Happy Holidays from Local 768

We are grateful for each of you and your coworkers as you work each day to serve New York City and build strength and unity in your workplace, across our union, and beyond. In difficult times we’ve continued to organize and we elected a new mayor, Zohran Mamdani. 

Are you new to our union this year? Welcome! Our union is how we collaborate to strengthen our collective power at work, and protect and care for all members, and all New Yorkers and build our strength and unity for 2026 and for the fights to come. 

Best wishes for 2026,

Carmen De León, President and Local 768 Leadership Team, DC37, AFSCME

New Year, New You: Step Up & Lead in Your Workplace & Union

Want to build a better world in 2026? Become a DC37 Shop Steward. Learn powerful workplace organizing skills.

This comprehensive 10-session course is designed to equip DC 37 members with a strong foundation in the critical role of a Shop Steward.

You’ll Learn:

• How to be a Shop Steward
• Workplace organizing essentials
• DC 37’s structure, benefits & services
• How to be an effective union representative

Apply now to get your spot! Classes are Thursdays, 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. (January 8 – March 12) Online. Learn more and apply today.

All DC 37 members are welcome—no prerequisites required. Questions: (212) 815-1700 or email [email protected]. 

Childcare Trust

In our 2023 contract negotiations, DC 37 members organized for and won a Child Care Trust Fund to provide support for members with child care needs. The City will contribute $3 million per year to the fund. Are you a member with childcare needs? Email: [email protected] or call (212)815-1100 if you would like to have an application mailed to you.

DC37 new portal for members

On behalf of Executive Director Henry Garrido and Local 768 President Carmen DeLeon, we’re excited to announce the launch of our new DC37 Membership Portal, designed to provide members with 24/7 access to their member information.

With this new portal, you can…

• Easily access your individual member page and manage your membership information. To make changes, simply click the highlighted field and update your information. Changes should take effect within 10 minutes, at which time refreshing your page should display the change.
• Connect with your Local President or DC37 Representative through email or phone.
• View upcoming DC37 and Local meetings/events, as well as access any that are offered virtually.
• Visit the Local 768 website by simply clicking the highlighted local number “768”.
• View your collective bargaining agreement(s).
• Stay up to date with DC37 news.
• If you are not yet enrolled for H&S benefits, you can select “Click Here To Enroll” at the top right of the page.
• For those who want to become a member, you can select “CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE UNION” and you’ll be re-directed to a membership card. Once your card is submitted and verified, additional member only options will display on your portal homepage. Note: You may need to “Refresh” the page to see the new member options.

To register, click https://dc37portal.dc37.net/Register and fill out the registration form.

• Once you’ve filled out and submitted the 6-field registration form,
• You will be sent an email from “[email protected]” to verify your email address.
• Once your email has been validated, you will be sent a second email from “[email protected]” asking you to create a password.
• Once you submit a password, it completes your registration, and your form is then automatically submitted into DC37 system for final verification.
• If the information provided on the registration form is verified, the DC37 system will immediately open your portal page to you.   
• If the information provided on the registration form cannot be verified, you will be re-directed to a membership card page while the DC37 Membership Department reviews your submission. You will receive an email from the Membership Records department once they complete their review.  
• Once you have successfully registered and wish to return to your portal page, simply visit https://dc37portal.dc37.net/ and enter your email and password, followed by the temporary access code emailed to you from “[email protected]”. This link will soon be accessible on the www.dc37.net website.

We hope you enjoy exploring the new portal. 

Appreciations

Appreciations and shout outs to all of our Local 768 members at the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for their work in support of a $39 Million settlement for Starbucks workers. Show your solidarity: don’t shop at Starbucks. Let your friends, coworkers know as well: No contract, no coffee. Period. #NoContractNoCoffee: https://seiu.co/NoStarbucks.

Photo: Jenny Brown, Labor Notes.

Appreciations to everyone who has supported this newsletter: to Keeshone and Jacquelyn, our photo queens, to Carmen, Emily, Nate, Ryan, Raj, Mychelle, Shawn, Erica, Emmanuel, Iris, Gabrielle and everyone who shared your stories, edits and more.  

Who in our union family are you grateful for and why? Share your appreciations of coworkers and fellow union members.

Join us! Upcoming meetings

Join us for these upcoming events:

• Wednesday December 17, 7-8:30 pm, MAT/ Stewards Meeting, Virtual, RSVP here. 
• Saturday, Dec. 20, 11 am, DC 37 Municipal Employees Housing Program First-Time Homebuyer’s Workshop Register HERE.Wednesday, January 21, 2026, MAT/ Stewards Committee, Virtual, RSVP here. 
• 2026: Become a Shop Steward! Thursdays, 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. (January 8 – March 12) Online, Learn more and apply here.
• Save the date! **Wednesday, March 4, 2026**: DC 37 2026 Lobby Day, buses to Albany from DC 37 headquarters at 125 Barclay Street, New York, NY 10007. Register HERE to join.

Check out classes and education opportunities and more from DC 37. Sign up at dc37rewards.com or download the DC 37 Rewards mobile app. 

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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