By MIKE LEE

District Council 37’s Field Operations team has led staff from several departments and Volunteer Member Organizers (VMOs) to spread the union message to non-members.

Called a “blitz”, the effort is part of an aggressive, ongoing campaign to build the union’s power in educating City workers and employees in nonprofit and private sector institutions about the incalculable value and job protections DC 37 membership offers.

Like last year’s internal organizing push, the union has relied on VMOs who have become an integral part of multiple campaigns, political electoral drives, and member recruitment. Their contributions are essential as part of DC 37’s core of highly trained and focused labor activists.

With recent collective bargaining contracts settled and essential agreements made with the City on alternative work schedules, the latest blitz is an opportunity to connect with potential members and highlight the efficacy of union participation.

The DC 37 Organizing Department, which includes 12 experienced organizers led by Organizing Director Fareed Michelen, has taken the lead on training VMOs during the campaign. Associate Organizing Director Indira Mohan and Organizing Manager Andrew Hackman train volunteers in both the public and private sectors.

“We are seeing members who retired trying to find ways to be active in their union,” Mohan said. “Having that institutional knowledge to come in and support newer members and the union’s growth is priceless.”

Training VMOs typically takes two days, and Mohan said she is impressed with the results.

“It’s been working. We’re having cards come in relatively consistently,” Mohan said. “People are signing up to become members and trying to figure out how to become active in the union.”

Mohan stressed the need to energize the base by having meaningful one-on-one conversations. Recruitment of members is more than getting a signature on a card; the priority is getting workers excited about joining the union and imbuing them with a sense of empowerment.

“The VMO training is centered around finding a worker who might be a point of contact or a great activist in their department, agency, or shift,” Mohan said. “That’s what I want them to think about while in the field.”

A Necessary Effort

One focus of the blitz is recruiting workers at the City University of New York (CUNY). The union just settled on a collective bargaining agreement that helped the push to educate workers about the value of finding their voice as DC 37 members.

Dishunta Meredith, President of Local 2054 NYC College Assistants, has worked tirelessly during the campaign, sharing the union message with CUNY workers who work in multiple locations.

Local 2054 represents College Assistants, Disability Accommodations Specialists, and Sign Language Interpreters at the CUNY Graduate, Senior, Technical, and Community Colleges, Hunter College High School, and the Computer Center in midtown Manhattan.

“This effort is necessary,” Meredith said. “Educating young people about the union is vital for my local, and it’s tricky when you have new people who are unaware of our past accomplishments for the workers.” When new members join her local, she thanks them for coming into the DC 37 family.

“To survive as a union, we must educate the rising generation,” Meredith said. “We must stress how important the labor movement is for all of us. If we don’t do that, we fail.”