PEP January 2008: Editorial, Lillian Roberts: We can win in 2008 with hope and hard work


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Public Employee Press

We can win in 2008 with hope and hard work

By LILLIAN ROBERTS
Executive Director
District Council 37, AFSCME

The baby on the cover of this PEP — Jayden Echevarria, the son of DC 37 member Nicole Spain — stands for children everywhere as a symbol of hope for the New Year. For young Jayden, I hope and pray — as we all do for the next generation — for a wonderful future, a fair share of the American Dream, a good education and good health in a better world of peace and love.

Remember, sisters and brothers, everything good starts with tiny steps.

As 2007 ended, many local presidents showed how deeply they care about the less fortunate among our membership by participating in the Holiday Giving program. I want to thank them and to give special thanks to those who gave up precious December afternoons to collect a mountain of toys and presents for the needy children of our DC 37 family — Local 1320 President Jim Tucciarelli, Local 1455 President Michael DeMarco, Local 2021 President Lenny Allen and Local 1070 President Cliff Koppelman.

I also want to express my appreciation for the dedicated, hard-working union staff who have helped me turn DC 37 into a thriving union again. They have put us on a path to greatness.

We have been working hard with intelligence and careful planning. As we built an education program second to none in the labor movement, we built in flexibility and a wide range of programs. Last year, as the city began giving more civil service exams to eliminate provisionals, we were ready. Now we are prepping thousands of members to pass the tests and advance in their careers.

Our affordable housing program has already put 1,500 members on the path to homeownership. When foreclosures caused by the sub-prime mortgage crisis threatened the homes of millions of working families nationwide, DC 37 was ready. Our Municipal Employees Housing Program sprang into action to save members’ homes (see page 7).

As 2008 opens, our top goals include winning a new contract with substantial pay increases, lifting the outmoded residency restrictions that lock 45,000 members into an overpriced real estate market, and taking back the White House from the current gang of anti-worker, anti-women, and anti-minority right-wingers by electing Hillary Clinton president of the United States.

Our contract negotiations got off to a fast start, and I am pressing for intense bargaining in January. I will start 2008 by reaching out to Mayor Michael Bloomberg to resolve any differences that may be in the path of a new economic agreement. He has always listened to reasonable union proposals, so I am optimistic that for the first time in decades we can settle before the current pact expires and get our raises on time without a long wait for retroactive payments.
In the last few months of 2007, we made great progress in our drive to enact the bill that would let our members live outside the city. We have stressed fairness, pointing out that 240,000 city employees already enjoy this right. Our rallies and grassroots lobbying (see page 3) have convinced a majority of the City Council to co-sponsor the legislation to lift the residency restriction. I am very hopeful that January will bring us a vote and a victory.

Taking back the White House starts now

The conservative crew in the White House has handed vast wealth to the already wealthy, shrunk the purchasing power of working people and expanded the war, which drains funds from public services and jobs. It’s time for a new era of economic justice and universal health care, and Hillary Clinton is the candidate who can fix the economy, bring tax relief to the working and middle classes, and bringing the troops and the money home from Iraq.

Our union has overwhelmingly endorsed Hillary. I have worked closely with her on issues such as providing health care for the heroes of 9/11, and I believe she is the best in a field of excellent candidates. I urge members to vote for her and our union delegate candidates in the Feb. 5 state primary and to volunteer to help her win by calling our Political Action Department at 212-815-1550.

We need big changes in 2008, but we know that change doesn’t happen just because we wish for it. I am confident that if we work hard and stick together, we can make these hopes into realities before 2009.