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Public
Employee Press Union gets payments
for two Local 420 members after patients at Bellevue
Hospital attack them When
management refused to pay two Local 420 members who were injured on the job at
Bellevue Hospital Center, the union fought back with grievances until the Health
and Hospitals Corp. agreed to give them the money the contract requires.
Psychiatric
Technician Darren Walcott and Patient Care Associate Hecturine Fraser, both members
of Municipal Hospital Employees Local 420, work closely with patients. They learned
firsthand the dangers of working with people who can be very aggressive or violent
in June, when psychiatric patients attacked them.
The assault severely
injured Frasers back, and she may ultimately need surgery to repair the
damage.
Walcott said the patient who injured him was upset because
he was not allowed to speak to the nurse. He took a swing at me while I was sitting
down during a shift change. They both fell to the floor and Walcott suffered
an injury to his wrist, which still needs physical therapy.
Both were out
of work. They filed for Workers Compensation benefits, but hospital management
would not continue their pay during their absence from their jobs, as DC 37s
Citywide Contract provides.
They contacted Council Rep Felicita Creque,
who filed a grievance on their behalf demanding the pay.
The contract violation
was clear, and HHC agreed on Oct. 7 that both would receive their benefits under
Article V, Section 2, of the Citywide Contract, less the money they received from
Workers Compensation. Walcott will be paid for the time he had to take off
from June 5 through July 16, and Fraser will receive benefits from Aug. 31, for
as long as her disability is approved by the Workers Compensation Board.
Walcott
has recovered enough to return to work in July, but Fraser has not been able to
do so yet.
They reached out to me very quickly, which I always urge
members to do. That makes our job of fighting for their rights easier, said
Creque.
Im thankful to be healthy again and able to return
to my job, and Im glad I had a strong union at my side, said Walcott.
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