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PEP Jul/Aug 2006
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Public Employee Press

Comptroller: Local 376 pay lags behind private sectors

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson came out with a preliminary report finding that the hourly pay of Highway Repairers and Construction Laborers in Local 376 is significantly less than workers in the private sector who do the same job.

On May 1, Thompson issued the results of a survey sought by Local 376 that found that their members are paid $8 to $10 less per hour than their unionized counterparts in the private sector.

“The survey has opened up the door for our members to receive a big pay increase,” said Gene DeMartino, president of Construction Laborers & Highway Repairers and Watershed Maintainers Local 376. “You’d better believe everyone is excited about this.”

Under state Labor Law Section 220, certain blue-collar public workers, through their union, can ask the Comptroller to order the city to set their wages reflecting the prevailing rate for similar work in the private sector, rather than accepting a negotiated economic agreement.

Negotiated settlement or court case
Local 376 members voted to begin the wage survey process instead of agreeing to DC 37’s 2002-05 economic pact. Unless the local and the city negotiate a settlement, the next step will be a hearing where the city can contest the Comptroller’s preliminary finding before an administrative law judge at the city Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. If the judge accepts the survey, the Comptroller would issue a final determination ordering the city to raise the members’ pay. The city could fight that in court or negotiate with the union, and the local could go to court to enforce the determination.

“These workers have not taken the prevailing rate route for decades,” said Secretary-Treasurer Tom Kattou. “But over the years, under the negotiated contracts, our members have steadily fallen behind the private sector. This decision should correct what’s turned into a huge wage gap.”

The Comptroller’s decision affects 900 members, Highway Repairers at the Dept. of Transportation and Construction Laborers at the Dept. of Environmental Protection. Because they opted for the survey, these workers have gone without a raise for four years. “At meetings, we explained that a survey could mean a long wait for a raise,” DeMartino said. “But our members have been very supportive all along.”

Beginning in March, DeMartino and Kattou accompanied the Comptroller’s investigators to observe the work of public and private sector employees.

A number of other DC 37 locals that represent prevailing rate workers have also voted to seek Comptroller’s determinations.

Laborers Local 924 has requested a survey. A survey of Sewage Treatment Workers in Local 1320 is underway. Local 1087 has requested a survey on behalf of its Radio Repair Mechanics, while its Clock Repairers, Furniture Maintainers, Printing Press Operators and Compositors have agreed to a consent determination.

Earlier this year, an OATH judge upheld the Comptroller’s preliminary findings that Supervisor Highway Repairers in DOT Supervisory Employees Local 1157 are paid significantly less than their private sector counterparts. The city has challenged the matter in court.

 

 

 

 
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