Public Employee Press

Meter workers win right to sick leave grant

Local 1455 and the Dept. of Transportation resolved a group grievance when the agency agreed to make consideration for the three-month discretionary sick leave benefit available to permanent City Parking Meter Service Workers with at least 10 years of service.

The local filed the grievance in 2005 after DOT denied a request for discretionary sick leave.

“My situation was very stressful. I had a stroke and recovery used all five months of sick and annual leave I had accrued. I had no money coming in for rent or food,” said PMSW Marie Content. The 13-year DOT veteran applied for the discretionary sick leave allowance under the city’s Time and Leave Rules.

“Marie’s illness and her record of service made her a perfect candidate for the benefit,” said Local 1455 President Mike DeMarco. DOT flatly denied her request, stating that employees in labor class titles are not permanent employees and therefore are not entitled to the benefit.

Aided by Council Rep Bill Fenty and DC 37 lawyer Kim Hsueh, DeMarco filed a grievance on behalf of Content and all members in the PMSW title. The city denied the grievance at Steps 2 and 3, but the union took the case to arbitration.

“I was upset,” Content said. “To be that sick was bad enough. To be denied the time made it worse, but I had to deal with it.”

“The PMSWs were not simply being denied, the agency didn’t even consider them for the discretionary sick leave,” DeMarco explained, which was a violation of the citywide contract. In August, as the case awaited arbitration, the city agreed to a settlement. DOT granted Content three months sick leave credit and gave thePMSWs the same consideration as others for the discretionary leave.

“I appreciate everything the union did to help me get my time back,” said Content, “and I’m glad the outcome helps others. Now if one of us gets sick in the future, they may be able to still get paid.”

As part of the agreement, DOT will reconsider the case of PMSWs who were denied discretionary sick leave between Dec. 15, 2005, and Sept. 15, 2007.

“I am happy with the outcome,”DeMarco said. “We asked for what is fair — that DOT use discretion, but give our members their due consideration.”

Because Mike DeMarco “understood the broader impact of this issue on his members, he filed Content’s case as a group grievance, which won a victory for all members in the title,” said Hsueh.