Public Employee Press

Grievances win upgrades for "Next Wave" clericals

Timing can be everything, and for five members of Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1549, the recent settlement of their grievances with the Dept. of Environmental Protection couldn't have come at a better time.

Elizabeth Shipman filed the grievance in November 2011 on behalf of herself and three co-workers in the account maintenance unit. All were doing work beyond their Clerical Associate I job description, and soon CA I Shauna Greene filed her own out-of-title work grievance.

Council Rep Eddie Douglass and Shop Steward Will Thomas, who also serves as the vice chair for the DEP chapter, handled the grievances and reached a settlement with management at the step 1 hearing.

The members filed their grievances and won; all of them were upgraded to Clerical Associate III. The salary difference between the two positions is approximately $10,000.

And on top of that, they were all coming up on their anniversary dates, "so they are getting their longevity increment at the CA III rate," Douglass said. "I'm happy that our members are finally getting paid what they are worth," Thomas said.

"It just shows that the union is dedicated to protecting its members, even when the agency isn't prepared to do so," Greene said. "I'm glad that everything worked out and it went so smoothly," Shipman said.

All five are in the Next Wave activist group of young members, and the grievance victory gave them a heads-up about the importance of having a union. "When you put your faith in the union, you stand with the union and it stands up for you," said Renee Gainer, director of DC 37's Clerical Division.