AFSCME LOCAL 983 

President's Message
Joe Puleo

Almost a year ago, the Executive Board met to discuss how we could better improve our communication and outreach with members, especially since we are scattered throughout so many different agencies in all five boroughs. We had already implemented numerous changes, but believed we could do more. In the previous couple of years, we started a newsletter that we published periodically to bring members up to date on important news. However, print is not as timely as we would like, and we discovered that most of those stories were more feature than news. We also started making better use of the Local 983 social media outlets, but found we could not provide as much information on them as we needed. That left us with our website; however, that was outdated and not very user friendly.

So, here we are, with a new website we are really proud of that provides our members with all the information that they previously needed to contact the Local 983 office to obtain. While the entire site is open to everyone, the Benefits section is private and open only to members and retirees who were all provided with individual passwords. If you did not receive yours, please call the Union office to obtain it.

This year has been full of change. Our country has a new President and Vice President. New York City has finally started to re-open after almost 18 months of pandemic shut down. New York State’s governor resigned amidst a sexual assault scandal, and we now have our first female governor with Kathy Hochul. New York City is about to get a new mayor, and the City Council, for the first time, could very well have a majority of female members after the November General Election.

Throughout all of this, we have learned that we, as organized labor, cannot always control what goes on outside, but we can often play a part in making change. With DC 37, we supported many candidates for City Council who won their primary elections and are en route to win in November as well. These are candidates who have proven to be on the side of labor, who have shown they will support us when we need them, and we know will have an open-door policy when we come knocking.

And, throughout all of this change, we have learned that what we can control is what goes on inside of our own Local 983 house. These past couple of years have shown us that when we work together and stand together, we become stronger and more resilient. Everything we do as an Executive Board is for the betterment of our 3,000-plus members. Our Union is about you. So be sure to scroll down and sign up for our emails, our Union updates, and our newsletters. It’s the best way for us to keep in touch with you and for you to know what’s going on with your Union.