Public Employee Press


The Union's Got Your Back
Local 1549 member wins pay boost

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

Years ago, Local 1549 member Marie Nushi began doing tasks outside of her job description in order to fill in for a coworker who was diagnosed with cancer.

She believed management at Jacobi Medical Center would be reasonable enough to meet her request for an upgrade from her Clerical Associate Level 4 position to Coordinating Manager. After all, she was doing the work.

Over a number of years, Nushi twice interviewed for the job and also made personal pleas for the promotion. Rebuffed by management, Nushi decided to turn to the union.

She worked with Grievance Rep Efrain Perez of the DC 37 Clerical-Administrative Division on an out-of-title grievance, which they filed a couple years ago. Eventually, Jacobi Hospital caved. And DC 37 Assistant General Counsel Meaghean Murphy hammered out a settlement, which the Health and Hospitals Corp., the union and Nushi signed in August.

“Thank God for the union,” said Nushi, expressing her appreciation for Perez and Murphy’s help.

At Jacobi, Nushi is responsible for keeping track of the credentials and other records of the 800 physicians who work at the hospital. She set up the computerized process for reviewing the personnel information. Those tasks are beyond the scope of the responsibilities of Clerical Associate Level 4 workers.

Perez estimated that Nushi will receive about $9,000 in back pay under the settlement. Nushi said she expects a pay hike of $5,000 to $6,000.

While Nushi said she was upset that she did not get the title change, she is nevertheless pleased that the union convinced HCC to pay her the salary earned by Coordinating Managers. A grievance victory doesn’t necessarily guarantee a title upgrade, though management sometimes agrees to it.

“This grievance took a long time to settle, but Marie was very persistent and worked hard to ensure that we had the background for a very strong argument to support her case,” Perez said.

“We’re happy that HHC finally agreed to recognize that Marie was working out of title and sat down with us to reach a settlement, which enabled both parties to avoid dragging this out in an arbitration,” Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez said. “Congratulations to Marie and her union team!”