District Council 37

  • Labor Turns Out For 2025 Mayoral Forum
    From left: DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido, State Senator Jessica Ramos, Rev. Michael Blake, Former Assembly Member Scott Stringer, Former City Comptroller, Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, City Comptroller Brad Lander, and State Senator Zellnor Myrie. With Mayor Eric Adams dropping from the program just hours before, DC 37’s members-only Mayoral Forum kicked off at 6 p.m. sharp on Feb. 26 at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center in lower Manhattan. Adams’s absence proved irrelevant to the nearly 700 union members who packed the crowded theater to hear the declared candidates make their case for becoming New York City’s next mayor. The six candidates engaged in lively and direct responses to members’ questions, which were submitted prior to the event and moderated by Executive Director Henry Garrido. Click HERE to view the recording of DC 37’s Mayoral Forum. — Mar 18
  • A Labor of Love: Restoring the Brooklyn Bridge
    By JUSTINA RAMLAKHAN From left, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, Local 375 member Caroline Pasion, and Kriss Roebling, great-great-grandson of John A. Roebling, the engineer who designed the Brooklyn Bridge. Photo courtesy: Caroline Pasion Once called “America’s Eiffel Tower,” the Brooklyn Bridge, which connects lower Manhattan to downtown Brooklyn, is a famous global landmark. At the time of its completion in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world. It was also briefly the tallest structure in North America. An estimated 120,000 vehicles, 30,000 pedestrians, and 4,000 cyclists use the iconic, 140-year-old bridge each day. Generations of dirt, grime, and pollution distorted the bridge’s towers from their original gray color to the brown shade the bridge is known for. The bridge’s recent restoration by the Department of Transportation featured meticulous cleaning of every individual stone and brick, along with repointing and patching masonry. The project also included the installation of 56 new energy-efficient LED lights to illuminate the bridge’s distinctive towers. The restoration took approximately four years and the cooperation of multiple city agencies. Like any work done on a historic site, the process began with an application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) seeking approval to [...] — Mar 18
  • Personal Engagement is Focus of Union’s Internal Organizing
    By MIKE LEE Barbara Terrelonge, DC 37 Director of Field Operations, leads an activist training. Internal organizing is a permanent effort. As workers leave public service or retire from the workplace, new employees join the ranks with varying degrees of knowledge about, and personal connection to, the labor movement. DC 37 is responding by implementing new tactics to connect with current and prospective members. Through its latest campaign, the union is working to make contact with every current and potential member to educate them about labor history, the benefits of joining the DC 37 family, and the importance of worker solidarity when fighting for better wages and working conditions. Yousuf Zafar Malik signing a DC 37 membership card at a Union Day event held for Local 2627 on Jan. 14. Photo by Riley Timlin. The organizing effort focuses on smaller, unit-specific gatherings and one-on-one meetings. Both formats enable field representatives to spend time with individual members and have in-depth conversations about their needs and concerns as they arise in an ever-changing workplace and political environment. DC 37 Director of Field Operations Barbara Terrelonge and Assistant Director Michele Menduina have overseen internal organizing initiatives for the last several years while the [...] — Mar 18
  • How to Become a Political Activist in the Union
    1. Apply to become a Political Action Volunteer Member Organizer (VMO) VMOs are the building blocks of the Green Machine. With guidance from DC 37’s Political Action department, VMOs participate in member-to-member door-knocking and phone banking. VMO shifts take place throughout May and June on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4-7 p.m. Applicants will be contacted to begin a screening process in March 2025. Members selected for the VMO team will receive a stipend of $22/hour for their volunteer time. Click here and follow the prompts to complete an application. 2. Support the DC 37 PEOPLE Program By joining the PEOPLE Program, DC 37’s political action fund, you can help put leaders in office who will fight for workers’ rights over corporate greed. PEOPLE contributions support Get-Out-the-Vote campaigns, lobbying around member issues, and other important activities that are restricted from using member dues money to conduct. To join the PEOPLE program, click here and commit your support to PEOPLE today. 3. Attend Political Action Committee Meetings Join monthly Political Action Committee meetings to find out more about what’s happening in City Hall and Albany. Meetings usually take place on the Second Thursday of each month [...] — Mar 18
  • On the Frontline of Climate Crises
    By ACACIA RODRIGUEZ DC 37 members are often first in line to prepare for and respond to climate disasters. In recent years, members of Local 1506 New York City Parks Department Climbers and Pruners and Local 1322 New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Supervisory Employees have used their expertise to adapt to the effects of climate change despite experiencing vacancies in their respective departments. Parks on Fire In November 2024, after weeks of rainless skies and a record number of brush fires, Local 1506 members were called to assist the NYC Fire Department (FDNY) in combatting park wildfires worsened by drought conditions. Well-acquainted with smaller fires from hot barbecue charcoal discarded at the base of flammable trees, Local 1506 Vice President Jose Torres had never experienced fires of such scale in more than a decade of service. His team faced a large blaze in Inwood Hill Park alongside firefighters. “FDNY needed experts to assist because they’re unaccustomed to safely dealing with so many large trees,” Torres said. “They tried to put out the fires but trees were still burning inside while wind spread the fire to brush on the ground.” Flames quickly engulfed thirsty trees, often shooting up [...] — Mar 18