Public Employee Press

School Lunch Aide nets $500

Filing a grievance over her out-of-title work netted $500 for School Lunch Aide Michele Yodice at IS 27 on Staten Island.

A member of Local 372, Yodice assists in preparing tasty and healthy meals for hundreds of students every day.

In 2009, she realized that she was doing the job of a Senior School Lunch Aide/Cook, a higher-level title with responsibility for more meals. Yodice quickly contacted her Council Rep, Russell Johnson, who filed an out-of-title-work grievance on her behalf.

The grievance charged that the Dept of Education was violating the collective bargaining agreement on rates of pay and the policy covering per annum and monthly school lunch employees. The union sought compensation for the out-oftitle work she did from March 23 through June 26, 2009.

At the second step of the grievance procedure the DOE and the union came to an agreement and on July 27, 2010, the DOE agreed to give Yodice the difference in pay between her School Lunch Aide title and the Senior SLA position for the three months involved, which came to $500.

"Everybody has to work together in the kitchen to feed all the kids," said Yodice. "Our Rep, Russell Johnson, is part of our union team too. He followed
through and we were able to resolve this issue successfully. He did a great job!"