Public Employee Press

Strength in Diversity

Focus on Panama
Latino Heritage Month

The well-honed brass and pulsating percussionists of the International Marching Band of Panamanians in the U.S. strode proudly into the union hall Sept. 18 to kick off DC 37’s 19th annual Latino Heritage Month celebration.

The DC 37 Latino Heritage Committee honored Panama this year, and the inaugural event featured traditional Panamanian songs and dances beautifully performed by the Ballet Folklorico Estrellas de Panama in their flowing native dresses.

Municipal Hospital Employees Local 420 sponsored the program, where keynote speaker Dr. Marco Mason of the Panamanian Council of New York discussed the country’s strategic role in the region’s slave trade and explained the history of Panama’s neglected indigenous population.

Social Service Employees Union Local 371 President Faye Moore stressed the importance of embracing diversity as she welcomed participants to the local’s event on Sept. 25. “We are very proud to celebrate all the cultures and traditions in our local,” she said. Moore also paid tribute to the memory of organizer Paul Simmons, a veteran of the civil rights movement and a leader in the monthlong 1965 Welfare Dept. strike, who died Sept. 24.

Building political power

Local 371’s keynote speaker for the evening was Brooklyn City Council member Diana Reyna, who praised the important jobs of the local’s members and particularly thanked the employees of the Administration for Children’s Services “for your hard work and dedication on behalf of the children of our city.”

Locals 372 and 1549 combined their efforts to put on the month’s finale celebration Oct. 2, which included encore presentations by the Estrellas de Panama and the marching band. Speakers included DC 37 Assistant Associate Director Henry Garrido, Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez and Local 372 Executive Vice President Santos Crespo, who chairs the Latino Heritage Committee. They stressed the importance of building the union’s political strength and urged participants to vote and volunteer for get-out-the-vote efforts.

— Alfredo Alvarado