Public Employee Press

Know Your Contract
Clerk happy to learn new duties come with $1,200 in extra pay

The waiting rooms at the Richmond Jobs Center on Staten Island are jammed and the pressure is on Human Resources Administration employees like Clerical Associate III Geraldine Zimmerman to address their urgent needs. When the center got new management in 2007, she was given the duties of a group clerk; under the contract, she should have started getting an assignment differential of $1,200 a year.

"I found out about the differential recently through my new union rep, Felix Cooper," said the 23-year veteran member of Local 1549. "He told me how to file a payroll complaint and we wrote the director and the HRA labor relations office. We didn't have to file a grievance, because management did the right thing."

Zimmerman has now received the retroactive money she was due and gets the differential in her paycheck. "I thank Felix Cooper and my union for going to bat for me," she said.

"The union has fought hard for these benefits, and members work hard to earn them," Cooper said. "If you think your job assignment might have a pay differential or you might be working out of title, contact your union rep."

"When in doubt, check it out," said Assistant Clerical Division Director Dorothy Lorenzo.