New York – DC 37 Retirees Pres. Stu Leibowitz Is Mourned
Retiree leader Stuart Leibowitz, president of AFSCME’s 27,000-member New York City Retiree Chapter 37, died in August after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 74.
Leibowitz also served as co-chair of the DC 37 pensions committee, helping to win a permanent, automatic cost-of-living adjustment for retirees. He represented Chapter 37 on the national AFSCME Retirees Council and was president of the New York City Alliance for Retired Americans.
“We lost a great leader in Stu,” said longtime friend Anthony Wells, president of Social Service Employees Union (SSEU)/Local 371 (DC 37). Wells told The Chief, a New York publication, that Leibowitz “maintained the bond between the actives and the retirees; he always called us retirees in training. And Stu was a great example of what a labor leader is. He had an issue and he was steadfast.”
Leibowitz began his civil service career in 1961 as a social investigator for what was then called the city’s Welfare Department. Later, he served as vice president for research and negotiations at SSEU. In 1994 he retired from the union and was named deputy chairman of the city’s Office of Collective Bargaining.
Leibowitz returned to DC 37 as a retiree activist and was elected president of the retiree chapter in 2001. As president, he organized thousands of new members and led the successful fight for full city reimbursement of Medicare Part B premiums for retirees and spouses.
This July, Leibowitz appeared at a White House Community Leaders Briefing on Senior Issues, discussing the importance of preserving Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
