME’s endorsement of Obama. Since we all know that winning takes money, I am urging members to join PEOPLE or increase your contributions if you are already a member. You can get involved or join PEOPLE by calling our Political Action Dept. at 212-815-1550.

For the sake of our jobs, our families and our communities, let’s unite around Barack Obama.