b'\x02Norman R. McFieldHHC, cook Member since 1968In his own wordsIn 1968, I was employed as a cook with the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation at Elmhurst Hospital inElmhurst, New York. I worked at Elmhurst Hospital until July 1976. In August 1976, I was transferred to the BrooklynHouse of Detention for men. I was soon promoted to senior cook. In 1979 I was promoted to Food Manager. In1989, I retired from the Department of Correction. Throughout my employment with the City of New York, I was the Shop Stewart for cooks until I was appointed Food Service manager. I was elected by the membership to serve as shop stewardfrom 1968 to 1979. I attended the union class for shop steward training in 1974. In 1976 when I was transferred from the hospitals to the Corrections Dept., the hospitals refused to roll over my seniority and time (sick and vacation) to thecorrections Dept. The union fought for me. All of my time and seniority went with me. Thank you Local 237.\x02Thomas SantiagoIn his own wordsI left the battlefields of (Korea) the Forgotten War (1950-1953), came home tothe Bronx, got married, and started a family. My first apartment was in a Housing Authority project, Throggs Neck Houses. I was employed in the private sector, but I hadno job security or union representation. A friend advised me to take a civil service test.I took a test for caretaker J in 1958. The rest is history.My first assignment was at Edenwald Houses in the Bronx. After my probation period, I joined Local 237 Teamsters in order to have organized representation, for better working conditions, and decent wages, to be able to support my family.I was there from 1958 to 68. Edenwald had 2,039 apartments and 41 buildings, from three stories to 14 stories.It sounds funny, but the three-story buildings were harder to clean than the bigger buildings, because the smaller buildings had no elevators. The caretakers had to walk up and down the stairs.I was a shop steward from 65 to 68. I got along well with the manager, Mary Burrows, and with the superintendent,Al Gordon (he was killed in a car accident). But I had some skirmishes with them, too. Time and attendance were a bigproblem. I did a lot of negotiating about things like guys going off the premises to get a sandwich, but usually we settledthese things among ourselves.My responsibilities went way beyond what a caretaker normally does. It was great training. I ran the supply room, ordered supplies, did move-outs, replaced key cylinders, worked with heating equipment. I checked apartments, makingsure everything was in place, that windows and doors worked. I was responsible for issuing the master keys to themaintenance men. If anyone lost a master key, we would have to replace the keys to all 2,039 apartments. And whoeverlost it would lose their job. I never heard of any master keys being lost in my ten years at Edenwald. I met my wife, 200 '