Blackballed Members Jeer ‘Autocratic’ and ‘Anti-Democratic’ Leadership at DC 37

By Joe Maniscalco

One of the unions New York City municipal retirees charge wields too much power inside the Municipal Labor Committee [MLC] and is helping to bulldoze workers into an inferior Medicare Advantage health insurance plan is being called “autocratic” and “anti-democratic” by some of its own members this week.

Calling for an investigation: Jodi McMillan, Oscar Alvarado and Wanda Williams outside District Council 37’s offices on Barclay Street this week. Photo by Joe Maniscalco

District Council 37 Local 1549 represents more than 10,000 clerical workers throughout New York City.  AFSCME — its international parent — is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Last month, AFSCME came in and seized control of Local 1549 following an audit of its finances, replacing President Eddie Rodriguez with Administrator Jim Howell and relieving about 10 others of their union posts.

AFSCME President Lee Sauders said Local 1549’s financial mess constituted an “emergency situation.”

But ousted Local 1549 grievance representative Jodi McMillan, an eligibility specialist for the Department of Social Services, described herself to Work-Bites earlier this week as a “dues paying member that’s been chopped off at the head” — and part of the “collateral damage” stemming from what she says was actually a political “coup.”

“I’ve been character-assassinated by people that ran against us — so, they’re calling us all crooks,” McMillan said.

Wanda Williams, who previously served as DC 37’s director of political action and later special assistant to Rodriguez, characterized Local 1549 as a “premier” DC 37 local that was working to “make sure a lot of the things that historically were not addressed by the council — were being addressed over the last two years.”

“That was frowned upon,” Williams said, “because in this autocratic, authoritative environment where there’s lack of transparency, if you don’t like somebody you become a target. If you have a different viewpoint, you become a target. If you raise your hand and hold your head too high, you’re slapped down — the democracy that was inherited in this union is no longer existing.”

Oscar Alvarado, former coordinator for special planning & strategic projects, says he is being denied severance pay following his termination in September.

“The council — or the administratorship — in my opinion, cannot decide what policies they’re going to accept and deny. I think it’s wrong and an injustice to deny staff severance pay,” he said.

Arthur Schwartz, longtime New York City labor lawyer and principal attorney at Advocates for Justice, was also outside DC 37’s offices at 125 Barclay Street when Work-Bites arrived. Schwartz said he represented Local 372 President Shaun D. Francois I when he “ran as an opposition guy” — but then left after three years “because I could see this excessive spending that was going on.”

He insists Local 372’s financials are in a lot worse shape than Local 1549 — and that focusing on the latter “shows that it’s a political hit.”

According to Schwartz, Local 372 had $15 million in the bank in 2014, but by 2020 that figure had dwindled down to $3.7 million in cash. Over the next 18 months, Schwartz says the sum was reduced another million dollars.

District Council 37 referred all requests for comment to the International parent.

In an email to Work-Bites, AFSCME Assistant Director of Communications Tracey Conaty said the decision to place an AFSCME affiliate under an Administratorship is “never made lightly.”

“In this case, the review conducted by the International Union found serious deficiencies,” she continued. “These included numerous violations of AFSCME’s Financial Standards Code and several fiscally irresponsible accounting and administrative policies and practices. The administrator, James Howell, is the local’s fiduciary and, as such, obligated to act in the best interests of the membership and the local. The administrator is ensuring that the local’s funds are used for the benefit of the membership and that the local is in full compliance with all applicable laws regarding leave, compensation and all other employment policies and practices. As the administratorship proceeds, the administrator will make the necessary modifications to achieve these goals.  

We will not be commenting further on personnel issues or the internal workings of the administratorship.”

District Council 37 is the biggest public sector union in the City of New York and will soon start hammering out a new contract covering tens of thousands of workers with an administration frantic about ever-increasing healthcare costs and eager to push municipal retirees into a for-profit Medicare Advantage insurance plan.

McMillan insists the members she represented are suffering and their medical benefits are “being put at risk.”

“Right now, our medical benefits are supposed to be on the table for a contract,” she said. “Is it? Or is it not? I don’t know because what we’re hearing is they’re fighting, but what we’re seeing is totally different. I don’t know…are we going to pay premiums? Most of us who work for the City of New York came to the City of New York for its benefits — and if those benefits are taken away, what’s the reason for us being here? There’s no reason for us being here. You don’t have nothing to offer us. We, the members, are the people who move this damned city. And we’ve always moved this city and for our council and AFSCME to shove us aside like we don’t — something’s wrong.”

Williams is calling for an “independent entity” to examine DC 37’s “internal operations” along with the “hiring and firing practices under [Executive Director] Henry Garrido’s leadership.”

“We fight on the outside with management, we talk about being a union — but the activities and action within the union are all anti-union,” Williams said.