2024 Labor Power Players

Renee Campion was appointed in 2019 as the first woman labor commissioner in New York City. Campion has worked for the city for over 20 years and has worked for 31 years as a professional in labor relations. She represents the mayor in labor negotiations between the city of NY and over 150 labor unions, associations, or other organizations representing civilians, teachers and uniformed employees. Campion is responsible for administering all city employee contracts, prevailing wage agreements, health insurance for over 1.2M individuals including active employees, and various pre-tax programs.  

What led you down your current career path?
I spent the first part of my career working for a labor union for over 11 years. I have spent the last 22+ years representing the Mayor and the City of New York on hundreds of issues and in thousands of discussions with our labor unions. The relationships that I have built over the past 30+ years with both labor and management have allowed me to most effectively do the job that I have today as labor commissioner for the City of New York.

What does your organization hope to accomplish in 2024?
Collective Bargaining

• In 2023, the City was able to reach collective bargaining agreements with over 93% of our unionized workforce under Mayor Adams’ administration. This was the quickest any mayoral administration has reached that milestone in modern city history.
• In 2024, OLR looks forward to reaching voluntary agreements with the rest of the unionized workforce.

 WorkWell NYC

• OLR plans to reach even more city employees in 2024 by expanding programming and directly engaging up to 50,000 city workers for WorkWell NYC.

EAP

• Through expanded outreach, the Employee Assistance Program looks forward to supporting and assisting more than 30,000 city workers and their families in 2024.

Michael Carrube began his career in NYCT in 1989 as a train conductor. In 1993, he was elected shop steward. He then served as TWU 100 division chairman from 1997 to 2004. In 2007, he was promoted to supervisor and joined the Subway-Surface Supervisors Association. In 2010, he was elected section VP. In 2014, he was elected SSSA president. In 2018, he created the National Association of Transportation Supervisors, representing supervisors and managers.

What led you down your current career path?
I was attracted to a career in NYC Transit because of the extensive opportunities it provided for career advancement and the great benefits.

What does your organization hope to accomplish in 2024?
The SSSA will continue to vigorously advocate to protect our members’ employment rights and improve their working conditions.

What are the benefits that union membership (your union if applicable) provides? 
My union provides a full range of membership benefits including but not limited to, legal representation to protect our members’ employment rights, health, optical, and dental benefits, life insurance and scholarship awards for the children of our members.

Edwin Christian currently serves as the business manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 14-14B. For more than three decades, Mr. Christian has been an active member of Local 14-14B previously serving as president and holding the positions of business agent, treasurer, executive board member, examining board member and union trustee. Mr. Christian is affiliated with many other organizations including the I.U.O.E National Training Fund, NYC Coalition of Operating Engineers, and NYC Building and Construction Trades council.

As president of the New York State AFL-CIO, Mario Cilento has concentrated on harnessing the collective power of the Federation’s 3,000 affiliates in the public sector, private sector, and building trades, and their 2.5 million members to enact legislation that has an impact on the lives of workers. Recent victories include pension reform, Buy American laws, historic labor standards on renewable energy projects, and protections for workers who refuse to participate in captive audience meetings.

What led you down your current career path?
I grew up in a union family. My father was an active member of his union, Local 3 IBEW. I learned about the importance of unions, at a very young age, during discussions around the dinner table. It gave me a deep understanding of how unions improve people’s lives and I proudly continue that tradition to this day with my own three daughters. I’ve been a proud card-carrying member of the Newspaper Guild-CWA since 1990.

What does your organization hope to accomplish in 2024?
We have a long list of priorities to improve the quality of life for all working people. Key among them this year is fixing the Tier 6 pension system which is crippling the state’s ability to recruit and retain its workforce. We are also focused on improving unemployment benefits, ensuring we have safeguards related to AI, addressing climate change responsibly, and combating institutional poverty to name just a few.

What are the benefits that union membership (your union if applicable) provides?
Unions have a long history of providing better pay, better benefits, and better working conditions. Unionized workers earn 13.5% more than their nonunion peers and 95% of union members have access to health benefits compared with just 71% of nonunion workers. Ninety-five percent of union members have access to retirement benefits compared with 70% of nonunion workers. It is why we are seeing near-record-high favorability. Workers are noticing the differences unions make.

Louis Civello grew up in Broad Channel, a small neighborhood located in southern Queens, NY. Hailing from a police family Louis’ lifelong vocation was to serve his community as a law enforcement officer. Louis joined the New York City Police Department in 2000. Today Louis serves as president of the Suffolk County PBA, the County’s largest law enforcement union. Thousands of police officers and their families depend on the PBA to represent them. Louis is committed to continuing the legacy of unsurpassed excellence, fierce advocacy, and relentless defense of law enforcement the SCPBA is known for.

Patrick Cullen is currently serving in his 4th term as president, the longest serving in the history of the organization. Patrick credits his tight-knit team for the union’s success in collective bargaining and the provision of benefits to over 2500 active and retired officers and their families. He believes that a daily commitment to communications with the membership and using technology have been critical factors in advancing labor’s mission.

What led you down your current career path?
After seeing the disruption of critical union functions, I decided it was time to get involved as a delegate. I have always believed that criticism gets you nowhere, but offering solutions brings results. After two terms as a delegate, my team and I coalesced around the idea that the union needed to be operated with a corporate mindset and ran our initial successful campaign on that premise.

What does your organization hope to accomplish in 2024?
We hope to continue providing and adding to the generous benefit package for our members and their families. We will continue to advance the overall labor agenda on the legislative front. The union is fully committed to the highest level of member engagement and will be preparing for the next round of bargaining in 2026. It is also important that we continue to support charitable endeavors.

What are the benefits that union membership (your union if applicable) provides?
We provide dental, vision, and hearing services. There are many ancillary programs which benefit all of our members. We partner with dozens of companies to provide our membership with serious cost-saving discounts. We recently began a student loan relief program. We are most proud of our preventative health screening programs which have identified serious health concerns, delivered statistics on health risks and saved lives.

A champion for workers, SAG-AFTRA Executive Director, NY Local, Labor Policy and International Affairs, Rebecca Damon was previously the union’s executive vice president and president of the NY Local. Damon is a vice president of the NY State AFL-CIO Executive Council, a member of the NYC Central Labor Council, a member of the NYC Film and Television Production Industry Council, a board member of PowHer NY and a vice president of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.

What led you down your current career path?
It has always been a passion of mine to ensure that people are treated fairly and in the manner they deserve. I believe that unions are the very best way to do that. Whether it’s fighting for fair treatment and safe working conditions for performers, advocating for equal pay for women, or working to level the playing field for SAG-AFTRA members, I have a deep belief in the power and dignity of work and workers.

What does your organization hope to accomplish in 2024?
SAG-AFTRA will continue to protect professionals who work in front of a camera and behind a microphone in an ever-changing technological landscape, support our fellow entertainment industry unions as they negotiate their own contracts, and work to ensure proper guardrails around the use of A.I. both at the federal and state level.

What are the benefits that union membership (your union if applicable) provides?
In addition to negotiating and enforcing contracts for professional performers, SAG-AFTRA and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation offer members tools to navigate the industry and expand their craft along the way. A proud member of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA partners with U.S. and international unions to seek the strongest protections for media artists throughout the world and works with all levels of government to expand protections for media professionals both at home and abroad.

James Davis served as chapter chair at Brooklyn College from 2015 to 2021, where he is a professor of English. He was elected to the PSC Executive Council in 2018 as senior college officer and served on the bargaining committee. With the PSC, he has led lobbying teams in Albany and demonstrations in the streets, represented the union in public hearings and helped to negotiate the implementation of the full-time faculty teaching load reduction.

What led you down your current career path?
A longtime PSC activist, James was drawn to organizing with students and colleagues 17 years ago to prevent tuition hikes and military recruitment on campus. James has helped to wage successful chapter campaigns for health and safety, academic freedom, union membership, adjunct equity, anti-racism and cross-title solidarity.

What does your organization hope to accomplish in 2024?
The PSC and our 30,000 members have been working without a contract since the end of February 2023. The union is demanding raises that exceed inflation, pay parity and job security for adjunct faculty, better benefits, continued remote and flexible work options for staff, and other gains. Additionally, the PSC is urging state lawmakers and Governor Hochul to add hundreds of millions more to the CUNY budget, which will help both students and staff.

What are the benefits that union membership (your union if applicable) provides?
The PSC is dedicated to advancing the professional lives of our members, enhancing their terms and conditions of employment, and maintaining the strength and educational excellence of the nation’s largest urban public university. The union negotiates, administers and enforces collective bargaining agreements; protects the rights of staff through the grievance and arbitration process; engages in political activity on behalf of CUNY and its staff and students; and advocates for the interests of the instructional staff.

Now in her second term, Susan DeCarava is the first Black woman elected NYGuild president. DeCarava’s leadership has helped her union grow into the country’s largest journalism local, doubling the number of active members while navigating through industry challenges such as COVID-19, pay inequity and unethical use of AI. She continually helps set new industry standards while bargaining progressive contracts. DeCarava also serves on the Advisory Board for CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies.

What led you down your current career path?
Organizing my workplace opened my eyes to what’s possible with a union. To be on equal terms with the boss and be able to advocate for real workplace reform was radicalizing! So I switched careers and deepened my knowledge of bargaining and power dynamics. My first election victory was in 2020 as the leader of a reform slate with a vision of a diverse, member-led union dedicated to building worker power in the media industry.

What does your organization hope to accomplish in 2024?
Journalism is under attack from greedy corporate executives. We know what it takes to win against them: Stand up and fight. And we’re doing that: In the span of six days last month, nine percent of our membership was on strike. Hundreds of members out on the picket line, fighting against layoffs and for fair contracts. It’s why we’re calling this year “More in ‘24:” More worker power, more industry-leading contracts and more solidarity.

What are the benefits that union membership (your union if applicable) provides?
We offer so many benefits but among the most important is the ability of all media workers to have a voice in their newsrooms. We ensure that there continues to be a free press, as we fight for living wages and benefits for workers in every aspect of media from journalism to tech to administration and business, and against corporate executives who routinely sacrifice the news our communities deserve for shareholder profits.

Carmen served as the state assembly member of the 72nd District for five years before becoming the first Dominican woman elected to represent District 10 at the New York City Council. She serves as the chair of the Civil Service and Labor Committee, co-chair of the Women’s Caucus, and vice co-chair of the Progressive Caucus. She has passed legislation on pay equity, improving the civil service exam and hiring process, and supporting workers’ rights.

What led you down your current career path?
My advocacy and passion for justice are influenced by my upbringing with a working-class immigrant family that settled in Inwood, a high-need community. I pursued a path of public service where I felt the needs of Uptown communities could be met. I am proud to serve as a changemaker at tables that typically did not have people who look like me and bring subdued voices into major decision-making processes.

What does your organization hope to accomplish in 2024?
As a Council, we are committed to passing progressive labor protections and civil service reforms to make pathways to the middle class more accessible. As a leadership member in both the New York City Council Progressive Caucus and Women’s Caucus, we can hone in on policies that ensure pay equity and examine the intersectional challenges of our workforce.

What are the benefits that union membership (your union if applicable) provides?
Union membership provides an amplified voice of protection and bargaining power, ensures industries – hazardous ones such as construction – have trained labor with higher safety standards and gives workers a platform to change how we see labor. Unions protect and uplift working families, providing benefits and access to resources where employers fail to deliver.