Public Employee Press

New clerical division director Renee Gainer

New Clerical Division Director Renee Gainer was promoted to the position Feb. 13, replacing Ronnie Harris, who retired in January. Gainer brings over 35 years of experience with the union to her new job.

"I got active in the union as a shop steward at Woodhull Hospital, and I have worked my way up the ladder," she said. She has been chief steward, 1st vice chair of the local's Health and Hospitals Corp. chapter, a grievance rep, and a council rep and in 2002, she became the assistant director of the division.

"In 1977, when I went to work for the city, I never thought that I would be in a leadership role," she said. Having worked for many years to build the ranks of union activists and develop leadership, Gainer knows that shop stewards assume their positions with a bit of anxiety and fear - but she said the job educates them and they toughen up as they face each new challenge.

She is grateful to the mentors and family members who have supported her along the way. "I want to thank Lillian Roberts and Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez," she said. Also high on her list of people to thank are former Grievance Rep Anna Massey, Gainer's mentor at Woodhull Hospital, her son, Savian Gainer, and her mother. "As a single parent, I could never have done this job without their support," she said.