Public Employee Press

Elmhurst clericals get pay differentials

A group grievance forced the Health and Hospitals Corp. to give 14 Elmhurst Hospital clerical workers the $895 annual pay differential they are deserve for their work in the Admitting Office and Emergency Room.

Under the settlement of their case, HHC paid the Local 1549 members a total of $12,500 in back pay. The union's clerical contract requires HHC to pay the differential.

Members Elvis Balic and Vladislav Tarasov realized last year that they weren't receiving the differential and brought the contract violation to the union's attention.

DC 37 Council Rep Eddie Douglass filed the grievance, and in January, before the matter went to arbitration, Assistant General Counsel Ximena Castro of the DC 37 Legal Dept. helped Douglass with the settlement.

"I feel it's fair," said Clerical Associate Level 2 Malgorzata Skrzypek. "We were happy to get the extra money."

Clerical Associate Level 4 Luis Sanchez said the settlement was especially important because the workers received the back pay and differential before the raises of the new contract took effect this fall.

"As the rent goes up, every little bit helps," said Sanchez, acknowledging the economic squeeze he and his wife face supporting one child in college and another in high school. "I appreciate everything the union has done for me."

"The money came in very handy," said Clerical Associate Level 3 Ana Maria Gonzalez. "The maintenance in my building is high."

"Sometimes what you're owed slips through the cracks, so you always need to be vigilant," Douglass said.

"It pays to study your paycheck and your contract," said DC 37 Clerical-Admin- istrative Division Director Renee Gainer.

"Winning the differential was important," said Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez, "because it's a permanent pay boost that they will enjoy for the rest of their careers in their job at Elmhurst."