b"\x02Pernell HepbournDepartment of Corrections, Civilian CookMember since 1994The following is an edited version of Pernell Hepbourns oral history interview fromFebruary 17, 2017.What year did you become a member of Teamsters Local 237?1994. Thats when I started working for the City. I was 37 years old.In what city agency did you work?New York City Department of Correction. I worked on Rikers Island. My job title was Civilian Cook.Why did you decide to go to work for the Departments of Correction?At the time, I was looking for a job that had medical benefits, because the last jobs that I had, even though themoney was better, I didn't have medical benefits.I had a large family and I have an autistic son and the medical benefitsare not the same as working for the City, as opposed to working private industry. And, working for the City, you havelongevity. I have a retirement plan, you have a savings plan, you get more benefits working for the City than privateindustry.Did anyone influence your decision to go into city service?Someone had told me to try to get a job as a cook for the Department of Correction because I had worked a numberof jobs in the restaurant field before. I have a long history in the private club. I worked under a French chef for 13 years,and the money and the recognition were there, but I didn't have the medical coverage in order to support my family.Was this just an acquaintance, a friend or family member who recommended you to apply for a city job?It was an acquaintance. It was a friend of my wife's really. She was a corrections officer and she knew at the time I was between jobs. She said: Why don't you try, you know, for corrections. And I sent my application in and I had forgot-ten about it and then one day, I got a phone call from personnel asking if I still want the job. It was a good three months.Did you have friends who already worked for the City of New York?Yeah, my wife was there already. She started a couple of months before me working for the City. I'd known peoplethat worked for the City before be it at other agencies, be it sanitation, police department or whatever or school teachers;that sort of thing.173 "