Public Employee Press

Local 375 gets upgrades for upstate technical workers

Four upstate technical workers in Local 375 won upgrades in April when labor-management negotiations settled their grievances.

"Management did what's right by recognizing and properly compensating these valued employees for their good work," 1st Vice President Michael Rosenberg said.

Working with Local 375 Business Rep Karl Toth, Rosenberg resolved the disputes with Dept. of Environmental Protection Labor Relations Director Aaron Feinstein. Rosenberg is the 1st vice president of the local's Chapter 40, which represents DEP's upstate water supply workers.

Coleen Chance, who works in Valhalla, got an $8,000 salary increase as she moved up from Chemist Trainee to Assistant Chemist. Chemist Trainees are supposed to be upgraded after a year, a practice the DEP follows in the city.

Frustrated over not being upgraded after her September 2009 anniversary, Chance filed her grievance in February. She expressed hope that her case would help other minority workers upstate who deserve and are entitled to upgrades.

The grievances resulted in a pay increase of $7,000 and a promotion from Associate Project Manager Level 2 to Level 3 for Carl Pannuti, who works in Yonkers, and an $8,000 increase for Allison Bennett, whose title was changed from City Research Scientist Level 2 to City Research Scientist Level 3.

The settlement resolved a longstanding problem for Chapter 40 President Richard Kowalczyk, a Scientist (Water Ecology) Level 3 who only managed to be compensated properly for doing the work of a Research Scientist Level 1 by repeatedly filing out-of-title grievances. DEP would not promote Kowalczyk because he doesn't meet the master's degree requirement, but the agency agreed to continue the extra pay without requiring him to keep filing grievances continuously.

"We were very happy to resolve these cases," Local 375 President Behrouz Fathi said. "Whether it's through labor-management negotiations, grievances or arbitrations, we will always do what's necessary to support our members."

"I was not getting recognized for what I was doing," said Kowalczyk, happy he will no longer have to go through the hassle of filing the periodic grievances.