Victor Gotbaum

Victor Gotbaum (b. September 5, 1921) was an American labor leader. From 1965 to 1987, he was president of AFSCME District Council 37 (DC37), the largest municipal union in New York City.

Gotbaum was born in Brooklyn, New York. He married his first wife, Sarah, in August 1943. He fought in World War II, attended Brooklyn College and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, and took his first union job as assistant director of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters in Chicago, in 1955. [Bellush and Bellush, "Union Power and New York: Victor Gotbaum and District Council 37," 1984.]

Under Gotbaum's leadership, DC37 successfully organized thousands of municipal hospital workers in the 1960s and helped create New York City's Office of Collective Bargaining. During the New York City bankruptcy crisis in the mid-1970s, Gotbaum and DC37 agreed to major collective bargaining concessions, which set a pattern that forced other municipal unions to do the same. The action helped the city avoid default on its bonds. [Rohatyn, "From New York to Baghdad," "New York Review of Books," November 21, 2002.]

Gotbaum was succeeded by Stanley Hill, who was removed in 1998 in the midst of a major scandal, [Fitch, "Union jacked: How DC 37 Became America's Most Indicted Municipal Union," "Village Voice," August 25-31, 1999.] some of which may have had its roots under Gotbaum. After a trusteeship by AFSCME, Hill was ultimately succeeded in 2002 by Lillian Roberts, who first started working with Gotbaum in 1959. [Barton, "New DC 37 Leaders Still Silent on Contract Showdown," "Socialist Worker," April 5, 2002; Boehm, "The Scandals of AFSCME District Council 37. Part II: More Indictments, Unfinished Business," "Labor Watch," October 2002.]

Gotbaum divorced his first wife Dr. Sarah Gotbaum in the early 1970s and married Betsy Gotbaum in 1977. As of 2007, Betsy Gotbaum was the New York Public Advocate.

His daughter-in-law Carol Anne Gotbaum was found dead on September 28, 2007 at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Police reported that Gotbaum was yelling and screaming: " I am not a Terrorist!" and running through the terminal on Friday. She was arrested for disorderly conduct. Initial reports indicate that Gotbaum may have accidentally strangled herself while trying to get out of her handcuffs. [http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/30/phoenix.airport.death/] . Carol Gotbaum was married to Noah Gotbaum, son of Sarah and Victor Gotbaum.

Notes

References

*Barton, Thomas. "New DC 37 Leaders Still Silent on Contract Showdown." "Socialist Worker." April 5, 2002.
*Bellush, Bernard and Bellush, Jewel. "Union Power and New York: Victor Gotbaum and District Council 37." Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 1984. ISBN 0030013224
*Boehm, Ken. "The Scandals of AFSCME District Council 37. Part II: More Indictments, Unfinished Business." "Labor Watch." October 2002.
*Fitch, Bob. "Union jacked: How DC 37 Became America's Most Indicted Municipal Union." "Village Voice." August 25-31, 1999.
*Rohatyn, Felix G. "From New York to Baghdad." "New York Review of Books." 49:18 (November 21, 2002).