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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
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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
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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
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A Corpse Flower Blooms in Brooklyn By ACACIA RODRIGUEZ Local 374 Gardener Chris Sprindis and ‘Smelliot’ during the historic event at the Aquatic House. Local 374 Quasi Public Employees at Brooklyn Botanic Garden welcomed a fragrant new bloom to their steamy indoor garden on Jan. 24. Dubbed ‘Smelliot’ by denizens of the internet via Instagram, the Amorphophallus gigas — better known as a ‘corpse flower’ due to its distinctive scent — lured hundreds of visitors to the garden, people and insects alike. Although the weekend was a flurry of long lines and nosey spectators, President Leonard Paul and members of Local 374 kept the crowds organized, informed, and moving quickly. “When it first opened, the smell was kind of like dead rat, garlic, and burnt rubber,” Gardener Chris Sprindis said. Proudly tended to by Sprindis and several union members in the humid Aquatic House in the Steinhardt Conservatory, Smelliot gave off waves of an acrid, fermented cheese scent, engineered to attract insects that aid the plant’s pollination. Unlike their cousin the peace lily, corpse flowers typically grow in a tropical environment, but Smelliot arrived at Brooklyn Botanical Garden as a tiny seedling expat. “We acquired the plant in 2018 as a one- to two-year-old seedling from [...] — Mar 18
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How to Win Elections & Influence Policy By JUSTINA RAMLAKHAN With races on the line this year for New York City mayor, comptroller, public advocate, several City Council seats, and District Attorney in Manhattan and Brooklyn, DC 37’s 150,000 active members and 89,000 retirees hold significant weight. An endorsement from District Council 37 is more than a stamp of approval — it’s a commitment of time, resources, and mutual support, which is why the union’s endorsement process ensures members’ issues and concerns are the focal point in decision making. To be considered for a DC 37 endorsement, declared candidates must first express interest by contacting the union’s Political Action Department. Candidates then fill out a questionnaire sharing what they would like to accomplish as an elected official and where they stand on issues of importance to DC 37 members, such as housing affordability, health care, child care, and collective bargaining rights. The questionnaires are then reviewed by a screening committee, which consists of 15 local presidents and Political Action Committee Chair Donald Nesbit, who are appointed by DC 37 President Shaun D. Francois I. “A union that represents such a diverse variety of job titles must have an endorsement process that is democratic,” Nesbit said. “Members who [...] — Mar 18