Public Employee Press

Library workers fight overtime rip-off

Local 1930 is battling the New York Public Library over its failure to restore overtime pay for Sunday work.

With massive layoffs and deep service cuts looming over this spring's budget negotiations, the local agreed to let the library skip the overtime pay for Sundays until the budget picture became clearer in the new fiscal year.

But after the new budget averted the firings, NYPL violated the intent of the agreement by failing to restore the decades-old policy of "premium pay" for Sundays.

Library management stuck to its promise to repay the overtime money it withheld during the budget talks and a subsequent agreement to defer payments in July. But the library has refused to pay the overtime rate for work members have done on Sundays after Aug. 1.

"This premium pay is very important to our members who volunteer to work on Sundays. We are outraged that the library reneged on the agreement and abandoned a long-standing practice," said Valentin Colon, president of New York Public Library Guild Local 1930.

"You are giving up your weekend and time with your family, but a lot of members count on that extra money to help pay their bills," he said.

In its effort to force the library to restore the premium pay, the local has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board as well as a grievance.

Accompanied by Senior Assistant General Counsel Steven Sykes, Colon and Barbara Terrelonge, an assistant director of the DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept., submitted affidavits on the dispute to an NLRB investigator on Sept. 12. Rep Lisa Riccio drafted a grievance on the issue, which the union filed Sept. 24. A hearing is pending.

"This benefit has been in place for a long time, and we are not going to let them get away with this without a fight," said Sykes.