Tax The Rich, Fund Our Public Services; Troublemakers School; women’s history month & international women’s day
Tax the Rich: Fund Our Public Services
DC 37 Local 768 members went to Albany on March 4 to demand corporations and the ultra wealthy pay a fair share in taxes to fund public services.
We lobbied to make sure we have a right to safe working conditions, including expanded language regarding workplace violence prevention and safety; and a safe environment in extreme heat, the TEMP (Temperature Extreme Mitigation Program) Act. We advocated for other legislative priorities, including:
- Pension improvements,
- Expand access to Licensed Creative Art Therapy (LCAT), also covered here and here,
- Support Social Work for Justice, for an equitable Social Work Workforce,
- Support fair pricing for medical care,
- Regulate the use of Al in employment decisions, and
- Human Services Cost of Living - 7.8% COLA, with at least 4% going to workers' salary.
We also participated in last week's DC37 Mayoral Forum, read more from The City.
Honoring women’s history month & International Women’s Day
For this month’s history spotlight, we honor International Women’s Day (March 8), and DC 37 legend Lillian Roberts, who began as a nurse’s aid in 1947, in Chicago. She fought for her fellow workers the University of Chicago hospital nursery.
Roberts became a leader in fighting for health care workers’ rights. She was jailed for 11 days in 1968 by then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller for leading a successful strike on behalf of state institutional hospital workers. She was a cofounder of Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and helped DC 37 win our Education Fund.
Members in Action: Andrewsky Emmanuel
I’ve been with the city for seven and a half years, first in food safety and community sanitation and now in childcare. My job is public facing, walking around doing inspections. We’ll hear people from restaurant owners to parents say, “We’re happy that you’re out here doing inspections.” A lot of people put a lot of faith in our work as Sanitarians.
I got involved in our union through my coworkers, Louis Moskowitz and Eric Luchs. I was already passionate about my job. With our union, we have great benefits, and we hear people’s problems and help each other out.
We recently started our Public Health Sanitarian Chapter. At our first meeting, we realized there was a Civil Service Exam coming up for Sanitarians. We did a study session to study together for the exam. It went really well. We all learned a lot.
Our union helps make sure that everyone has the tools to do a good job at their job.
–– Andrewsky Emmanuel, Associate Public Health Sanitarian, Chapter Chair for the Sanitarians, Shop Steward, and Local 768 Delegate
Labor Notes: New York City Troublemakers School 2025
Join labor activists from New York City and beyond to strategize, share skills, and learn ways to organize to win. Troublemakers Schools are day-long mini-conferences that cover organizing skills and highlight real-world examples of taking on the boss and winning. Date: Saturday, March 29, 2025, 9:00 am to 3:30 p.m. Our local will cover registration costs. Register here.
Join us! Upcoming meetings
- March 11: DCWP Inspectors Chapter Meeting, 7pm
- March 12: General Membership meeting, 7pm
- March 19, MAT/Stewards meeting, 7pm
- March 20: Political Action committee, 7pm, zoom
- March 29: New York City Troublemakers School 2025, Labor Notes, 9:00 am - 3:30 p.m.
Check out classes, education opportunities and events here.
We’ve been using our members-only moderated group chat to communicate announcements and updates to the Local using Slack. It's also a place for member discussion and to share union resources. Join us!
Kings County Hospital had a great turnout for a lunchtime meeting to discuss how people can get more engaged in union activity.
Solidarity with Federal Workers
Federal workers are our union siblings, public sector workers like us. How can we come together as trade unionists to support federal workers as they organize against billionaire power grabs? Take action to support them and follow their organizing here. How can we support each other's organizing efforts and be present with each other in these times? Tell us!
Contribute! Share your story!
Want to contribute to the next Local 768 Newsletter? Share your photos, your writing, your poetry, your drawings, your comics, cartoons, and more: https://www.local768.net/content_submission. Thank you!
AFSCME leader and organizer Lillian Roberts had been jailed after leading a strike of New York state hospital workers. Then Governor Nelson Rockefeller jailed her for breaking the Taylor Law which prohibits strikes. Here, supporting AFSCME members demand Roberts's release. Photo by Sam Reiss, 1968, Walter P. Reuther Library (7684) Council 37 protests for Lillian Roberts.