Carmen Charles

Local 420, DC37, AFSCME
President

Carmen Charles was elected President of the New York City Municipal Hospitals Employees Union, Local 420, DC37, AFSCME, in the Spring of 2002. Her rank and file slate, “Workers 4 Workers” wasted no time in giving the Union back to its 9,000 members. At the time of her electoral win, she had been a member of Local 420 for over 15 years.
Charles was elected President of the New York City Municipal Hospitals Employees Union, Local 420, DC37, AFSCME, in the Spring of 2002. Her rank and file slate, “Workers 4 Workers,” wasted no time giving the Union back to its 9,000 members. At the time of her electoral win, she had been a member of Local 420 for over 15 years.
Charles started her city employment as a Nurse’s Aide at Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital. Born in Guyana, she migrated to the United States in the late ’70s. In 1987 Charles became a Shop Steward for her chapter; its Vice-Chairperson in 1992, and in April 1999, she became the 2nd Vice President of Local 420. Heeding the call to serve, she vied for and won her present position as President in 2002.
Charles is a passionate champion of the public hospital system and an ardent defender of employees’ rights in the workplace. Since taking office as President, she has successfully lobbied to keep public hospitals open, negotiated upgrades for her members, and returned Local 420 to a sound financial footing. Charles’ vision is to empower every member through education and create a higher level of activism and advocacy within the Union.
In addition to being recognized for her labor activism, Charles has received many awards recognizing her visionary leadership in her current role as 7th term President of Local 420, DC37, AFSCME.