Lillian Roberts
Encyclopedia
Lillian Roberts is currently the Executive Director of DC37
, the largest municipal union
in New York City
. She was first elected to this position in 2002.
Roberts was originally a nurse’s aide, and was secretary of the University of Chicago
Hospital local when she was invited by Victor Gotbaum
to join his AFSCME union staff in Chicago
. This began a professional relationship between Gotbaum and Roberts that lasted for years. When Gotbaum became head of DC37, Roberts joined him in New York as a director of hospital field operations, and eventually became Associate Director in charge of organization.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0030013224. In 1969, she was jailed for two weeks for defying New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller
and leading a strike against three mental hospitals.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E4D71331F932A35750C0A9649C8B63
In 1981, after events which decreased her power in DC37, she left the union and was appointed as New York State industrial commissioner, the first black woman to hold such a high post in New York.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0030013224 From 1987 to 1992, she was senior vice president of Total Health Systems, an HMO. DC37 was involved in a major scandal in the late 1990s, and Roberts return to DC37 as Executive Director in 2002, was seen, as noted in Robert's words, as a return to that "old time religion".http://www.dc37.net/news/pep/3_2002/newleaders.htm.
District Council 37
District Council 37 was chartered in 1944 by AFSCME to represent public employees in New York City. It was small and relatively unsuccessful under its first president, Henry Feinstein...
, the largest municipal union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She was first elected to this position in 2002.
Roberts was originally a nurse’s aide, and was secretary of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
Hospital local when she was invited by Victor Gotbaum
Victor Gotbaum
Victor H. Gotbaum was an American labor leader. From 1965 to 1987, he was president of AFSCME District Council 37 , the largest municipal union in New York City.-Biography:...
to join his AFSCME union staff in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. This began a professional relationship between Gotbaum and Roberts that lasted for years. When Gotbaum became head of DC37, Roberts joined him in New York as a director of hospital field operations, and eventually became Associate Director in charge of organization.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0030013224. In 1969, she was jailed for two weeks for defying New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
and leading a strike against three mental hospitals.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E4D71331F932A35750C0A9649C8B63
In 1981, after events which decreased her power in DC37, she left the union and was appointed as New York State industrial commissioner, the first black woman to hold such a high post in New York.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0030013224 From 1987 to 1992, she was senior vice president of Total Health Systems, an HMO. DC37 was involved in a major scandal in the late 1990s, and Roberts return to DC37 as Executive Director in 2002, was seen, as noted in Robert's words, as a return to that "old time religion".http://www.dc37.net/news/pep/3_2002/newleaders.htm.