Public Employee Press

Training scheduled for DC 37 delegates

Executive Director Lillian Roberts announced that training sessions would be held Sept. 24 and Oct. 8 for members of the DC 37 Delegates Council. Classes will be at union headquarters, 125 Barclay St., from 6 to 8 p.m.

“I believe this training program will empower the delegates and improve the functioning of the Delegates Council, which is the highest governing body of DC 37,” she said. Ms. Roberts pointed out that the union offers classes for local presidents, local treasurers and other officers, as well as for shop stewards. “It’s time we do something for the delegates, to help them know their rights and understand how the delegate body can best function,” she said.

The need for the training program was determined through a survey conducted at the June delegates meeting by the new Committee for Delegate Empowerment Through Education. Morris Johnson, an executive board member of Local 154, wrote to Ms. Roberts to share the results of the survey. The study indicated that 97 percent of the respondents want education on the role of delegates. The committee is now meeting with the leadership of the DC 37 Education Fund to provide input into the training program.

Enthusiastic participation
Mr. Johnson and committee members Marilyn Charles, a grievance rep and Local 1549 member, and Sheryl Williams, vice president of Local 1113, have been working closely on the project with DC 37 Education Fund Administrator Barbara Kairson and Associate General Counsel Eddie Demmings.

The committee meetings “have been very productive,” said Ms. Kairson. “The members are enthusiastic about the training.” Mr. Demmings, an attorney, will conduct the training on the structure, constitution, voting procedures and special rules of the Delegates Council.

The classes will also cover parliamentary procedure, how the representation of locals is determined, the structure of AFSCME, DC 37’s international union, the relationship between AFSCME and DC 37 and between DC 37 and the 56 local unions.

Ms. Charles, who has been a delegate for two years, said her own experience shows the need for the training classes. “As a new delegate, nobody told me anything beyond what I observed and read in the DC 37 Constitution,” Ms. Charles said. “It is important for all the delegates to understand that we do not represent ourselves. We represent the members who elected us. I believe the delegates need training in their roles and responsibilities.”