b"time and I wasn't really involved in the union at that time, but I believe we reached out in 1976. It was around that timethat they certified us as members of this union.How old were you when you became a member of Teamsters Local 237?I would think I was about 25 years old, 26 years old.Did you have another job prior to working for the City of New York?Yes, I did. I worked in what's now called the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. When I first started, itwas called the Department of Public Works. Then it became MSA, which was Municipal Service Administration. Theychanged their initials over the years a couple of times, but basically, it's the Department of General Services. They have alot going on taking care of all the buildings of the City of New York. They have everything, engineers, plasterers,plumbers, elevator mechanics, which I am. It was the New York City office buildings and courthouses.What was your work site?My first work site was in Manhattan at the 107th Street Criminal Courts and I was an elevator mechanic's helper.Why did you decide to go to work for the City of New York?My dad worked there. I worked on the outside in the trade and it was a tough decision. When I started in private industry,I was doing well, I was a young man starting out. When you start, you work as an apprentice in my trade and work yourway up. To qualify for the City, you had to have so many years and you had to take civil service test to get into the City. The reason I did it was because my dad convinced me. He said it was good security and you get some vacation time. It wasbasically the same work as I was doing on the outside, but more secure. I often said youre not going to get rich workingfor the City, but it's like getting social security in your working life. On the outside, there are layoffs and cutbacks. Ifthere's no work on the outside, you can sit on the bench for a lot of years. With the City, they need you to service theirbuildings and the equipment all the time. When you're starting a young family, you try to do the best you can for yourfamily and that's the cost that I took trying to provide for my family.The pay was better in private industry?Yeah, I had more opportunities to advance a lot quicker on the outside and make more money.I was a young manand I wasn't on a high curve of financial income at that point.Did you have friends who worked for the City of New York?Yes, I did. Some high school friends got jobs with the City of New York, not with elevators, but as engineers, plasterers in buildings. At that time the City was hiring along with the utilities like Con Edison, Bell Telephone. All ofthose utilities and the City of New York itself were a very good option for a young man or a young woman to get a job.103 "