The AFSCME, struck the Bronx Zoo in the spring of 1961 and the strike lasted seven weeks. It was a horrible time. I’d been curator. John Tee-Van, the general director of the society in those days had worked very, very hard to avoid a strike, but there’d been a serious conflict, much of it, as I understand it came about because the union had organized zoo employees and sought various changes in their benefits and salaries and so on, which were not entirely within the societies power to award because in those days, many of those salaries were actually paid under the city’s career and salary plan. So the society could not negotiate at that time in good faith on all of those matters, but the union also wanted to represent these employees to the society and the society’s board did not want that to occur. And if it had to occur, they wanted it to occur under conditions that would protect the society in ways that would enable it to continue to operate, as I understood it. John Tee-Van when the strike occurred, had a massive heart attack, massive. And Fairfield Osborn called me at home and asked me to meet with him and told me that I was to become associate director or assistant director, I don’t remember which, but he would like me to conduct the negotiations with the union.
