Public Employee Press

Grievance News
Local 1322 members suspension reversed

After the union filed a grievance, an impartial arbitrator slapped down the Dept. of Environmental Protection's six-day suspension of Watershed Maintainer Supervisor Level 1 Mark Toro.

Toro oversees up to eight Maintainers on the day-to-day operations at Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers, where water is chlorinated and treated for quality and safety as it flows from upstate to New York City.

In October 2011, Toro found the water's pH level was too high and needed adjusting. He tried unsuccessfully to correct the pH and called two different Level 2 Supervisors, as agency policy dictates. He followed instructions to adjust the caustic soda, an additive that corrects pH levels, and faxed details of the night's events to the appropriate supervisors. Workers relay and record such information by hand, not computer.

Weeks later DEP found that the adjustment that night had been excessive and issued a disciplinary complaint that Toro "neglected his assigned duties by failing to properly communicate operational changes to the chemical treatment."

Although DEP had never disciplined a Supervisor for failure to enter a change in information on the status board or log book, managers suspended Toro without pay for six days.

Toro went to DC 37's Blue Collar Division, where Council Rep Bob Gervasi filed the grievance that went to arbitration after management denied it at Steps 2 and 3.

DC 37 Assistant General Counsel Aaron Amaral argued that Toro had fulfilled his responsibilities and that DEP's suspension was excessive and inappropriate since the agency gave Toro's co-workers warning letters or no discipline at all for the same incident.

In September the arbitrator ordered DEP to reimburse Toro for the six days' pay and expunge the suspension from his record.

"Toro was unfairly held responsible for mistakes that were clearly not of his making," Amaral said. "The reduction of his suspension to a warning represents a victory, because DC 37 restored his lost wages and helped ensure that unfair targeting of union members would not go unchallenged."