Public Employee Press

School Aide wins pay over seniority violation

With 15 years as a School Aide under her belt, it's pretty difficult for management to put one over on Local 372 member Diane Pearson. But that's just what the Dept. of Education tried to do at August Martin High School in Jamaica, Queens.

When the school's principal needed someone to work additional hours, he ignored Pearson, although she had a lot more seniority than the person he assigned to do the work and get the extra pay.

"I knew what I had to do," said Pearson. She quickly called Schools Division Grievance Rep Latreva Scott and told her about the situation. Scott then filed a grievance on Pearson's behalf claiming that the DOE had violated the seniority policy of the collective bargaining agreement. The grievance demanded that DOE pay Pearson for the hours she would have worked during the period of Nov. 13, 2009, through June 28, 2010.

After a Step 3 hearing failed to resolve the issue, the union, represented by attorney Aaron Amaral, eventually came to an agreement with the DOE on July 7, 2011.

The DOE agreed with the union that the seniority policy had been violated and that Pearson was entitled to be paid for the hours she would have worked. The Local 372 member received $3,200 in back pay.

"They weren't going to get away with that," said Pearson. "With Latreva Scott and DC 37 lawyer Aaron Amaral on the case - no way. They did a great job for me."