Call Nominator Ineligible
Local 372 Dissident Barred From Ballot

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

The leadership of Local 372 of District Council 37 disqualified an opposition member from running for its executive board last week, claiming that the person who nominated him was not a member in good standing.

VERONICA COSTA: Won't explain rulng.

Tony Ferina, who was running for School Aide chapter chair, could have nominated himself, but brought three people to a meeting Oct. 15 to ensure that his nomination was uncontested. He was notified Nov. 2 that the member who spoke up for him, Belinda Boyd, "failed to submit a completed membership application," invalidating her action, and he was therefore not considered to be a valid candidate for election.

Questions Exclusion

Ms. Boyd says that she had thought herself to be a member for seven years. She carries an AFSCME union card that reads "member in good standing," attends union meetings, receives union mailings, has dues removed from her check and voted in the 2005 local election. She also notified the union the two times she changed addresses.

Members at Mr. Ferina's school in Queens were dismayed by the local's decision.

TONY FERINA: Assails Montgomery-Costa.

"This really hits me in the gut," said Horace Dennis, who has been a School Aide for 10 years. "It's like they're doing everything they can just to stop him from running for office."

Mr. Ferina is a close ally of Larry Luther Davis, who has challenged Local 372 President Veronica Montgomery-Costa during the local's past two elections and is expected to oppose her again next year.

Mr. Dennis said he would have gone to the Oct. 15 meeting himself to nominate Mr. Ferina, but he works two jobs, the other as a security guard at a church, and could not make the meeting.

Union Not Talking

District Council 37 officials said they had no comment, calling it a "local matter." Local 372 President Veronica Montgomery-Costa did not return calls seeking an explanation.

Mr. Ferina and his sup porters had an extensive plan to turn out members for the election, which was scheduled for Nov. 13 at the union's downtown Manhattan headquarters. Last election, fewer than 30 members out of the 14,000-strong chapter cast ballots. School Aides work in all five boroughs, which can make it time-consuming for many to get to the voting site.

Mr. Ferina, who ran on a slate against Ms. Costa in 2005, set a goal of pulling in 417 votes, the same number the current union president received when she was reelected to head the 27,000-member local two years ago. He had between 15 and 20 cars set to pick members up from their schools and transport them downtown. He also had been canvassing schools for the past two months. "They must have gotten wind of what I was doing," said Mr. Ferina. "Obviously they couldn't afford the embarrassment."

'Can't Trust Leadership'

About 50 members met at Newtown High School last week to discuss what the union had done. Some workers said the move raised larger questions than just one election. "It's very bad," said Beatrice, a 20-year School Aide who asked that her last name not to be used out of fear of retribution from the local. "And truthfully, not because it's him. But overall, it seems there's nothing clean. It's a one-way street to the union leadership, and we can't trust anybody."

Several members said that Mr. Ferina should be allowed to run, regardless of Ms. Boyd's status, since he is in good standing and clearly has wide support.

The union's Constitution requires that any member running for office is nominated by a member in good standing. Mr. Ferina has 10 days to appeal the decision with DC 37's parent union AFSCME's Judicial Panel. But Local 372's election committee chair Phildene Leacock wrote in her letter to Mr. Ferina notifying him of his disqualification "that such an appeal will not be a basis for delaying the election."

Mr. Ferina is planning to appeal, but he also has his sights set on a larger overhaul of the union's leadership when officer elections are held next spring. "This proves a change is needed," he said. "It's President Costa and her administration who are the ones not in good standing with their own members."