Public Employee Press

Stewards mobilize members

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

DC 37's army of shop stewards played a major role in getting thousands of members to hit the streets for the union's June 14 fightback rally.

They talked up the demonstration at their work sites. They e-mailed and phoned coworkers, urging them to come. They passed out buttons, flyers, stickers and thundersticks. Through Facebook and DC 37 Action Alerts, they kept up with the union's planning for the rally.

And they let their neighbors and families know about how Mayor Bloomberg's harsh budget would hurt the community by closing firehouses, shutting off day care for thousands of children, ending six-day service at many libraries and laying off thousands of teachers, librarians and workers at cultural institutions and the Administration for Children's Services. The budget would do that damage while increasing spending on consultants and contracting out by $600 million.

To prepare for the massive demonstration, hundreds of shop stewards joined DC 37 elected leaders at the union June 1 for a spirited "Countdown to June 14th" pep rally.

The pep rally, coordinated by Program Director Frances M. Curtis and Field Operations Director Barbara Ingram-Edmonds, included skits, videos, songs and speeches that underscored the gravity of the nationwide attack on public employees and their unions.

Participants received stewards' rally kits and heard from Executive Director Lillian Roberts.

"The mayor spends $10 billion a year on 18,000 outside contracts, but now it's catching up with him," Roberts said, referring to the recent arrests of contractors.

"We march because we are right," she said. "And we march because we are big and bad enough to win."

As they called for a big turnout at the upcoming June 14 rally, leaders stressed the important role of the stewards in building the union's fightback against the mayor's threatened layoffs and cuts in civil service protections and pension and health benefits.

"This is a critical time," said DC 37 Associate Director Oliver Gray, pointing to the coordinated nationwide campaign by Republican governors to cripple public employee unions and the local efforts by Bloomberg and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "They want to take away your rights, your benefits and your pay."

"It's time to fight," said DC 37 Treasurer and Local 1407 President Maf Misbah Uddin, who expressed alarm that economic inequality is as bad as before the Great Depression. "That's why we have called you to come out on June 14."

DC 37 Secretary and Local 1070 President Cliff Koppelman said a big turnout June 14 would show the resolve of New York unions to fight any legislation to curb collective bargaining rights.

Associate Director Henry Garrido blasted the Bloomberg administration for moving ahead with service cuts and layoffs that could be avoided if the city collected outstanding revenue.

"We are going to send a strong message that what the mayor is doing is wrong," said DC 37 President and Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez.

The Local 1549 Next Wave Committee, which is mobilizing a new generation of activists, presented a show led by Avery Seawright that included a video about DC 37 activists and a second one that lampooned the mayor and ripped into his conservative policies. Local 371's Denise Jones performed inspiring songs, including one that perfectly expressed the spirit of the stewards at the rally, "Ain't No Stopping Us Now."