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DC37 News Feed
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Celebrating Our Heritage
With the doors open at 125 Barclay St., DC 37’s Committee celebrations have returned in full force with community, dance, storytelling, delicious cuisines, cultural performances, and calls to action. Jewish Heritage Committee Elected leaders and DC 37 members honored the contributions of Jewish workers in building the labor movement at the DC 37 Jewish Heritage Celebration on May 22. From left: Local 1189 NYC Psychologists President and Chair of the DC 37 Jewish Heritage Committee, Dr. Leonard Davidman, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, NYC Council Member Julie Menin, DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido, David G. Greenfield, Chief Executive Officer, Met Council, Local 1407 Grievance Rep and committee member Igor Galanter, and NYPD Chief Chaplain Rabbi Dr. Alvin Kass, who is also a Local 299 member. Photo by Mike Lee. Latino Heritage Committee Members of the DC 37 Latino Heritage Committee marched down Fifth Avenue during the 68th Annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade on June 8. The committee, which is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month as PEPTalk goes to press, is chaired by SSEU Local 371 Executive Vice President Doris Murphy and works to encourage Latino members to become involved in the union as leaders within their locals, in the [...]
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Awarding the Rising Generation
The DC 37 Education Committee held its annual event honoring this year’s scholarship winners on June 27 at union headquarters. The 2025 winners are, from left: Saniyah McNealy (child of Cristina McNealy of SSEU Local 371), winner of the Overcoming Obstacles Scholarship; Addrita Biswas (child of SSEU Local 371 member Tapati Mondal), winner of the Memorial Scholarship; SSEU Local 371 President Anthony Wells; Breonna Cornelius (child of Tisha Benbow, SSEU Local 371 member), winner of the Evelyn Gaskin Scholarship, and Local 3778 President Olivia Duong, Chair of the DC 37 Education Committee. Not pictured: Local 2054 member Michelle Velez, winner of the Dwayne Dugger Memorial Scholarship; Anna Orlovtsev (child of Local 3652 member Stanislav Orlovstev), winner of the Education Committee Scholarship; and Local 2627 member Argenis Luna, winner of the Lillian Roberts Scholarship. Photo by Mike Lee.
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Pride In Labor: Loud, Proud & Unbreakable
Members of PDIG marched behind a new banner during this year’s NYC Pride Parade. Photo by Andrew Douglas DC 37 honored queer communities at the Pride Diversity Interest Group (PDIG) “Pride in Labor: Loud, Proud, and Unbreakable” Celebration on June 27. Andrew Douglas, who previously led SSEU Local 371’s LGBTQIA Committee, now serves as DC 37’s PDIG Committee Chair. DC 37 members celebrated Pride Month at the union’s headquarters amid a flurry of colorful decorations, a packed dance floor, and a fierce ballroom performance. Dancers of “The Precious 5” dipped, dropped, duckwalked, and vogued. The Committee also turned out for the NYC Pride Parade on June 29 to uplift the impact of queer people within the labor movement. The Precious 5 get in formation and begin their choreographed routine. Photo by Acacia Rodriguez
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Check Your Check
Story & Photo by MIKE LEE Depending on the City agency you work for, whether you are employed at a cultural institution, or are in the nonprofit human services sector, the structure and terminology of your paycheck may vary. One line in a paycheck is the Recurring Increment Payment (RIP), an additional amount of pay based on the length of City service, irrespective of previous titles. Another line added to the base salary, usually called either Longevity Differential or Service Increment, is based on years of continuous service in the same occupational group or the same Local. Past part-time service is prorated for either amount if employees become full time. Recently, Local 375 member Omar Ortiz, a City Planner 1 at the NYC Department of City Planning, received $20,000 in back pay for RIP and Longevity Differential that he should have started to earn in 2014 when he transitioned from part time to full time serving as a City Planning Technician. Ortiz began his career in the Department in October 2006 as a part-time City Planning Technician working 34 hours a week. In 2017, he passed the Civil Service Exam for City Planner 1 and was promoted. “The first thing [...]
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City Strikes Budget Deal
Story by MIKE LEE New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Mayor Eric Adams agreed on a preliminary City budget, shaking hands at a ceremony at City Hall on June 27, three days before the deadline. The nearly $116.9 billion Fiscal Year 2026 budget was voted on and approved by the Council on June 30. It is the largest budget in New York City’s history. Despite Wall Street exchanges bouncing back and forth after the Trump administration’s imposition of tariffs on dozens of countries, the City expects to receive revenues of $116 billion. This maintains the legal requirements for the City budget to remain balanced and have sufficient cash reserves. Sunday Library Service, Culturals Funding The Fiscal Year 2026 budget substantially raised funding for the city’s three library systems. The $32.7 million library budget includes $2 million earmarked to expand services on Sundays for ten library branches, increasing the number to 17. As PEPtalk goes to press, these branches are yet to be determined. This had been a central focus for DC 37 and the union’s library locals that represent workers at the New York, Brooklyn, and Queens public libraries. The City’s cultural institutions received $75 million for next [...]
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