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Public Employee Press
Local 1549 fights for
improvements at childrens services agency
Moving a mountain takes work. First, you need
a plan. Joining forces to work together is a plus. Adding leverage also helps.
Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1549 and the Clerical-Administrative Division
brought all three elements together to move an agency the Administration
for Childrens Services forward. First, they formed a committee
of members to identify trouble spots. Second, they held a meeting with DC 37 ExecutiveDirector
Lillian Roberts to inform her of key issues and get her help. She then sat with
the commissioner to get some remedy. Back in May, Roberts said, Any issues
that cant be resolved at that level will go to the citys Office of
Labor Relations. In early August, the citys Office of Labor
Relations issued a memo to ACS management regarding transfer rights of the clerical
staff within the agency:Effective immediately, we cannot transfer clerical
staff to another location without complying with the transfer provisions in the
contract, it said. This directive vindicated the position held by the union.
A problem was created when the agency was not recognizing the contract clause,
said Clerical Division Assistant Director Eddie Gates. After the ACS
split off from theHuman Resources Administration in 1996, management made an arbitrary
decision that the clerical unit contract didnt apply in different circumstances.
Our contracts Article 22 provision regarding transfer rights has been
in place for decades and were not giving that up, said Gates.
The Unit Clerk Differential, which calls for extra pay for workers
with that title, was another hot button item. Many grievances were pending throughout
the agency after the contractual right to the pay differential wasnt being
honored. Once again, the contract made the difference. Article 3, Section
9I governs this, said Gates. Both of these situations are classic
examples of the union enforcing the contract to protect its members.
Grievance Rep Pilar Oquendo represented many of the members at ACS locations
in Queens with unit differential grievances. Now the members have been able
to receive what was rightfully theirs, she said. Grievance Rep
Eileen Heaton represented the members in Manhattan on the same matter. She pointed
out, Its important for the members to attend the union meetings in
their location. This is the way they learn about their rights and how to pursue
them. Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez noted that the agency
is now going to adhere to the contract. It shows that we can sit down with
Commissioner Mattingly, communicate, and work things out, said Rodriguez.
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