Labor Power Players

Patrick J. Lynch, a 38-year NYPD veteran, is president of the NYC PBA, the world’s largest police union. Both unionism and civil service are in Pat Lynch’s blood: as a boy, he walked a TWU picket line with his father, followed his father into the Transit Authority as a subway conductor, and then joined other relatives among the ranks of New York’s Finest. Since being elected in 1999, he has transformed the union into a member-driven organization and has presided over six contract battles that increased police pay by nearly 80%.

What sector does your union service (healthcare, construction, etc.)?
Municipal civil service.

What are the benefits that unions (your particular union, if applicable) offer their members?
The PBA is, first and foremost, a labor union. As such, its primary function is to be the members’ voice, by speaking up loudly and clearly to protect their rights and advance their interests.

What brought you to organizing and/or the issue of worker advocacy?
My experience on the TWU picket lines with my father showed me what working people, especially public employees, can achieve when we all stand together. We have the power to improve not only our own lives, but the lives of every person in this city.

William Lynn is the business manager and financial secretary of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30 based in Whitestone, New York, and the chairman of the board of trustees of the Local 30 Benefit Funds. Bill joined Local 30 in 1990 as an apprentice and was a shop steward before rising to dispatcher, business representative and recording-corresponding secretary. Bill has held the position of business manager and financial secretary since 2014. In October of 2019, he was elected international vice president after having served as an international trustee since 2017. Bill also holds leadership positions at several labor organizations, including the Long Island and Westchester-Putnam AFL-CIO, Nassau-Suffolk Building Trades, Municipal Labor Council, New York State Public Employee Conference, Long Island Labor Advisory Council and the James Connolly Irish American Labor Coalition. He is a graduate of the Cornell Leadership Institute.

James Mahoney was appointed general vice president in 2015, although his career as an ironworker stems back to 1982. Mr. Mahoney attended the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University before working as Local 580’s recording secretary and business agent from 1993 to 2008. Mr. Mahoney has also served as chair of Local 580’s joint funds and delegate to the New York State District Council of Iron Workers.

Jose Maldonado is the president of Unite Here Local 100 in New York and New Jersey. Jose was previously the secretary treasurer until 2021 when he was elected as president. He has remained committed to strengthening workers’ rights from his start as a grill man for compass to fighting in numerous strikes, the largest being the Box Tree Hotel, which lasted four years, and the Aramark strike. Throughout these fights, Jose helped establish pension plans, family healthcare and guided many of the youth in leading accomplished lives. He also increased the Union density of the Local from 4,000 members to 18,000 members. Mr. Jose Maldonado continues fighting to grow and raise standards.

Since July 2003, Anne Malloy-Trenkle has served as the New York State director of Helmets to Hardhats, a national organization originally established to help post-9/11 veterans transition to building trades careers. Ms. Malloy-Trenkle was instrumental in developing apprenticeship programs for veterans throughout New York, including direct-entry pathways. In 2013, Ms. Malloy-Trenkle successfully established New York City Helmets to Hardhats, specifically dedicated to helping veterans build careers in New York City construction.

Dr. Gregory Mantsios is the founding Dean of the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. The school is the first of its kind in the U.S., dedicated to public service and social justice. Prior to joining CUNY, Dr. Mantsios was a community organizer, an elected officer of AFT Local 1796, a sociology professor at William Paterson University, and director of Labor Studies at Empire State College, SUNY.  He holds a B.A. in Sociology and an M.A. in Urban Studies from Queens College, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Union Institute and University.

Rich Maroko first became involved with the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council in 2002, when he began serving as general counsel and managing the legal department. He was elected vice president of the Hotel Trades Council in 2011, and now serves as the council’s president. Mr. Maroko is a distinguished labor and employment lawyer, having argued cases in front of federal courts, the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, and the Division of Human Rights.

Michael McGuire is the chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare in New York. Michael is responsible for sales, account management, regulatory compliance, and network development for UnitedHealthcare’s commercial operations in the state of New York. Michael and his team coordinate access to a wide array of consumer-oriented, personalized health benefit plans and services for nearly three million people who purchase their health insurance individually or through small, large and public sector employers.

Gloria became president of CWA Local 1180 in January 2018, and is the first African-American and first female leading the 9,000 active-member local, after having served as the longtime secretary-treasurer. She is trustee for the Benefits-Annuity funds, an MLC Steering Committee member, New York City CLC Executive Board member, was chair of CWA’s National Committee on Civil Rights and Equity, and is a diversity member-at-large for the Northeast Region. She successfully finalized the Union’s EEO lawsuit against New York City, winning $15 million for administrative managers, and helped form the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.

What sector does your union service (healthcare, construction, etc.)?
City administrative workers and not-for-profit organizations.

What are the benefits that unions (your particular union, if applicable) offer their members?
We are a progressive union that believes all workers deserve a living wage and healthcare benefits so families can live an economically stable life; we believe in pay equity, reducing costs of prescription drugs and health care, and affordable higher education.

What brought you to organizing and/or the issue of worker advocacy?
I come from a labor household. My parents had eight children and they never would have been able to take care of all of us without the benefits of being in a union.

How will New York’s labor force evolve in the next five years?
If we keep the current U.S. President and mostly democratic Congress, labor will grow and become an even greater force to be reckoned with. If the Administration changes, we will be working twice as hard to survive.

What kind of impact does organized labor have on local communities?
Our members work, shop, buy food, pay rent, and own properties in their local communities. We lift the economy of every community we live in.

John Mooney is the president of the Civil Service Employees Association, which represents full-time employees of the City of Long Beach. CSEA Long Beach provides benefits such as healthcare, life insurance, maternity benefits, and employee assistance programs. CSEA members have assisted in community development projects for the City of Long Beach, including working with the United State Army Corps of Engineers to install jetties along beaches to prevent flooding and erosion.