Asst. Director Research & Negotiations
District Council 37 AFSCME
2019
Upon returning from HTUP, I accepted a position as an Asst. Director Research & Negotiations at DC37. Since then, I have negotiated various contracts and worked closely with employers and members as we all struggled through the pandemic. Having been given the opportunity to work at DC37 has been the highlight of my career. In 2021 I was able to retire after 30 years of civil service with NY State and merge into my new career at DC37.The work is hard but rewarding and I am able to put all of my labor studies education to great use. HTUP was one of my final educational stops on my journey, but you know what they say, “Save the best for Last!” Thank you HTUP for an awesome experience
What impact has the HTUP had on your life/career? The greatest impact HTUP has had on my life, is the life long friendships I have made. The Brothers and Sisters from all over the US and internationally have given me insight to experiences I might not have had the chance to learn about. Friendships I have developed have continued on past our time at HTUP and for that I am most grateful and appreciative.
Do you have an interesting/funny story of when you attended the program? During one of our sessions we discussed race relations in America, specifically relationships between the police and African Americans. The discussion lead our group to create a movie night every Tuesday for the duration of the program and we watched a variety of labor history and racial injustice movies that were prevalent and relatable. Although the topic may have seemed uncomfortable, it was necessary, especially since many of us came from a variety of different walks of life, and never experienced any form of racial injustice. However, we were able to help each other relate to other types of injustices, that were relatable.
There after, we created and designed our “We are Union” graduation hoodies for the class of 2019.
CONTACT INFORMATION
80-30 170th Street, Jamaica, NY, United States, 11432
spayton@dc37.net