Advocates for justice arthur schwartz biography

He was born in the Bronx and has lived in the West Village for 40 years. His 42 years of civil rights legal work is as progressive and New York as they get. Sometimes we need a figure—a leader—to define our values.

Arthur Schwartz, a graduate

And during the past four decades, no one has litigated more union democracy cases and taken on more corrupt union leaders. And he has done that while representing the unions he has helped to clean up. For 20 years he has been general counsel to Transport Workers Union Local shepherding subway and bus workers through the transit strike.

Arthur fights for attractive, affordable housing and attacks the cruelty and depravity of NYCHA whenever he can. He is the activist who never stops, and yet he has been a dedicated spouse and raised four children. Call him the Muhammed Ali of the New York ring: float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. As a parent, Arthur Schwartz has fought to make our streets safe and helped revitalize our parks for children and communities.

These are all facts; you might say, just facts. But what matters is that SOMEONE is actually fighting—for decades—for the community values we cherish here in New York and across America: equality; open space; fairness of pay; social harmony; economic justice. Bruce Poli is a consultant for the Arthur Schwartz campaign.

Photo by Jacob Schwartz. By Tom Lamia There is an existential threat to our continued existence on this planet. It is obvious, well defined, and inexorable—slowly grinding a path […].