Public Employee Press

Local 420 Mortuary Tech gets her pay differential

When management doesn’t pay workers what they deserve under the contract, the union is always ready to step in.

Local 420 City Mortuary Tech Sophia Wray wasn’t getting the pay differential she deserved for specialized work at the Queens Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The OCME investigates whenever people die from criminal violence, by accident, by suicide or under suspicious or unusual circumstances. In addition to her regular duties, Wray frequently performs more difficult tasks assisting pathologists with complex autopsy procedures. This stressful work frequently includes weighing organs, opening the intestines and even removing the skull cap so the deceased’s brain can be studied.

Wray did this work from Sept. 10, 2007, through July 13, 2009, but didn’t get the pay differential she was entitled to under the Citywide Contract. The differential of over $1,500 a year is prorated, based on the number of workdays an employee does the more difficult work.

“I noticed that other people who do the same work with less seniority than me were paid the extra money,” she said.

Wary quickly contacted union Grievance Rep Sharon D. Bankhead in the DC 37 Hospitals Division. On Feb. 23, Bankhead filed a grievance seeking payment of Wray’s differential for all the time she did the specialized work.

Her case was resolved in March and she received the differential that was due to her.

“The union moved fast on my case,” said Wray. “They were there for me when I needed them.”

“Members who believe they are not getting paid what the contract provides should contact their shop stewards, chapter chairs or reps,” said Hospital Division Director Audrey McConney.