February 2022
[The Public]
[The Public] is Local 768’s new monthly bulletin compiled by members of Local 768. By giving updates on union developments and events between membership meetings, we hope to help inform members and encourage involvement in our union’s democracy.
DC 37 EB | Happenings | Action Board | Today in Labor
President de Leon one of three new VP’s on Council leadership
In DC 37’s triennial Council leadership elections ending on January 25, Local 768 President Carmen de Leon won a seat as Vice-President on the Executive Board of DC 37. Except for when the Delegate body is in session, DC 37’s Executive Board is the highest governing body of the union. As a candidate on the Members-First slate, President de Leon ran with twenty-eight others to serve the 2022-2024 term, all of whom won their seats.
Nearly all twenty-nine leadership seats were uncontested and therefore these candidates won “by acclamation.” Three seats were contested as a result of the retirements of previous officeholders. To inform members of how this particular body functions, its purpose, and how its members are chosen, here is a brief explanation of the Executive Board of DC 37 as laid out in our DC 37 constitution.
Find the whole article in Local 768’s reintroduced quarterly print newsletter, coming March 2022. Stay tuned…
ABC7 spotlights Local 768 Inspectors at DCWP
NYC’s ‘Gas Police’ ensure consumers are getting what they paid for at the pump.
The NYC department of Consumer and Worker Protection randomly checks all 6,303 pumps at roughly 700 gas vendors each year.
"The meter of the pumps can be off, and we check for the accuracy of that, and if it is found out of tolerance, we have it condemned," said Armando Sosa with the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
Run to represent your local Community Board!
Are you a union member, residing in NYC, looking to get more involved in your community? Applications are open through March 4 for NYC Community Boards, the most grassroots level of city government.
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Find out more here through the NYC CLC's Community Board Initiative |
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Manhattan REI workers win their fight to unionize with 86% yes
Congratulations to the staff at REI outdoor sports in Manhattan who've overwhelmingly voted to unionize with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), making them the first unionized REI in the nation! The RWDSU is the same union organizing Amazon workers at a pivotal warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, where later this month they will conclude voting.
These workers will join another cohort of first-in-nation union organizing happening at Starbucks coffee currently, where at time of print over 2,000 workers across 73 stores have filed for an NLRB-supervised election, including at least 3 stores in NYC.
Action Board
🗳 Elections for Social Work Chapter leadership will be held online and via mail March 3-31, and results will be announced April 1.
- A Candidate forum will be held March 2, 7pm for the position of Vice-Chair
- Chapter leaders are elected by members of their own Chapter. To learn more about the roles and responsibilities for these positions, or if you’d like to help start one for your title, visit About->Chapters.
📆General Membership meeting Wed March 9, 2022 6:30pm
- Join us at our next quarterly Local-wide meeting to discuss the issues facing the union and what the Local has been working on.
📆Contact Tracer meeting Mon March 21, 2022 7pm
This meeting will be to answer any questions and clarify information on the end of the T2 program.
- H+H has announced that the T2 program will be ending on April 29, 2022.
- The Union is continuing to negotiate and look for other opportunities of employment within the City system. As we know more, we will communicate with all Contact tracers.
- Once the program ends, one can file for unemployment regardless of union affiliation.
🧑💻 Telework bill heating up
The NYC Teleworking Expansion Act is slated to be voted on this legislative session - and getting your elected state legislators to support it is paramount!
Our friends at Civil Service Bar Association (CSBA/Teamsters), the union for agency attorneys, has setup this email form you can use to easily contact your state representatives. Before sending, just edit your union to be ‘Local 768’ and add in your personal reason for supporting the bill
This month in Labor History
Feb 5
Trayvon Benjamin Martin was born, and would have been 27 this year. On Feb 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin, a Black teenager, was murdered. The death of Martin and the acquittal of George Zimmerman sparked the national and global Movement for Black Lives.
(Photo courtesy of the Chicago Teachers Union) - 1995
Feb 11
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announces he will call out the National Guard, if necessary, to deal with any "unrest" among state employees in the wake of his decision to unilaterally end nearly all collective bargaining rights for the workers with Act 10 - 2011
Feb 12
Sanitation Workers Strike in Memphis. African American sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker were crushed to death on Feb. 1, 1968 when the rain triggered the trash truck’s compactor in Memphis, Tennessee. Their deaths, along with the racist treatment of the sanitation workers, led more than 1,100 workers to strike for better wages, conditions, and safety on Feb. 12, 1968. (Teen vogue / Zinn Edu Proj.)
