With Executive Director Lillian Roberts at her side Jan. 28, DC 37 President Veronica Montgomery-Costa installs new vice presidents.

Delegates elect four
to Executive Board

In a Special Election on Jan. 28, the Delegates Council elected four new DC 37 vice presidents.

The new members of the DC 37 Executive Board are Gloria Acevedo, president of United Federation of Nurses and Epidemiologists Local 436; Carolyn Harper, president of Board of Education Clerical-Administrative Local 1251; Alex Parker, president of Juvenile Center Employees Local 1457 and John Socha, president of Queensborough Public Library Guild Local 1321.

Five new positions were created by a recent amendment to the DC 37 Constitution that expanded the board from 20 to 25 vice presidents. The new vice presidents received majority votes Jan. 28.

A run-off election was scheduled for the next Delegates Council on Feb. 25 (after PEP went to press). Competing in the run-off were Michael DeMarco, president of Traffic Employees Local 1455, and Robert Schirmer, president of Metropolitan Museum of Art Local 1503. The amendment also added the president of the Retirees Association to the board as a non-voting member. Retirees President Stuart Leibowitz (also profiled below) was installed late last year.

Executive Director Lillian Roberts originally proposed the change in an effort to “broaden and strengthen our democracy within District Council 37.” The American Arbitration Association administered the voting. Only delegates from local unions whose membership is less than 5 percent of DC 37’s entire membership could participate in the Special Election.

Santos Crespo, chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, chaired the election portion of the meeting. He was assisted by committee members Carmen Charles, president of Local 420, and Esther “Sandy” Tucker, president of Local 384.