The leader of the city's largest municipal workers' union, Lillian Roberts, has been stripped of many of her powers because of problems caused by political divisions. The president of the parent union is creating a seven-person committee that will be given much of the power normally reserved for the union's executive director. Problems have stemmed from a political stalemate that was created when Roberts won a close election, but her opponent's backers won control of the council's executive board.
See Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, March 17, 2004