Public Employee Press

Prevailing rate battle
City cuts benefits, union files charges

The union is fighting the city’s unilateral decision to slash the annual, sick and other leave days of 100 Supervisor Highway Repairers. The action came as the city implemented a Comptroller’s determination that ordered the Local 1157 members’ compensation to be raised to match the prevailing rate in the private sector. Earlier this year, the city significantly boosted the wages of the workers. But it also decided to reduce their leave accruals, which are better than their counterparts in the private sector.

On Oct. 10, DC 37 responded to the action by charging that the city committed an improper practice and violated local labor law when it reduced the leave benefits without consulting the union. Associate General Counsel Mary J. O’Connell of the DC 37 Legal Dept. filed the IP with the neutral Office of Collective Bargaining.

“These workers went years without a contract as the Comptroller’s Office studied their compensation, and then the city fought the determination,” O’Connell said. “This latest action is only needlessly prolonging the fight over what our members are entitled to.”
The dispute stems from the seven-year battle that Local 1157 waged to force the city to compensate Supervisor Highway Repairers at the prevailing rate of workers outside DC 37 who do the same job.

Under Section 220 of the state Labor Law, “prevailing rate” locals can seek a “determination” from the Comptroller to determine their compensation. In August 2004, the Office of the Comptroller issued a preliminary determination for the Transportation Dept. supervisors covering April 2000 through June 2005. The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings and the state courts upheld the Comptroller’s determination.

The city claims that it is entitled to“recoup” the value of the disputed leave over the 62 months covered by the determination. It also decided to unilaterally reduce future leave accrual by 4.5 annual leave days, five sick days and an additional four leave days for bereavement leave, jury duty or court attendance.

Although members are outraged by the city’s unilateral decision to cut their leave benefits, they are nevertheless pleased that the city has stopped trying to contest the Comptroller’s determination in court, said Local 1157 President Mickey McFarland. Thanks to the determination, members won huge pay increases, and they stand to receive big back-pay packages by the end of the year.

This fall, the hourly rate of theSupervising Highway Repairers went from $24.43 to $35.73, bringing most members to nearly $75,000 a year, compared with $51,000 before, according to the local.

At the end of the year, members will receive their back pay. McFarland estimated that individual lump sums would range from $100,000 to $200,000.

“It’s frustrating that the city took this action,” said Local 1157 member Mike Perry about the leave cuts. “But everyone is really happy about the pay increases.”

“The city grudgingly put the pay increase into effect while acting as if they were doing us a favor, when they were only doing what’s required under the law, as upheld in court,” McFarland said. “While our members are ecstatic about receiving their first raise in more than seven years, this latest maneuver on the benefits adds a bitter taste.”

The union and local plan to negotiate with the city in the near future for the pay from 2005 to the present, McFarland said.