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PEP March 2006
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Public Employee Press

Arbitrator awards back pay to tractor driver

An impartial arbiter awarded a City Parks Worker 11 months back pay after the union filed his grievance against the out-of-title work of using heavy machinery and tractors to cut grass for the Parks and Recreation Dept.

For three years, CPW Michael Langworthy bumped about on an outdated tractor in a cloud of dust and fumes as he seeded, cut and maintained the hilly slopes in Clove Lake, Silver Lake, Sleigh Ride Hill and other Staten Island parks.

“I felt I was working outside my title, and I never really came to terms with that,” Langworthy said. He used a Toro Master grass cutter and heavy-duty tractor to maintain the hilly terrain in District 1 parks.

Langworthy also changed and sharpened the mower blades and lubricated the department’s ancient tractors, which have no ventilation or air-conditioning; their missing shock absorbers and broken seats gave his back a painful pounding.

Although the Parks Dept. assigned him work that is usually done by Associate Park Service Workers, who earn $4.15 per hour more than CPWs, management never gave him any formal training.

When the agency failed to pay Langworthy properly for the job he was doing, Local 1505 President Michael Hood helped him file an out-of-title work grievance demanding the difference in pay between the CPW and APSW jobs.

DC 37 attorney Robin Roach and Blue Collar Division Council Rep Tony Mammalello also worked on the case, which the arbitrator decided in late November. “The Parks Dept. should have realized from the start that this assignment went beyond the job specs,” Hood said.

“I give Mike Hood and the rest of DC 37’s team a lot of credit for what they did,” said an appreciative Langworthy. “I advise members to know your job specifications and what’s allowed and not allowed. If you run into problems, reach out to your local president immediately.”

“Out-of-title grievances help us do more than get compensation for one person,” Hood said. “They can open the door for the local to negotiate gains for all our members.”

—DSW

 

 
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