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Letters to the Editor: Local 372 a Comatose Giant

Letters to the Editor
Local 372 a Comatose Giant

To the Editor:

I read with great interest the comments of Lillian Taylor in your Feb. 22 article, "Taylor Outpolls Ferina." Now that the election for Local 372's School Aide chapter chairperson is over, I must address some of the major issues that resulted from the election.

Ms. Taylor's statement that she "plans to do everything in my power to service them by focusing on issues that affect them and their quality of life on the job. They know that; that's why they elected me," comes as a surprise to me.

Since becoming the shop steward at Newtown High School, I have attended nearly every School Aide chapter meeting. For as long as I can remember, Ms. Taylor has been the chapter chair. Ms. Taylor has always run the chapter meetings with the good intention of supplying basic information and with the help of a union representative answering all the members' questions.

The problem I had, and the reason for my running against Ms. Taylor, was the fact that I never attended a chapter meeting where the chairperson gave a report from Local 372 President Veronica Montgomery-Costa's executive board. Never have there been any School Aide issues presented to the board by Taylor on our behalf. Unfortunately, Taylor never stated to the members that Costa's board has these answers to our chapter's inquiries.

I asked Ms. Taylor on the day of the nominations for chapter chair what exactly are the duties and the aims of the chapter chair? Her response was that she sets the agenda for the meetings, orders the food and makes sure the postcards go out. That day when she gave her chairperson report, Taylor informed the members that you can get a summons for walking between subway cars and also for consuming beverages while riding public transportation.

On the other hand, I believe that the duty of the chairperson is to extract from the members the problems and issues they have on the job and present them to Costa and the executive board. The chairperson's goal should be to present members' needs so Costa can enact the changes needed in the Department of Education so School Aides can do their job more efficiently and serve the students and the city more effectively.

I am sorry to say that in all my years as a member, not one proposal has been presented by my chapter to the board. The simple fact is that outside of answering a few questions, this chapter has served no purpose. President Costa knows this and it serves her well. Who needs work and responsibility when you can have board members stifle the rank and file and produce nothing?

President Costa will either have no response to this letter or say it is all lies. The facts are plain and simple. In the 2005 chapter elections, only 25 votes were cast, electing Taylor with 13 votes against Richardson's 12. In 2007, Costa twice had me removed from the ballot, forcing me to appeal my case to AFSCME's judicial panel. The election held without me in November 2007 resulted in a tie, with Taylor and Richardson getting 15 votes each.

In January 2008, I won my appeal and the judicial panel ordered a new election with my name on the ballot. Now President Costa got involved. First, Costa has her grievance reps call the chapter members to get the vote out against me. Secondly, Costa produces two busloads of members to vote for Taylor where for prior elections Taylor couldn't get more than 15 votes. Costa couldn't afford to have me on the board as a watchdog for the members: business as usual would no longer be possible.

I who have fought for all members' rights for the last five years have no problem with my loss. In fact, if I did receive the win with only 150 votes, I would have been very disappointed. My problem is, what happened to the members of our great local? Only 203 votes cast out of the 14,000 members for an executive board position is truly concerning.

We are dying as a union. The only thing worse than my election results was in 2005 with Veronica Montgomery-Costa as a two-term sitting president winning her third term with 417 votes from a 25,000-plus membership. It is outrageous, embarrassing and just plain insane that Costa is the president of District Council 37 while having less than 2 percent of her local's voting support.

It is criminal that Lillian Roberts and AFSCME turn a blind eye to this absurdity. To allow this outrage to continue is abusive and proves that the best interest of the rank and file is denied. Without members' input and participation, we cannot reach our full potential and strength. We need a mail-in ballot. And we need it now! To have Costa's board go unchecked is dangerous and invites more secret 76-percent pay raises for the local's officials.

They say our membership is a sleeping giant that one day will rise. I say with Costa in power promoting nonparticipation from the members, the giant is comatose. Nine years of Costa and her ineffective leadership is more than enough. We have been raked over the coals and cannot take any more bad contracts with givebacks. DC 37 members are poorer today with the raises we got in the last two contracts than we were six years ago. Our purchasing power is falling behind the cost of living in New York City.

Local 372 has a major election on June 11. If the sleeping giant doesn't wake up and vote the bums out of 372, that giant will be on life support, and you might as well pull the plug. Re-electing Costa and taking another 3-percent-a-year contract at this time with this economy is suicide. If Costa steals another term from the "sleeping giant," I can predict that in two years there will be double the 8,000 members that are presently on food stamps. Our 300 members now in shelters will more than triple. DC 37 headquarters will see mass demonstrations from its members protesting the council.

TONY FERINA, Local 372 member