Public Employee Press

State board bans unilateral change in schedule by school management

In early July 2010, when management posted a change in the usual starting time for his shift as a Loader and Handler, Local 372 Shop Steward Shawn Francois wasted no time contacting DC 37 Rep John Burke.

"Something wasn't right," said Francois.

Francois is one of the 43 Loaders and Handlers who work from 5:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. delivering food for schoolchildren throughout the five boroughs. Based at the Dept. of Education's facility on Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City, they hit the road early with truck drivers.

The union contract provides for a shift differential for the employees who start at 5:30 a.m. A second shift works from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

When it became clear that DOE had changed the employees' work hours without negotiating with the union, Attorney Meaghean Murphy of the DC 37 Legal Dept. quickly filed an improper practice charge against the department. The change continued for almost a year, but the union succeeded in reversing it.

The union asked that the earlier start time be restored and that members be paid any wages and benefits they lost in the schedule change.

On Oct. 26 the Public Employment Relations Board ruled that the DOE had violated the contract and the collective bargaining law, because hours of work, including shifts, are mandatory subjects of bargaining which cannot be unilaterally altered. PERB ordered DOE to restore the 5:30 a.m. start time and compensate the 43 Loaders and Handlers for any lost wages and benefits.