Chairs Receive $9G
DC 37 Victors Grab Committee Spoils

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

Exercising the muscle provided by the overwhelming victory of District Council 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts and her slate in last month's union election, her chief political ally removed all opposition members from union committee chairs Feb. 14 but made no changes to the Health and Security Board or staff positions.

VERONICA MONTGOMERY-COSTA: Rewards Roberts loyalists.

Committee chairs were previously split evenly between supporters of Ms. Roberts and longtime opposition leader Local 371 President Charles Ensley. Ms. Roberts's slate swept the elections last month, winning 28 of the 29 executive board seats.

Montgomery-Costa's Call

"According to the DC 37 constitution," said Donna Silberberg, DC 37's chief spokeswoman, "it is the DC 37 president who makes committee assignments based on her judgment of what is in the best interest of the members."

Ms. Silberberg said neither she nor President Veronica Montgomery-Costa could comment further on the content of the meeting because its proceedings are confidential.

"The change of the chairs came as a surprise to no one," Mr. Ensley said the morning after the meeting. "They have no record of reaching out and healing, they play hardball well, but it's not in anybody's interest that they do not succeed."

Ensley Sole Survivor

CHARLES ENSLEY: A lone dissenter again.

Because Mr. Ensley's local is one of five that represents more than 5 percent of DC 37's membership, it automatically receives a seat on the executive board. Mr. Ensley says he plans to take that seat, replacing Local 371 Vice President Faye Moore.

One of Mr. Ensley's most vocal supporters, Local 983 President Mark Rosenthal, will remain on the Board of Trustees of the Health Security Plan which manages $200 million worth of members' benefits. Joe Puleo, vice president of Local 983, was made a sergeant-at-arms in the union's committee structure.

Sources who attended the executive board meeting said there was debate over several issues, including how to address the union's residency bill, which has stalled in the City Council.

Residency Quandary

During contract negotiations, Mayor Bloomberg agreed to support legislation allowing DC 37 members to live in six New York counties surrounding the city, as firefighters and police officers can. The City Council has balked at the idea, with some members saying they were worried about losing jobs for their constituents. The union has argued that it's an issue of equity and has been conducting a lobbying campaign that Ms. Roberts said would "educate" Council Members about the benefits of the proposal.

Some executive board members said at the meeting that the union should turn up the heat on recalcitrant Council Members, but the board voted to give Ms. Roberts another month to pursue a less-confrontational approach.

Mr. Ensley said he was not daunted by being the only opposition member on the board.

"This is the part of the movie that I came in on," he said. "I was the sole voice of opposition on the board 25 years ago. I can almost predict what's going to happen because I've seen the movie before. I was never a believer in absolute power."

Chairs Paid $9G

Committee chair positions each come with a stipend of $9,000 and have a staff member assigned to help coordinate activities.

The chairs who are being held over from last term and will continue in their posts are: Citizenship, Cuthbert Dickerson (Local 374); Parks, Michael Hood (1505); Political Action, Lenny Allen (2021); Site Inspection, Jim Tucciarelli (1320); Women's Committee, Walthene Primus (957); Credentials, Michael DeMarco (1455); and Election, Lenora Gates (1549).

John Townsend (Local 1322) will replace Mr. Ensley (371) as chair of the Civil Service committee; David Moog (1757) will replace Robert Schirmer (1503) as Laws and Rules chair; Shanomae Wiltshire (1359) will replace Melvin Bentley (1502) as Housing chair, Michelle Keller (375) will replace Gloria Acevedo (436) as Health chair; Shirley Williams (1219) will replace Joan Reed (2054) as Education chair; Claude Fort (375) will take a previously unfilled position as Professional chair; Kevin Smith (1655) will take a new position as People chair; Portia Perkins (2627) will replace Carolyn Harper (1251) as Disabled chair; Judith Arroyo (436) will replace Nathaniel Keitt (1930) and Jackie Beckett (1559) as Gay and Lesbian chair; Maf Misbah Uddin (1407) will replace Cliff Koppelman (1070) as Ethical Practice chair. No appointment has yet been made for the Prevailing Rates committee.

Except for Mr. Koppelman, who is DC 37's secretary, and Ms. Reed, who is a vice president of its international union - meaning they will still receive additional compensation - all of the chairs who were removed supported Mr. Ensley.