Public Employee Press

Injured members need light-duty jobs

Due to physical ailments or injuries, many blue-collar workers find themselves trapped in a twilight zone — not impaired enough to qualify for disability or Workers’ Comp, but unable to perform their regular jobs. A survey of the locals in DC 37’s Blue Collar Division found that many members have been caught in this dilemma.

“It’s a problem,” said Division Director José Sierra, “when members can perform some of their jobs but not everything. Management feels that if you’re in the title, you should perform from A to Z.”

Laborers Local 924 President Kyle Simmons agreed. “In these jobs, they don’t expect us to last as long as others. There are no provisions to assist members who are in this position after they are sick or injured and can do some jobs but not others,” he emphasized.

Local 983 member Lloyd Clarke is a perfect example. Clarke is a Traffic Enforcement Agent Level III — a tow truck operator. He moved slowly, working his way down the steep hillside at the New York Police Dept. Tow Pound in the Bronx as he shared his story. The grounds have been treacherous for Clarke since he returned to work after an on-the-job injury in April 2005.

He was hurt as he exited his truck, stepping out onto the running board and falling to the ground. Shooting pains signaled a serious injury, and an ambulance carried him to Lincoln Hospital.

Clarke’s lengthy journey toward recovery involved surgery, therapy and on-again, off-again efforts to return to work. At the Tow Pound, management put him on the security detail. He continues to fight for his health, enduring more treatment, surgery, and constant pain.

Walking with a noticeable limp, he now bears the additional burden of worrying about his financial future. Since he started his job in 2001, he is one of the many cases stuck in the situation described by Kyle Simmons — a member in limbo.

The fact that no light duty assignments are available for most blue collar job titles is a prevalent predicament. Local 983 President Mark Rosenthal and Recording Secretary Clarice Wilson provide numerous examples where the absence of a light duty option has presented a problem.

They point to one instance when a female tow truck driver returned to her heavy-duty job too soon after giving birth by Caesarean section. She hurt herself hooking up a truck to her tow vehicle; the injury caused a hernia and then she had to take more time off. In another case, a Parks Dept. worker was attacked by a dog — a Doberman pinscher — and was in temporary need of light duty on the job.

Policies differ from agency to agency. Blue Collar Division Rep David Catala explained, “Some have a limited duty policy and it’s not known. Others have none at all. This makes it hard for members.”

However, the union has been working on this problem in a number of ways. “We’ve met with the agencies. DOT and DEP have assigned coordinators to work with us,” said Catala. “DOT is good about finding a job within the total specifications of a title. Other agencies are not so obliging,” he said. “There is a form of light duty, but it’s hard for members to get it.”

“We’re planning to raise this issue with Parks and every agency where our members work,” said Local 983 President Mark Rosenthal.