Public Employee Press

Brooklyn Museum workers overwhelmingly pass pact

Brooklyn Museum workers approved a new working conditions contract Feb. 23 by a 65-6 vote.
“It’s a great contract,” said Melvin Bentley, president of Brooklyn Museum Local 1502. “It resulted from a lot of give and take on both sides during negotiations that lasted more than a year. I think our members appreciated that we came up with a creative agreement.”

The term of the pact is from July 1, 2005, to March 31, 2008.

The contract, which affects workers in the Maintainer, Special Officer, Attendant Guard and Custodial Assistant titles, deals with workplace conditions; salaries are covered by DC 37’s overall economic agreement for nearly 100,000 members in mayoral agencies and cultural institutions.

A major achievement in the new pact is that for work on Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Day, covered workers will now receive double-time pay (instead of time-and-a-half), plus a day off and double supper money.

Another important gain in the contract is that it provides for six personal business days — an increase of two. As a trade-off for the extra days, the negotiating team agreed to a restriction that prohibits workers from taking five consecutive personal days.

The pact entitles all employees who wear uniforms to a $25 quarterly cleaning allowance. Before, not everyone got the allowance and the amount wasn’t specified.

The negotiating committee included Vice President Kenneth Aguillera, Treasurer Wilson Suffrant, Secretary Derrick Webber, Kenneth David and Carmen Bellucci, who is on the executive board.

DC 37 Research and Negotiations Director Dennis Sullivan led the bargaining after the union negotiator assigned to the local, Michelle Green, retired last year. Angela O’Conner of the Research and Negotiations Dept. and union Reps Renay Williams and Melroy Slowe also assisted the negotiating committee.

The contract contains a number of cost savings that will result from providing new hires with a shorter shift differential, a reduction in the accrual of sick leave, the elimination of a holiday and a decrease of heat days (for Guards and Maintainers only).

The modifications will be restored once a worker is on the job for five years.