April 2025 DC 37 Delegates Meeting Report
Summary
Federal Cuts & Organizing Response: Executive Director Henry Garrido outlined the impact of proposed $1.5 billion federal funding cuts to key social programs. In response, DC 37 is launching a city “Get Organized” campaign, including on-site town halls, to mobilize members against these cuts.
City & State Budget Concerns: Garrido highlighted 22,000 city job vacancies, including 8,000 in DC 37 roles, and that DC 37 is pushing back against proposals to privatize park staffing. He also noted efforts to ensure cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) benefit for non-profit workers and that the city budget was potentially delayed until June 30.
Healthcare & Vendor Issues: The union is selecting a new healthcare vendor and expects its in-house PBM to launch by 2027. Current issues include delays and denials with PICA coverage and vendor debt to the union.
Political Endorsements & Legislative Updates: DC 37 delegates approved the PAC’s endorsement slate, with discussions on ranked choice voting and possible anti-Cuomo campaigning. Staffing and agency budget issues were also raised.
Labor Negotiations Progress: Updates included NYCHA’s compressed shifts, ongoing talks with MTA on remote work, and progress on pay orders sent to OLR and longevity pay increases.
Meeting Report
The meeting began normally with the DC 37 delegates credentials report from Mike DeMarco, approval of the previous meeting’s minutes, and the DC 37 treasurer’s report from Maf Misbah Uddin. This was then followed by the executive director’s report from Henry Garrido along with questions and discussion.
Trump administration cuts, state & city budget progress
During the executive director’s report, Garrido spoke about a federal proposal to cut $1.5 billion in government funding to programs such as Head Start, Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), SNAP/food stamps, rent subsidies, and more. Garrido emphasized that Congress has done nothing to push back on Trump and DC 37 was launching a “Get Organized” campaign as a part of AFSCME’s national effort to fight back against Donald Trump. DC 37 will be organizing town hall meetings in all 5 boroughs to reach our membership at different worksites.
Garrido emphasized the importance of these organizing efforts, illustrating it with an anecdote about how the city says there isn’t enough money for cultural institutions because of federal cuts as we currently sit at 22,000 vacancies across the city with 8,000 in DC 37 titles which are mostly located in the Parks Department. There have been proposals to hire private workers to staff certain park jobs such as privatized police in affluent parks, but DC 37 is demanding that these workers be city workers and DC 37 members.
The report went on to cover matters in Albany, noting that the New York State budget was still in progress. While certain bad provisions that would have hurt our pension were successfully killed, DC 37 is working to make sure that any COLA wins in the budget process will go to the workers and their salaries instead of leadership. Garrido noted that he expects the city budget to be late, with the last possible date for submission being June 30.
Healthcare: vendor selection & PICA denials
Garrido touched on healthcare issues for DC 37 members, starting off with the selection of a new vendor for new healthcare. DC 37 was currently in the middle of this process and it was noted that NIP will have no changes except for some additional coverage–including expanding the network for retirees that live outside of NYC.
DC 37 expects its in-house pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) to be ready in 2027, but in the meantime some current vendors such as Aetna, Optum and ESI (for PICA) owe the union money. Additionally, if members have received PICA denials or delays, they have been encouraged to contact DC 37 for assistance. There have been changes to approval of GLP drugs that will now require pre-authorization due to their expense.
Political endorsements & government relations
DC 37 Vice President Donald Nesbit introduced the DC 37 Political Action Committee’s endorsement recommendations for City Council, Borough President, Comptroller, Public Advocate, and the union’s ranked choice endorsement for Mayor. There was a brief discussion about whether or not DC 37 should embark on a “don’t rank Cuomo” campaign before the delegates voted to approve the endorsement recommendations.
DC 37’s political director Odetty Tineo also presented to the delegates, stating that the June PAC meeting will be about ranked choice voting. Additionally she reported that there were staffing issues at some agencies and that there was currently a proposal to reform agency budgets in the City Council appropriations committee.
Negotiations updates
Research and negotiations director Dan Katz presented to the delegates, noting that NYCHA was opening up compressed shifts for some members and that the MTA was continuing to meet with labor relations regarding remote work. Additional items included the fact that pay orders were being completed and sent to OLR on members’ behalf and that New York State is implementing longevity increases for certain members.