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'237' Head Doing Right

To the Editor:

In her Aug. 15 letter to The Chief, Eunice Rodriguez accuses Local 237 President Gregory Floyd of playing politics. She misrepresents the facts.

Ms. Rodriguez claims that Mr. Floyd is not seeking a sufficient pay increase for School Safety Agents. I am a rank-and-file School Safety Agent and a member of Local 237's bargaining committee, and I'm proud to tell my brothers and sisters that Local 237 is making unprecedented demands this year on their behalf.

Indeed, Local 237 is demanding that agents receive equal pay to that of other law-enforcement agents, including Special Officers. Thus Local 237 is demanding annual pay increases of upwards of $7,000 per agent. I am particularly proud that President Floyd has emphasized that the School Safety force consists overwhelmingly of women and people of color. Thus parity with the Special Officers is a matter of justice.

In this connection, Ms. Rodriguez complains of a survey Local 237 conducted to compile statistics on the (impressive) educational attainments of School Safety Agents. Of course this evidence is crucial to Local 237's demands for parity for School Safety. It will be remembered that Ms. Rodriguez once dismissed President Floyd's successful uphill fight to make School Safety a competitive Civil Service title. Yet this win was also crucial to President Floyd's demand for School Safety's parity with other titles.

Local 237 is fighting for social justice for our School Safety title. Our union elections are far in the future. Can't we put our personal concerns on hold, so our membership may be unified in its fight for an historic pay increase?

ROSEMARY COLON