By JUSTINA RAMLAKAHN

On the evening of Jan. 28, delegate members from each local union represented by DC 37 convened at the union’s new headquarters. At the top of the agenda for their first meeting of the year was the swearing in of DC 37’s executive board, including newly re-elected Executive Director Henry Garrido, Board President Shaun D. Francois, I, Treasurer Maf Misbah Uddin, and Secretary John Hyslop.

The slate was unanimously approved during a vote at the delegates meeting on Nov. 26, 2024. As a result, seven new vice presidents joined the DC 37 Executive Board:

• Renee Belmar, President of Local 1070, Court, County and Department of Probation Employees
• Richard Kowalczyk, President of Local 3599, NYC Department of Environmental Protection Technical Professional Employees
• Anthony Lackhan, President of Local 1549, NYC Clerical-Administrative Employees
• Lenore McShane, President of Local 384, City University of New York and Educational Opportunity Centers
• Vinny Musillo, President of Local 1508, Uniformed Park Supervisors
• Samantha Rappa-Giovagnoli, President of Local 3005, NYC Health Department Technical Professional Employees
• Ron Riccardi, President of Local 1087, NYC Prevailing Rate Employees

Though the tone of the evening was celebratory, a heaviness hung in the air as earlier in the day President Donald Trump announced a series of executive orders threatening to do real damage to the public and nonprofit sectors.

During his first two weeks in office, President Trump signed nearly 40 orders impacting a wide array of policy areas, from immigration to public school curriculum, many of which have already been challenged in court.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining the executive board,” Belmar said. “The challenges that lie ahead for working families, women’s rights, and immigration will require us to use all of our resources to fight back against attacks on the advances that the labor movement has secured.”