Public Employee Press

Local 420 wins back Psych Tech jobs

Working in one of the most volatile environments, Psychiatric Techs join doctors, nurses and social workers in caring for patients who suffer from mental illnesses.

Their job on the front line frequently puts them in harm’s way, as it did for Local 420 members Alexander Cobbinah and Mark Tyson Jan. 12, 2003, at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn.

When a patient became abusive and out of control, the two responded immediately to defuse the situation and called for assistance from the hospital security force.

But when the scuffle was finally under control, it was the union members who were charged with physically abusing the patients. Days later they were relieved of duty pending an investigation.

After a grievance hearing Feb. 14, Cobbinah and Tyson were told to return to work the following day. When they arrived, they were arrested in the Woodhull lobby by hospital police and brought up on the serious charge of assaulting a patient.

The union defended them, but their terminations were upheld through three steps of the grievance process. Finally on Nov. 2, 2004, after hearing all the facts, an impartial arbitrator ordered the hospital to drop all charges and reinstate the members with back pay.

“It was tough,” said Tyson, of his almost two years without steady work. The members finally returned to work in January. Woodhull then transferred them in violation of the arbitrator’s ruling, said Hospitals Division Director Johnnie Locus. Now the union is back at work, fighting to return Cobbinah to his original job.

“Management had their mind set on terminating them,” Locus said. “I knew our members were innocent, the members knew it, and it was the union’s job to make others realize it,” said Council Rep Desiree Kenlaw. “The union did a great job of defending us, especially Desiree Kenlaw and our attorney Ivan Smith,” said Cobbinah, who, like Tyson, received about $30,000 in back pay.