Lillian Roberts, Powerful New York Labor Leader, Dies at 98

Lillian Roberts, a trailblazing labor leader who spent her life fighting for the rights of New York City workers, died on July 9 in Manhattan at age 98. Roberts led District Council 37, the country's largest municipal workers union, which represents more than 150,000 city employees — from nurses to zookeepers. Her death at a nursing facility was caused by cardiac arrest.

Roberts was known for being bold, fearless, and sometimes fierce. She was once described as a 'tiger' because of her aggressive style as a union leader. A deputy mayor once said she would never embarrass anyone in a meeting, but would pull them aside to make her feelings very clear.

Growing up in Chicago was not easy for Roberts. She was born on January 2, 1928, the second of five children whose family had moved from rural Mississippi and struggled during the Great Depression. Young Lillian spent long hours helping her mother with chores just to keep the family going. She later said, 'I never really had a childhood. I had to be an old lady at a very young age.'

Despite her tough start, Roberts won a scholarship to the University of Illinois but had to drop out because she couldn't afford room and board. She ended up on welfare, which made her feel angry and embarrassed. That frustration helped shape her drive to fight for working people for the rest of her life.

Roberts became the first Black nurse's aide at the University of Chicago's hospital and stayed in that job for more than ten years, becoming active in her local union along the way. Union leader Victor Gotbaum noticed how responsible and determined she was and brought her along when he moved to New York City in 1965. There, she would begin her rise to the top of the labor movement.

At District Council 37, Roberts helped the union grow to about four times its original size during her nearly 14 years as associate director. Her greatest achievement was organizing 20,000 workers at the city's public hospitals — a drive that The New York Times later called one of the largest in American history. She was rising to power at a time when most union leaders were white men, making her success even more remarkable.

In 1968, Roberts led a strike at three New York State mental hospitals, which broke a state law called the Taylor Law that bans strikes by public workers. She was sent to jail for a month but was released after two weeks when the public spoke out on her behalf. People outside the jail chanted 'Rocky in, Roberts out!' — calling for the governor to be jailed instead of her.

In 1981, Roberts became the first Black woman appointed as New York State labor commissioner, pushing for safer workplaces, fair pay, and better support for unemployed workers. She resigned in 1987 and worked in private health care before returning to lead District Council 37 in 2002 at age 74. She stayed on as leader until she retired in 2014 at age 86, having dedicated her life to working people.

Roberts raised three boys — Ivan, Carl, and Ralonzo Smith — as her own sons after her sister died, and all three survive her. She clashed often with Mayor Michael Bloomberg near the end of her tenure, especially over city layoffs in 2011, but she never backed down. 'This union,' she once said, 'was my life's work.'