Public Employee Press

Nurses face Dec. 30 filing deadline to get
master’s degree and tuition money

Dec. 30 is the deadline for hundreds of union nurses to claim the fruits of a major arbitration victory that Local 436 won earlier this year.

The Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene had been denying contractual pay differentials for many members who attained master’s degrees and tuition reimbursement to members who completed job-related courses, workshops, seminars and conferences.

However, in May an arbitrator ruled that the contract requires the payments to qualified school nurses, Public Health Nurses and Jr. PHNs, whether they are full-time or part-time.

Members of United Federation of Nurses and Epidemiologists Local 436 are now entitled to the payments retroactive to April 22, 2002, the day the grievance was filed, but only if they file their papers by Dec. 30.

In order to receive retroactive pay for the master’s differential, members must submit copies of their degree by Dec. 30, to Lorraine Haberstroh, School Health Program, 2 Lafayette St. (22nd floor), New York, NY 10013.

For tuition reimbursement, the reimbursement application should be filled out and sent to Ms. Rosa Catala, Labor Relations/DOHMH, 125 Worth St. (9th floor), New York, NY 10013.

“Our union fought long and hard for this,” said Local 436 President Gloria Acevedo. “So now I encourage all of our members to follow up and get everything in order by the deadline of Dec. 30.”