For Immediate Release
Thursday, August 19, 1999
Local 768 President and DC 37 Secretary Helen Greene and Local 420 President James Butler Elected AFSCME International Vice Presidents Representing District Council 37
NEW YORK —The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) today released the results of an election at District Council 37 for two International Vice Presidents to represent the Council on AFSCME's International Executive Board. AFSCME, the parent union of DC 37, represents over 1.3 million state, county and municipal workers nationwide. Local 768 President and DC 37 Secretary Helen Greene and Local 420 President James Butler, the newly elected International Vice Presidents, will serve out the remaining 10 months of the four-year terms of former DC 37 Executive Director Stanley Hill and former Local 1549 NYC Clerical-Administrative Employees President Al Diop.
AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee said, "This election marks a turning point for DC 37. I look forward to working with the new International Vice Presidents. I'm confident that as Executive Board members of the International Union they will fully represent the interests of our brothers and sisters in New York."
The vacancies were officially announced in a March 26 letter to the 56 local presidents of DC 37 and the Retirees Association, which constitute the New York City Legislative District of AFSCME. Five candidates were nominated by locals within the legislative District: James Butler, president, Local 420 Municipal Hospital Employees Union; Charles Ensley, president, Local 371, Social Service Employees Union; Helen Greene, president, Local 768 Health Services Employees and secretary of DC 37; Melvin Levy, Local 375 Civil Service Technical Guild Chapter 2 president of the Transit Authority; and James Tucciarelli, president, Local 1320 Sewage and Senior Sewage Treatment Workers.
AFSCME International Vice President Flora Walker presided at the special convention, which took place Wednesday, August 18 at DC 37 headquarters in Manhattan. The election was conducted by an impartial outside agency, the American Arbitration Association.
The vote tallies for the five candidates are as follows:
| Helen Greene | 72,178 |
| James Butler | 69,653 |
| Charles Ensley | 51,064 |
| James Tucciarelli | 49,214 |
| Mel Levy | 4,484 |
A total of 274 delegates from 52 locals and the Retirees Association registered to vote at the convention. The winning candidates were sworn in shortly after the results were announced.
The next election for all International vice presidents will be held at the AFSCME International Convention in Philadelphia, June 26-30, 2000. There are a total of 31 International Vice Presidents who serve on the AFSCME International Executive Board.
