AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees), Local 983 is one of the District Council 37's earliest locals, founded in the 1950s. The union initially represented motor vehicle operators, but came to include different blue collar employees, including high pressure plant tenders, parks workers, asbestos handlers, assistant city highway repairers, city seasonal aides and other municipal and public employee jobs. Some historical highlights of the union included their two week strike in 1962, when 2,000 motor vehicle operators defied the anti-strike Condon-Wadlin Law. The strike achieved the first welfare fund for non-uniformed city employees and a wage and benefit increase that doubled the city’s last offer before the walkout. In 1971, Local 983 was part of the 8,000 DC 37 worker walk out against Governor Nelson Rockefeller backed blocking of pension legislation. In 1998, Mark Rosenthal was elected president of Local 983.
From the guide to the AFSCME, Local 983 Photographs, Bulk, 1998-2006, 1968-2006, (Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive)
