Public Employee Press

Union cures Coney I. Hospital of cheating on health coverage

Through labor-management meetings at Coney Island Hospital, the union stopped management from continuing to deny health insurance coverage to about 125 Watch Persons and Institutional Aides who were initially hired as part-time per-diem workers with no health insurance.

Management will now follow the city health benefits rule and provide insurance for all these workers who are assigned 20 hours or more per week for at least six months.

"I can breathe a sigh of relief because a weight has been lifted off my shoulders," said Watch Person Marc Weiss. "I have rent and bills and can't live on a part-time per-diem's salary. I get some extra hours, but I can't afford to live on that alone." So Weiss, who has worked at the hospital for almost four years, also has a security job in Manhattan.

Under the Road Ahead plan, the city Health and Hospitals Corp. eliminated some 3,700 union jobs. As managers faced staff shortages and budget cuts, many hired part-time per diems two days a week but assigned them to work up to five days a week, evading the health insurance rule.

"Coney Island managers felt since the part-time per diems were hired for less than 20 hours a week, they were not obligated to provide health coverage," said Local 420 Grievance Rep Monique Jaysura. The hospital was cutting costs by shirking its benefit obligations and cheating the part-time per diems.

"Working around sick people, my chance of getting sick is higher, so I can't go without health insurance," said Weiss.

When DC 37 first challenged the unfair practice at Coney Island Hospital, the nursing director threatened to cut the part-time per diems back to less than 20 hours per week.

"That would have been disastrous," Jaysura said. "How could they provide for themselves and their families?"

Weiss is relieved that the union followed through and management now is giving members their health coverage as they become eligible.

The DC 37 team that worked on this issue included Jaysura, Hospitals Division Director Audrey McConney, Assistant Director Tyler Hemingway and Research and Negotiations Assistant Director Mark Heron.

"The irony is HHC's mission is to provide health care regardless of ability to pay, yet it was deliberately seeking to avoid providing health insurance to its employees," said Heron.

To protect members' rights, DC 37 Associate Director Henry Garrido said the union would closely monitor health insurance practices at all HHC facilities.