Rosario Roman

Rosario Roman began her civil service career more than 33 years ago. Growing up in New York City during the 1980s, a time when the City was experiencing some of the highest levels of crime, she knew she wanted to be a part of the solution.   

For more than three decades, she has worked tirelessly to provide resources to disadvantaged households and has supported their transition from temporary to permanent housing, thus ensuring all of her eligible clients are afforded the most basic of human rights: housing.

In 1987, Rosario joined Housing, Preservation and Development. Her love for public service and client advocacy immediately took root. As landlords were abandoning properties in NYC, HPD became the largest landlord of unwanted housing stock. Simultaneously, homelessness was growing exponentially.  Her work at the Bureau of Apartment Repair and Rental Services creatively addressed both homelessness and neighborhood preservation by repairing abandoned properties and utilizing the apartments for homeless households.

In 1993, Rosario took her love of community directly into underserved neighborhoods. She facilitated tenant orientations and served as a liaison between voucher holders, brokers, and landlords. Her extensive research into neighborhood resources allowed her to develop client guides that introduced households to available resources within their communities and increased the likelihood of clients maintaining independence. Ultimately, this lead to a 2004 promotion to the Special Projects and Resources Coordinator. 

Rosario rejoined the CWA Local 1180 family when she was “pulled off” of the 2010 Administrative Manager promotional list and promoted to Manager of Case Management Services in 2012. Despite her lifelong dedication to her clients, she remained woefully underpaid. She soon learned that her union was working hard for its Administrative Managers.

Her increased involvement with Local 1180 led her to realize that there were many other women of color poorly compensated despite their commitment and passion for their work and clients. As a result, she could often be found on the steps of City Hall rallying alongside other Local 1180 members for equal compensation for equal work as part of the Union's lawsuit against the City to right that wrong. The resulting groundbreaking settlement with the City has only fueled her desire to continue to mobilize with CWA Local 1180 against injustices upon labor and to pursue an end to systemic racism.

Rosario currently serves as both a Shop Steward and Chairperson of CWA Local 1180’s Staten Island Community Coordinating Committee, a position she assumed in 2017. She participates in environmental fairs, rallies in support of essential workers, against racial injustice, and against CUNY tuition hikes and layoffs of adjunct professors. 

Rosario holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Hunter College and is scheduled to earn her Master’s degree in the fall of 2020 from the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.