Public Employee Press

Five at Met Hospital win back pay in grievances

Five members of Municipal Hospital Employees Local 420 recently won a total of $12,000 through grievances against Metropolitan Hospital.

Institutional Aide Angel Rojas had been doing out-of-title work since 1999. Mr. Rojas was supervising nine employees, assigning them their daily duties and even approving their vacation time. But he was not receiving a supervisor’s salary.

DC 37 Rep Felicita Creque and Chapter Chair Ursula Joseph filed a grievance requesting that his job title be upgraded and that he receive back pay. Management agreed, and Mr. Rojas was promoted to Supervisor of Housekeeping retroactive to March 1, 2001. He received back pay of $5,006.

Reginald Young, a Service Aide, also won his grievance for out-of-title work that he had been doing since August 2001. Mr. Young’s out-of-title work included attending budget meetings and supervising three Service Aides.

In February of 2003 the union filed his grievance and requested that he be compensated correctly and upgraded to Supervisor Stock Worker Level III. Management promoted Mr. Young to Per Diem Supervisor Stock Worker Level I retroactive to Feb. 19, 2003 and he was awarded back pay of $4,000.

As supervisors, Mr. Rojas and Mr. Young are no longer members, “But we still love Local 420,” said Mr. Rojas. “They worked real hard for us and we appreciate it.”

Roger Sherrod, Kevin Pinkey and Asberry Joslyn are Housekeeping Aides. Grievances were filed on their behalf for performing more difficult duties, such as handling red bag waste material from the emergency rooms. The union charged that Metropolitan Hospital was in violation of the Institutional Service Unit Agreement.

HHC agreed to pay Mr. Sherrod the red bag differential from Oct. 1, 2001 through Nov. 3, 2002. He got $1,640 in back pay. Mr. Pinkey was awarded $1,500 and Ms. Joslyn received $400.