By ALFREDO ALVARADO

Municipal Hospital Employees Union Local 420 made tremendous progress in a longstanding battle recently as the Health and Hospitals Corp. upgraded 106 per diem workers to full-time per annum status.

“This is a major victory,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. “We want to have this implemented throughout the whole public hospital system.”

The members primarily work as Dietary Aides and Housekeeping Aides at Coler/Goldwater Hospital on Roosevelt Island, Jacobi in the Bronx and Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn. The status change was put into effect on Aug. 30.

As full-time per annum employees, the workers are entitled to all benefits covered by the citywide collective bargaining contract on non-wage issues and are entitled to all of the benefits of full-time per annum employees. Technically, per diem employees are hired and paid on a daily basis; per annum means yearly.

DC 37 and Local 420 have battled long and hard to expand the rights of per diems and upgrade many to per annum full-time status.

“We’ve finally gotten HHC to see the light,” said Pat Brooks, director of the DC 37 Hospitals Division. “After many years, every worker deserves to have a full-time per annum job.”

“I feel much more secure now,” said Jesus Zabala, a Housekeeping Aide who has worked for two years as a per diem at Coler/Goldwater Hospital.

Housekeeping Aide Migdalia Trimino was on the job as a per diem from 1999 until her recent upgrading. “This is wonderful for me,” said Ms. Trimino.

Local 420 President Carmen Charles credited the victory to the union’s constant pressure for the upgradings and commended the efforts of Coler/Goldwater Executive Director Samuel Lehrfeld. “He deserves a lot of credit for helping to improve this situation,” said Ms. Charles, who also acknowledged the support of HHC President Dr. Benjamin Chu.

Ms. Charles said the local is determined to keep up the pressure on HHC. “I’m going to continue advocating that HHC curtail the use of per diem workers,” said Ms. Charles.

“The use of per diems ends up undermining the union and depriving employees of their rights,” she said.

“It’s about time,” said Ester Lopez of the recent upgrading. Lopez has worked as a per diem Dietary Aide at Coler/Goldwater on Roosevelt Island for five years. “Now we’ll have all of the benefits that we deserve.”