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Public Employee Press
Grievance wins $20,000
for Local 375 member An arbitrator has ordered the New York City Transit
Authority to pay a Civil Engineer more than $20,000 for overseeing design work
on subway projects that were beyond his job responsibilities. The arbitrator
found that Askar Khan performed tasks far beyond the responsibilities of his position
as a Civil Engineer Level 2 when he served as the task leader on three subway
projects with a combined budget of over $550 million. Arbitrator Jay
Nadelbach ruled Feb. 1 to uphold the unions contention that Khan deserved
to be compensated as a Civil Engineer Level 3. The difference in pay between the
titles is about $10,000. I felt confident we would win the case,
since it was clear that I was working out of title, Khan said. But Khan
said he was frustrated that the grievance process didnt lead to a promotion.
Its been nine years since my last promotion, and I have been
working very hard, he said. While arbitrators can order additional compensation,
they cannot order management to promote employees. The union initiated
the case with a grievance in June 2004. DC 37 Assistant General Counsel Melissa
Brown handled the arbitration. The union documented Khans work
overseeing a $350 million Flushing line project that covered 17 buildings and
10 locations as well as two other projects. The Flushing work involved reinforcing
and supporting the elevated train lines. This was a very challenging
and complicated project, Local 375 President Claude Fort said. Asker
ensured that new and existing structures would be sufficiently sturdy to withstand
the forces of nature and the tremendous weight and pressure of subway trains.
Khan also headed a $100 million job repairing an old structure and constructing
a new building on Chambers Street in Manhattan and oversaw a $106 million 5th
Avenue and Lexington project in Manhattan, that involved designing and excavating
ventilation shaft openings in a particularly difficult location. We
are pursuing many grievances, and this was a great victory, said Behrouz
Fathi, president of Local 375s TA chapter. When cases dont lead
to promotions, we are committed to pursuing revolving door grievances
in which we will continue to insist that our members get compensated properly.
Its only fair. We have a lot of members who are doing
out-of-title work, and we want to encourage them to file grievances, said
George Dames, the locals grievance chair at the TA.
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