Public Employee Press

$22,000 in back pay for eight at Bellevue

Eight Behavioral Health Associates in Hospital Employees Local 420 got a total of more than $22,000 in back pay in November to settle the group grievance they filed when Bellevue Hospital discontinued their contractual longevity pay.

"When I changed titles to Behavioral Health Associate, I saw my new pay rate did not include my longevity, so I went to management," said 21-year veteran Local 420 member Anthony Balfour. "They told me I was not entitled to it."

Balfour had received the longevity money for six years as a Psych Tech under the contract provision for an $800 annual longevity payment to employees with 15 or more years.

"I knew I was not the only one who changed titles, so I asked others who had become BHAs, and we found that their longevity pay had been cut once they moved into the new title, too," he said.

With Hospitals Division Council Rep Carl Jones, Balfour filed a group grievance against Bellevue. "We asked for an audit of payroll records," Jones said.

"As a new chapter chair I hit the floor running. I found the longevity provision in the contract and gave management a copy with the grievance," Balfour said.

The grievance was settled once management realized the miscalculation was due to a data entry glitch and agreed to make the union members whole.

"The cost of living kept going up while we were without a contract, but our incomes didn't, so that longevity pay made a big difference," said Balfour. "We are determined to fight for every bit of money we are ­entitled to and to make sure all our members are paid correctly."