Public Employee Press: PEP Talk
Judith Arroyo retires
Local 436 nurses on COVID-19 frontlines
By DIANE S. WILLIAMS
Judith Arroyo, president of the United Federation of Public Nurses and Epidemiologists Local 436 since 2007, will retire in January 2021.
Arroyo is retiring after serving the union for more than 13 years as president and nine years as vice president. She served two terms on the DC 37 executive board as a vice president. Arroyo is a registered nurse who joined the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in 1993. She is a U.S. military veteran.
In line with the local’s constitution, members have elected Vice President Sharon Braxton as the new president beginning in December. Election results were certified on Nov. 18.
Local 436 represents more than 1,000 Public Health Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, and Public Health Epidemiologists in DOHMH, NYC Health+Hospitals and other agencies. They protect New York City residents’ health and are part of the city’s emergency medical response teams at call centers and 9/11 shelters. They are on the frontlines of major crises fighting anthrax, smallpox, influenza, tuberculosis, and Ebola, Zika and COVID-19 viruses.
For five years, Arroyo was the top, single member annual contributor to PEOPLE, AFSCME’s political fundraising program. AFSCME International honored Arroyo for her unwavering dedication and generosity.
Judith Arroyo is a long-time advocate for labor unions, pay equity, women’s rights, and LBGTQ rights.
“Women represent more than half the membership of DC 37 and we need more women to step into leadership roles,” she said. “We need grassroots organizing and conversations with members to build and maintain strong unions. Union leaders cannot take any member for granted.”
Arroyo and Local 436 members have been on the frontlines as essential workers since the COVID-19 pandemic overtook New York City. Their duties include COVID testing, as well as professional medical services at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Administration for Children’s Services, and other city agencies. Some Local 436 members have been working double shifts to protect public health since March.
Arroyo and Michele Trester of DC 37’s Research and Negotiations worked with DOHMH management on a plan to redeploy public health nurses if schools closed for an extended period.
“Public health nurses are working from home accessing automated school health records to follow up on immunizations and do case management for children with chronic diseases like diabetes and asthma. We also are doing COVID testing,” Arroyo said.
In the event of a longer shutdown of NYC public schools, she said the nurses may be redeployed to COVID-19 testing sites or assigned to other agencies as they were at the onset of the pandemic.
Arroyo also has led the charge for equal pay for nurses. She urges DOHMH to hire more public health nurses and epidemiologists to do COVID-19 testing and tracing.
“Dozens of schools are without a public health nurse to give medication to children and to address the health concerns of students and parents during this global health crisis,” Arroyo said. “At a time when we are negotiating to get our members who work in the schools equal pay for equal work, it’s disheartening to hear that the city is doing little to solve the nursing shortage.”
The staff shortage comes in part because DOHMH underpays registered nurses who can earn much more with better benefits at other nursing jobs, Arroyo explained.
“Despite DOHMH’s hiring 100 nurses,” Arroyo said, “they don’t stay.”
She remains positive that the next president of Local 436 will keep the pressure on DOHMH and the city for equal pay and more hiring.
