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About
Us
Meet your DC 37
Vice Presidents The DC
37 Executive Board includes veteran members and some dynamic new leaders. The
board is the governing body of the union when the Delegates Council is not in
session. The board includes the union’s top officers (the executive director,
president, secretary and treasurer); vice presidents from the largest local unions
(with at least 5 percent each of DC 37’s total membership) who were elected
by their locals’ delegates in November 2006; 20 vice presidents from the
smaller locals, elected at-large by the delegates from those locals on Jan. 23,
2007, and the president of DC 37 Retirees Association, an ex-officio member who
cannot vote. Some vice presidents were elected after these dates to fill vacancies
on the Executive Board. Click
photo for bio
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| Robert
D. Ajaye
President,
Local 2627 | Leonard
Allen
President,
Local 2021 | Colleen
Carew-Rogers
President,
Local 2054
| Carmen
Charles
President,
Local 420 |
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| 
| Santos
Crespo
Vice
President,
Local 372 | Sirra
Crippen
President,
Local 1507 | Michael
DeMarco
President,
Local 1455
| Cuthbert
Dickenson
President,
Local 374 |
|  |
| 
| Alfred
Edwards
President,
Local 1759 | Charles
Farrison
President,
Local 1797 | Claude
Fort
President,
Local 375
| Michael
Hood
Delegate,
Local
1505 |
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| 
| Morris
R. Johnson
Chapter Chair,
Local 154 | Faye
Moore
President,
Local 371 | Eileen
Muller
President,
Local 1482
| Walthene
Primus
President,
Local 957 |
|  |
| 
| Darryl
Ramsey
Delegate,
Local 768 | Eddie
Rodriguez
President,
Local 1549 | Jackie
Rowe- Adams
President,
Local 299 | Peter
Stein
President,
Local 508
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|  |  |
| Cleveland
Terry
Local 1559 | John
Townsend
Delegate,
Local 1322 | James
Tucciarelli
President,
Local 1320
| Esther
(Sandy) Tucker
President,
Local 384
|
|
| | |
Shirley
A. Williams
President,
Local 1219 | Stuart
Leibowitz
President,
DC 37 Retirees Association | | |
|
Robert
D. Ajaye
President, Local 2627
| Robert
D. Ajaye,
President,
Local 2627
Local 2627 President Robert D. Ajaye was elected as a District
Council 37 Executive Board member and vice president at the June 23, 2009 Delegates
Council meeting.
With Election Committee Chair and Local 384 Treasurer
Deborah Lane presiding, Ajaye won an overwhelming vote from the delegates of the
locals that do not represent 5 percent or more of the total membership of DC 37.
On the board he replaces former Local 1757 President David Moog, who has joined
the staff of the Research and Negotiations Dept.
Ajaye is co-chair of the
DC 37 Black History Committee, a member of the Caribbean Heritage Committee and
a DC 37 Sgt.-at-Arms.
He served Electronic Data Processing Personnel Local
2627 as a shop steward, trustee, board member and 1st vice president until last
year, when the membership elected him president. Back
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Leonard Allen
President, Local 2021
|
Leonard
Allen,
President,
Local 2021
In his 10 years as president of Off-Track Betting Corp. Employees
Local 2021, Leonard Allen has achieved a continuing victory against recurring
attacks by the forces of privatization.
In that protracted battle, Mr.
Allen repeatedly trumped Mayor Rudy Guiliani and the privateers by carefully playing
the union’s media, legal and political cards.
A Betting Clerk with 25
years of experience, Mr. Allen has served on the District Council 37 Executive
Board for the past eight years. He chairs the DC37 Political Action Committee
and is a member of the Veterans Advisory Committee. “I’m looking forward
to working with the new board members in the best interests of all DC 37 members,”
he said.
Back
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Colleen Carew-Rogers
President,
Local 2054
|
Colleen
Carew-Rogers
President,
Local 2054
Colleen Carew-Rogers was elected to a second term as vice president
of College Assistants Local 2054 in December 2006. She was appointed president
of the local upon the retirement of past president Joan Reed. She has worked as
a College Assistant at Kingsboro Community College for 12 years and is enrolled
in the Cornell University Labor Studies program.
Carew-Rogers is an active
member of the DC 37 Women’s Committee, the Pension Committee and the Political
Action Committee.
“I look forward to working with Lillian Roberts
to move the union forward and continue the work to improve services,” said
Carew-Rogers. “Our goal is to work for every member — regardless of
their affiliation. We are the ‘Members First’ team and we plan to keep
it that way.”
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Carmen Charles
President, Local 420
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Carmen
Charles
President,
Local 420
Carmen Charles began her employment with the city as a Nurse’s
Aide at Coler-Goldwater Hospital on Roosevelt Island. In 1987 she became shop
steward for her chapter of Municipal Hospital Employees Local 420 and quickly
rose through the ranks, becoming the chapter’s vice chair in 1992; the local’s
vice president in 1999.
Leading the Workers 4 Workers slate, Charles
was elected local president in 2002. She has successfully negotiated upgrades
for members and made the local more financially accountable. She encourages greater
union activism and strives to empower members through education.
Ms.
Charles recently graduated from the Union Leadership Program at Cornell University’s
Institute of Industrial and Labor Relations.
|
Santos Crespo
Vice President,
Local 372
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Santos
Crespo
Vice President,
Local 372
Santos Crespo served as a shop steward for Local 372 for 10
years and as a grievance rep in the DC 37 Schools Division.
He spent
a year and a half working on the organizing drive in Puerto Rico undertaken by
the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, DC 37’s
national union. AFSCME successfully organized thousands of Social Workers and
Corrections Officers into Servidores Publicos Unidos Concilio 95.
In
1999, Crespo was elected as Local 372’s Executive Vice President. He is also
a delegate to DC 37. He served as president of the Labor Council for Latin American
Advancement and is currently a member of its Executive Board.
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Sirra Crippen
President, Local 1507
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Sirra
Crippen
President,
Local 1507
Sirra Crippen is president of Gardeners and Assistant Gardeners
Local 1507, which represents about 100 members in the Parks Dept. She is the youngest
local president elected to the DC 37 Executive Board.
“I look forward
to learning from Lillian Roberts and other leaders at DC 37,” Crippen said.
“I want us to keep the benefits we’ve fought long and hard for, and
build on our accomplishments,” said Crippen. “I hope to motivate more
members of my generation to get involved in the labor movement. We could use their
energy and support.”
Crippen also teaches horticulture and plant
care to public school students and children in Housing Authority projects.
Back
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Michael DeMarco
President, Local 1455
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Michael
DeMarco
President,
Local 1455
Michael DeMarco, president of Traffic Employees Local 1455 since 1998,
previously served on the DC 37 Executive Board from 2000 to 2002. He is currently
in his third term as president of the local, which represents 430 members at the
Dept. of Transportation.
“I will do everything in my power to make
sure we put Members First, as I do for all my local members,” DeMarco said.
DeMarco chairs DC 37’s Italian Heritage and Credentials committees,
co-chairs the Dept. of Transportation Equipment Committee, serves on the DC 37
Pension Committee and the AFSCME Transportation Committee. DeMarco and Local 1455
are known for generously supporting the DC 37 Help Our Own Fund and the Holiday
Giving program.
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Cuthbert Dickenson
President, Local 374
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Cuthbert
Dickenson
President,
Local 374
Cuthbert Dickenson was elected president of Quasi-Public Employees
Local 374 in 2002 after serving as a chapter chair and DC 37 Delegate for 10 years.
He chairs the DC 37 Citizenship/Immigration Committee, is a trustee of the New
York Public Library Health and Security Trust, and is a member of the DC 37 Caribbean
Heritage Committee and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.
“This
union has delivered more social and economic gains for members than any institution,”
said Dickenson, who will graduatefrom Cornell University’s Labor Leadership
program in July. “We must continue to be proactive rather than reactionary.
We want to protect and improve our job security, retirement system and benefits
for all members.”
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Alfred Edwards
President, Local 1759
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Alfred
Edwards
President,
Local 1759
Except for 15 years in military service,
Alfred Edwards has virtually always been a union man.
He worked four
years as a Sanitation Enforcement Agent in the Communications Workers Union before
becoming a Consumer Affairs Inspector in 1993 and joining DC 37. Now in his third
term as president of Consumer Affairs Inspectors Local 1759, he has pushed for
promotional exams and retirement improvements.
“Ever since I’ve
worked for the city, I have been involved in the union,” said Edwards, who
studied criminal justice at John Jay College. “It’s very important to
be represented and have the protection that unions give,” Edwards said. “The
union is all about unity and change.”
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Charles Farrison
President, Local 1797
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Charles
Farrison
President,
Local 1797
Charles Farrison, president of Custodial Supervisors Local 1797
since 1996, is a member of the DC 37 Laws and Rules Committee and the Labor Management
Committee at the City University of New York.
“We want to continue
to service and educate all the members — everyone counts in this great council,”
he said.
“I hope to see more members take an active interest in
the union and become more involved, especially the younger generation, who are
tomorrow’s leaders,” said Farrison.
“It is important to
recognize in others the potential for leadership and not be afraid to teach them;
to really care about the work you do and above everything else to have faith in
God,” Farrison said.
Back
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Claude Fort
President, Local 375
|
Claude
Fort
President,
Local 375
Local 375 President Claude Fort uses whatever it takes — quiet diplomacy,
media pressure, the courts, lobbying and grievances — to defend members.
Local grievances won members over $10 million in back pay and promotions
at the Dept. of Environmental Protection.
Negotiations with New York
City Transit will keep work worth $750 million in-house for the 2nd Avenue subway
project. A lawsuit at the School Construction Authority brought back over 100
fired members. After protests and a media campaign, Local 375 recently convinced
management to back off from using palm scanners.
“We’re passionate
about protecting civil service,” said Fort, who has a master’s in engineering
and is a licensed engineer.
Back to top
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Michael Hood
Delegate, Local 1505
|
Michael
Hood
President, Local
1505
Michael Hood was a shop steward for four years before being elected
president of Attendants, Park Service Workers, City Park Workers and Debris Removers
Local 1505, a post he held until 2009. The local represents 1,000 members who
work in parks and recreation facilities citywide.
Now in his second term
on the Executive Board, Hood chairs the union’s Parks Policy Committee, which
examines department issues and policies that affect members from several locals.
Hood is an Education Fund trustee, a member of the Finance Committee, and an activist
in the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. “DC 37 is not just an organization,
but an organism alive with ideas,” said Hood.
“Working with
our officers, I am confident we will make improvements.”
|
Morris R. Johnson
Chapter Chair,
Local
154
| Morris
R. Johnson
Chapter
Chair, Local 154
Morris Johnson embodies the civil service system’s noble
purpose of providing immigrants and minorities with a gateway to the middle class.
In 1978, Johnson left his home in Monrovia, Liberia, to travel to New York
City. Here, he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Medgar Evers College,
joined the city workforce in 1990 and became a U.S. citizen. Now he is a Claims
Specialist and chair of the Corporation Counsel and Housing Authority Chapter
of Local 154.
Johnson pushes for civil service exams so co-workers can
become permanent employees with promotional opportunities. Johnson says he will
be a passionate voice behind Executive Director Lillian Robert’s drive for
civil service improvements.
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Faye Moore
President, Local 371
|
Faye
Moore
President, Local
371
Faye Moore, president of Social Service Employees Union Local
371, was unanimously elected as a DC 37 vice president by Local 371's DC 37 delegates
at the June 2008 meeting of the Delegates Council.
Under DC 37's constitution,
Local 371 elects its own vice president because the local represents 5 percent
or more of the total DC 37 membership. The election was run by the American Arbitration
Association under the supervision of the DC 37 Election Committee, which is chaired
by Lenora Gates of Local 1549 and includes Deborah Lane of Local 384 and Joe Puleo
of Local 983.
Moore, a veteran of many struggles to protect jobs in the
constantly threatened social services sector, is known as an aggressive advocate
of workers' rights.
She began her city career as a clerical employee in
1980 and later became a Caseworker in the Bureau of Child Welfare. In 1994, Local
371 members elected her vice president for grievances and legal services, where
she supervised a staff of 11 and managed the local's legal cases.
Moore
represented the local on the District Council 37 Executive Board in 2004 and was
elected SSEU Local 371 president in April 2008 after longtime president Charles
Ensley retired.
Back
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Eileen Muller
President, Local 1482
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Eileen
Muller
President,
Local 1482
Threatened by a lay-off, Brooklyn Public Library clerical worker Eileen
Muller went back to college. A degree from Pratt Institute led to a new position
as a librarian at Brooklyn Public Library.
Her roots are firmly planted
in Brooklyn. She has always lived in the same home her paternal grandmother took
title to on the day Muller was born. Her grandfather helped to organize a union
at the Brooklyn Union Gas Company. Muller got active in Local 1482 in1990 as a
delegate to DC 37. Four years ago she became president and is now in her second
term.
She has one son, a city Police Officer, and is the proud grandmother
of 5-month old Christopher.
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Walthene Primus
President, Local 957
|
Walthene
Primus
President, Local
957
Walthene Primus, president of Housing Authority Clerical Employees
Local 957, was first elected to the Executive Board in 2002 and was re-elected
in 2007.
A member of the DC 37 Laws and Rules Committee, the Ethical
Practices Committee, and chair of the Women’s Committee, Primus also serves
on the Women’s Advisory Committee of AFSCME and the AFL-CIO Rehabilitation
Committee.
She brings to DC 37 almost three decades of experience in
the HA. “While Local 957 faces federal cuts, I’m proud to say we are
winning the battle. We’ve lobbied legislators to restore funds, and we have
strong support from our members, who work for and are residents of NYCHA,”
she said.
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Darryl Ramsey
Delegate, Local 768
|
Darryl
Ramsey
Delegate, Local
768
Darryl Ramsey became a union activist in
1993. He was appointed as chief shop steward of Health Services Employees Local
768 at Kings County Hospital in 1994 and a Grievance Rep in 1997. He was president
of Local 768 from 2003 to 2008.
“I continue to focus on improving
the participation of the members in their union,” said Ramsey. “I’ve
stressed to the members the importance of shop steward training, attending union
meetings and joining committees. The strength of the union depends on the active
participation of the rank-and-file members.”
Mr. Ramsey is also
a member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the DC 37 Political Action
Committee and the Save Our Safety Net Coalition.
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Eddie Rodriguez
President, Local 1549
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Eddie
Rodriguez
President,
Local 1549
Eddie Rodriguez grew up in Spanish Harlem and Washington Heights,
where his mother raised six children and his father worked as a hotel maintainer.
In 1972, Rodriguez went to work as a Clerk at the Dyckman Welfare Center
in Inwood.He became an alternate shop steward and then delegate for Local 1549.
In 1985, another alternate steward caught his eye and in 1986, they married.
Rodriguez and his wife, Adelina, have three children. Rodriguez became a
grievance rep in 1987. He was elected local president in 2001 and a vice president
of DC 37’s parent union, AFSCME, in 2003, fulfilling a dream he had since
attending his first AFSCME convention. Rodriguez is serving his third Executive
Board term.
Back
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Jackie Rowe-Adams
President, Local 299
|
Jackie
Rowe-Adams
President,
Local 299
A member of Local 299 for 21 years, Jackie Rowe-Adams is a Recreation Supervisor
at the Jackie Robinson Recreation Center. She has been a union delegate for five
years, a member of the local’s Political Action and Women’s committees
and a member of the Executive Board of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.
A community activist, Rowe-Adams is involved with the Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E.
group that advocates eliminating guns. This issue is close to her heart, for two
of her own children were gunned down on the streets. An accomplished singer, Rowe-Adams
has sung the national anthem at Shea Stadium, Gracie Mansion and at the AFSCME
convention in Chicago last summer.
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Peter Stein
President, Local 508
|
Peter
Stein
President,
Local 508
Peter Stein, president of Lifeguard Supervisors Local 508, was elected
as a DC 37 vice president on Nov. 25, 2008 by the combined delegates of all the
locals that do not individually include 5 percent of the DC 37 membership.
The
election was run by the American Arbitration Association under the supervision
of the DC 37 Election Committee, which is chaired by Lenora Gates of Local 1549
and includes Deborah Lane of Local 384 and Joe Puleo of Local 983.
DC 37's
longest serving local president, Stein has been a city employee since 1964 and
Local 508 president since 1977. He fills the Executive Board vacancy created by
the death of former Local 1655 President Kevin Smith.
Stein, who served
on the Executive Board from 2000 to 2002, is an assertive champion of the workers
he calls the "first responders who patrol New York City's public beaches
and pools."
In 2007, working with Research and Negotiations Director
Dennis Sullivan and staff, he helped recoup about $200,000 in longevity and retroactive
pay for members of Local 508 and Lifeguards Local 461. On election days, Stein
and hundreds of Lifeguards and Supervisors can be counted on to volunteer with
the DC 37 Green Machine to support union-endorsed candidates.
Back
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Cleveland Terry
Local 1559
|
Cleveland
Terry
President, Local
1559
Cleveland Terry, an Assistant Maintainer
at the American Museum of Natural History, has been a member of Local 1559 for
11 years.
His union activism began when he became a shop steward. In
that position, he helped establish the Crew Leader title. He then become vice
president of the local before being elected president in November 2005, a post
he held until 2007.
“I enjoy serving the members and helping them
identify issues for contract bargaining and working conditions issues that we
can take immediate action to improve,” said Terry. He’s excited to be
joining the board. “I’m eager to join the team and be part of the great
vision that Lillian Roberts has for this union.”
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John Townsend
Delegate, Local 1322
|
John
Townsend
Delegate,
Local 1322
John Townsend grew up in Brooklyn, the son of a union man who
worked for “Ma Bell.”
In May 1981, Townsend went to work for
the Dept. of Environmental Protection as a Construction Laborer and member of
Local 376, where he was an active member. After a promotion into the ranks of
DEP Supervisory Employees Local 1322, he was elected president, a position he
held from 1994 to 2006.
As a member of DC 37’s Executive Board,
Townsend looks forward to serving members unionwide. In addition to his obligations
as a family man, with a wife, two grown children, and two young grandchildren,
Townsend enjoys playing golf. But he’d “rather not discuss” his
handicap.
Back
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James Tucciarelli
President, Local 1320
|
James
Tucciarelli
President,
Local 1320
Staten Islander James Tucciarelli started work as a Sewage Treatment
Worker in 1978 under the Comprehensive Employment Training Act. He led a drive
for a civil service test for the workers. He scored high, and soon had a permanent
job in the Dept. of Environmental Protection.
His union activism took
off from there. In 1983, he was appointed to serve out the term of Local 1320
President John Toto, who left to organize public sector employees in Ohio. “I’ve
been running ever since,” said Tucciarelli.
In addition to the
board, Tucciarelli serves on AFSCME’s Judicial Panel. He has three children
— including two sons in Local 376 — and two grandchildren.
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Esther (Sandy) Tucker
President, Local 384
|
Esther
(Sandy) Tucker
President,
Local 384
In 1968, Esther (Sandy) Tucker was a provisional employee at City
College. One test later, she had a career as a civil servant. Putting one of her
union benefits to work, she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in
education.
Always an activist, Tucker began her union career as a shop
steward in 1989. In 1999, she was elected president of Local 384, City University
of New York & Educational Opportunity Center employees. Her first term on
the DC 37 Executive Board began in 2000. She chaired the DC 37 PEOPLE Committee
for five years.
The young woman from Virginia who started out to become
a physical education teacher took a different, albeit satisfying road, she said.
|
Shirley A. Williams
President, Local 1219
|
Shirley
A. Williams
President,
Local 1219
Shirley A. Williams brings years of experience
as a union activist and powerful voice for her co-workers to the DC37 Executive
Board.
The president of Real Estate Employees Local 1219 is a native
of South Carolina. She began her career with the city at the Dept. of Employment
in 1972. She decided to emulate the example of her mentor, the late Local 1219
President James Cobb, and got involved in her local in 1990, first as a DC 37
delegate.
Williams was elected vice president of Local 1219 in June 2005
and in Sept. 2006, she became president. Now, as a member of the District Council
37 Executive Board, she’s “honored to be part of making history at DC
37.”
|
Stuart Leibowitz
President,
DC 37 Retirees
Association
| Stuart
Leibowitz
President,
DC 37 Retirees Association
DC 37 Retirees
Association President Stuart Leibowitz helped expand the membership to 26,000.
He helped win full reimbursement for Medicare Part B deductions from retirees’
pension checks and a permanent pension cost-of-living adjustment. Currently, the
association is fighting for surviving spouses of retirees to keep their health
coverage.
In 1967, Leibowitz worked on the DC 37 committee that helped
establish the Tier 1 pension. He was Local 371’s vice president for research
and negotiations for 25 years and retired in 1994 as deputy chair of the Office
of Collective Bargaining. “I’ve been involved in the union because I
feel unions are the best vehicle for social advancement,” Leibowitz said. Back
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