b'\x02Rocco MicariManager and Union MemberRocco Micari fought to get into Local 237. Micari began his career at the NYCHousing Authority as a provisional junior accountant in 1954 and rose to housing as-sistant, assistant manager, manager, and, finally, assistant chief of staff develop-ment, the title he held when he retired in 1984. He was chairperson of the Managers Chapter and a member of thenegotiating team for four contracts.Micari now lives with his wife, Patricia, in Wayne County, Pa., where hes frequently in the news for making trouble, as he says, using what he learned as a Teamster.Following are excerpts of Micaris interview, which was conducted in June 1999. [Editors note: Rocco Micari died in 2007.]I went to work for the New York City Housing Authority as a provisional junior accountant on September 19, 1954 at Kingsborough Houses, which became Kingsborough- Brevoort; it was the first consolidation. I returned from Korea inJanuary of 1953 and I went to register for Brooklyn College. It was too late to enter at that time so I registered forSeptember under the GI Bill of Rights. My counselor, the veterans counselor, had job postings for veterans outside his office. I saw this junior accountant jobthats that I was going to school for, accountingfor the New York City Housing Authority, and the pay was$3555 per annum, which in those days was like$20,000 today.At that time, there was no union involvementin my title, which was a white-collar title. Nonewhatsoever. The union came in the early 60s[for white-collar workers], if Im not mistaken.Artie Foley [who later became a union trusteeand vice-president], was one of the members of the Rocco Micari speaks at a union meeting in the 1970s.union, a maintenance worker, and I used to talk tohim about the union. What I got from him was thatthey didnt want the white-collar workers as part of the Teamsters. They just wanted it to be for maintenance men, theporters, just the blue collar people. We used to fight about it. Why wont you let the white-collar workers in?Then, when they [the blue-collar workers] received a backpay check, I think it was $2,000, I went in to see HenryFeinstein [the first president of Local 237] with a couple of white-collar workers and we demanded that we be allowed into32 '