Jakwan Rivers, President of the Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (LEEBA), shared his decades-long experience in the labor movement and his work advocating for minority workers during a recent interview with Mona Davids, publisher of LittleAfrica News and New York Voice News. Rivers began his career as a shop steward at Con Edison and later worked for the New York City Housing Authority, where he held various union leadership positions.
Since joining LEEBA, a minority-led union representing law enforcement personnel in New York City agencies — including officers from the NYC Department of Environmental Police, NYC Department of Sanitation Enforcement Agents, and NYC Department of Transportation’s Highway and Sewer Inspectors, Rivers has focused on strengthening the union’s structure and ensuring equitable treatment for members. He assumed a temporary leadership role during a critical period when the union’s founder, Kenneth Wynder, faced a federal investigation and conviction for failing to pay personal taxes. Rivers later accepted the position permanently, implementing new bylaws, restructuring operations, and creating legal safeguards for members.
Under Rivers’ leadership along with his all-minority executive board, LEEBA has achieved significant gains for its members. Environmental police officers, previously earning $47,000, received a 21% raise, moving their salaries closer to those of New York City Police Department officers. Rivers emphasized that the union operates on a lean budget, dedicating 80 to 85 percent of its resources to legal advocacy and member protection rather than administrative costs.
LEEBA serves a predominantly minority workforce, with 90% of members being people of color and 40% women, many of whom face systemic inequities in pay, benefits, and career advancement. Rivers emphasized that minorities in the government workforce often have to work almost 75% harder than their white counterparts to earn comparable salaries.
Rivers said LEEBA’s mission is to ensure fair treatment and equal opportunity, providing a voice for workers who have been historically overlooked in larger unions. “We protect the protectors,” he said, underscoring the union’s commitment to advancing labor equity while navigating the challenges faced by a small, minority-owned organization.
As the only Black-owned and operated union of its kind in the country, LEEBA continues to advocate for fair pay, benefits, and opportunities, reflecting Rivers’ decades-long dedication to labor justice.
