New York Metropolitan Employees Local President Vincent Martusciello poses in front of one of the many state courts in which he has worked. He has represented Unified Court System workers throughout his long, successful career.
BROOKLYN — At various points in his storied career, New York State Metropolitan Employees Local President Vincent Martusciello could have easily become a social worker or a partner in a private law firm.
Yet, for more than half a century, he’s proudly made CSEA and the labor movement his life’s work and mission.
Recognized at CSEA’s 112th Annual Delegates Meeting in October for his service to our union, Martusciello recently looked back on his career and union activism.
The son of Italian immigrants, Martusciello was born in East Flatbush and attended the Holy Cross Catholic School and Cathedral Prep. In 1971, he graduated from Brooklyn College with a major in psychology and English.
“I’ve been working since I was 14 years old,” said Martusciello, who toiled at everything from delivering mail to driving a cab, jobs that would often endanger his safety and well-being. “The city was much different then. It wasn’t the Disney [corporate center]that it is now.”
He was in the midst of returning to school to get a master’s degree in guidance counseling when a co-worker recommended that he apply for a court officer position.
At the time, the recently enacted Rockefeller drug laws were swelling the ranks of the criminal justice system, and court officers were in high demand.
Martusciello applied and was hired as a court officer, and his first assignment was the criminal court in Brooklyn, where he worked with youthful offenders. He later worked at New York State Supreme Court and the Appellate Division 2nd Department, where he worked under a judge who became a father figure to him.
During the late 1970s, Martusciello attended Brooklyn Law School at night. Soon after graduating, a different judge who had taken Martusciello under his wing advised him to enter private law practice.
However, with 10 years of civil service under his belt and a family to feed, Martusciello decided to stick with the security of his union membership and state job.
Martusciello was later promoted to Appellate Court Clerk. In that job, he oversaw criminal appeals and housing matters.
Injustice leads to activism
It wasn’t long before Martusciello started noticing injustices toward court workers.
“I started seeing people with less seniority get promoted,” said Martusciello.
Then state Metropolitan Employees Local President Joe Johnson approached Martusciello about getting involved in our union. In 1980, Martusciello became a grievance representative and delegate.
By 1985, Johnson was encouraging Martusciello to run for president of the local, which represents thousands of Metropolitan Region members employed at multiple state agencies. While he again considered becoming a guidance counselor, Martusciello opted to remain with the Unified Court System and pursued union elective office.
After being elected as local president, Martusciello thought he’d only serve one term. He’s been the local president ever since.
“The members encouraged me to keep running for office,” said Martusciello.
In addition to serving as local president, Martusciello has been the Metropolitan Region Executive Vice President for more than a decade. He has also served on the CSEA Judiciary Negotiating Team and has served in numerous leadership roles on every level of our union, including on CSEA’s statewide and Metropolitan Region Legislative and Political Action Committees.
“He’s been someone I have looked up to not only for his experience, but also his level of consistency,” said CSEA Metropolitan Region President Lester Crockett, who has been friends with Martusciello for more than 30 years. “Aside from being executive vice president of the region for many years, he’s also led the largest local in Region 2 for about 40 years and that speaks for itself. He’s someone I have the utmost respect for. He’s very sharing and caring and not many people have those qualities.”
Martusciello said that his most satisfying role has been as local president.
“I feel the most satisfaction from helping fellow members in time of need,” said Martusciello. “If I’ve been able to accomplish anything during my tenure, it’s because of the local’s officers and members. The union is you and I. If the members didn’t support me, I wouldn’t be successful.”
“He’s been an amazing leader and I have learned a lot from him,” said New York City Metropolitan Employees Local Secretary Pat Dixon-Lawrence, who has known Martusciello for more than a decade. “He’s very down to earth and easy to work with.”
As he prepares to retire, Martusciello often thinks about activists he once served with, including longtime friend and local officer Frank Cosentino, who passed away in 2019.
“Leaders like Frank are hard to find these days,” said Martusciello. “Our local and our officers are like a family, if there was ever an issue, we’d stay together and help to resolve it. I was always honest with them and told them the truth whether they liked it or not and I returned phone calls.”
While COVID-19 has prevented the local from holding its traditionally well-attended, in-person membership meetings for the past several years, he gives all credit for the meetings’ success to local activists who help him plan them.
“I owe it all to the Local 010 Women’s Committee and 010 officers,” said Martusciello.
Martusciello admits that he’ll miss the excitement and the fulfillment of fighting for members, but the not the pace or the schedule he’s kept for more than 50 years.
“I sometimes wonder if private practice would have been a better career path,” said Martusciello. “But then, I would not have met my wife and so many people who I am grateful to have met.”
— David Galarza
