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In this issue:
- City Council Hearing on Food Service Establishment Inspections
- Get Ready for DC37 CityWide Bargaining
- Electing Local 768 Leadership
- Turning Our Blue Wave to Worker Power
- Join us!
- Our History: Honoring Cleo Silvers and Young Lords Women
- Contribute! Share your story!
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City Council Hearing on Food Service Establishment Inspections
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On October 19, 2026, Local 768 testified before the New York City Council Committee on Health in opposition to Intro 0189, which would require Mandatory Photographic and Video Documentation during Food Service Establishment Inspections. Thank you to our Public Health Sanitarians who gave leadership their thoughts and opinions on Intro 0189.
We testified that the added burden of taking photographic evidence of every violation would disturb the workflow of the Public Health Sanitarians, would increase the time spent at every location, decrease the number of inspections completed, and potentially put our members at increased risk for verbal and physical assault. Our Public Health Sanitarians already take pictures of violations in Restaurant establishments, and these are filed according to the Bureau of Food Safety policy and procedures. There is a severe shortage of Public Health Sanitarians within the Bureau of Food Safety, with a rigorous training program, and high turnover.
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Get Ready for DC37 CityWide Bargaining
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On the 6th of every month, take action with your coworkers to demand raises and a fair contract. Wear your DC 37 green, hang a sign in your work station, wear a button, and post on social media and more. Download your action toolkit here. We held our first day of action on November 6.
During the Summer of 2023 Local 768 partnered with Bargaining for the Common Good to begin the process to be prepared for bargaining, and began to organize a bargaining committee. So far we have primarily concentrated on proposals and demands for our Unit Bargaining Agreement.
On Friday October 30, 2026, DC 37 met to acquaint new local presidents of with the bargaining process and where bargaining demands come from to prepare for DC37 CityWide bargaining. Some months ago, DC37 sent a bargaining survey to all DC37 Members. In 2023, one of the results of the survey was that members listed assistance with childcare expenses as a priority, and we negotiated for a DC37 Childcare Trust Fund. Applications and instructions are available on the DC 37 website.
Photo: Contract Talks Day of Action: Tiffany Thompson and Keeshone McLaurin, Public Health Advisors in the Office of School Health Vision Program.
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Electing Local 768 Leadership
Congratulations to our nominees for our union elections, listed here: https://www.local768.net/2026_nominations.
The election will be a mail ballot. Ballots were mailed on November 5, 2026 and are due back by November 30, 2026 or sooner.
The Election committee received a query asking how Local 768 members could receive a replacement ballot if they fail to receive one or if the ballot is damaged.
Voters with missing or damaged ballots are directed to request replacement ballots by calling the American Arbitration Association’s (AAA) Duplicate Ballot Hotline at 1-800-529-5218, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. This number is to be used exclusively for duplicate ballot requests.
Members may also submit their requests via email to [email protected] or to the Local 768 Election Committee email address: [email protected].
Voters are asked to wait until at least one week after the mailing date before calling to allow sufficient time for ballot delivery. In other words, please hold off on making any such requests until November 12, 2026 at the earliest.
Make sure your address is correct or update at https://dc37portal.dc37.net/ to change your official contact information with DC37’s membership records.
Solidarity!
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Turning Our Blue Wave to Worker Power
In the wake of the midterm elections, can we triple union membership to take our country back from the billionaires and the politicians they pay for and win the world we all deserve? How will you organize with your coworkers? Read more: Unions Are the Key to America’s Cost of Living Crisis.
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Join us!
Join us for these upcoming events:
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Saturday, November 14: 2026 Member Legislative Conference, focused on housing, Workers’ Compensation reform, AI regulation, consumer affordability, and other important legislative priorities. Breakfast and registration begin at 8 a.m. Registration is required to attend. Register here today..
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Monday, November 16, 2026, 7pm - 8:30pm, online: Public Health Advisors + Assistants Meeting. RSVP here.
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Wednesday, November 18, 2026, 7pm - 8:30pm: MAT/Stewards RSVP here.
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Wednesday, December 16, 2026, 7pm - 8:30pm: MAT/Stewards meeting, RSVP here.
Find more DC 37 news and events here. See our Education Benefits, and register for classes today.
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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!
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Our History: Honoring Cleo Silvers and Young Lords Women
Cleo Silvers worked at Lincoln Hospital and was a union member. She joined the Young Lords to keep organizing after COINTELPRO infiltrated and split the Panthers. She helped form HRUM (Health Revolutionary Unity Movement) and helped to collectively write and win the Patient’s Bill of Rights. She helped organize three takeovers of Lincoln Hospital, including the first organized by mental health workers, and the takeover that established the Detox clinic. The demands included a living wage for the hospital workers, training and upgrading for the workers, decent hospital conditions, community-worker control of the hospital, and other community demands.
“We didn’t just run into places and take over things. We had a Think Lincoln Committee… The one thing we had that isn’t available now is speaking directly to other human beings.” - Cleo Silvers
Read more at Cleo Silvers, and hear her remembered by Rosemary Mealy, Vicente Panama Alba and others: People’s Church honors five women who shaped the Young Lords movement.
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Photo: Cleo Silvers, sitting at the far left, in a press conference during the Young Lords takeover of Lincoln Hospital.
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Contribute! Share your story!
Want to contribute to our next Local 768 Newsletter? Share your photos, videos, songs, writing, poetry, art, comics, cartoons, and more: https://www.local768.net/content_submission.
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