Public Employee Press

Laid-off tree workers can buy back lost pension time

After a long fight, Local 1506 has won pension buyback rights for city tree workers who were laid off in the early 1990s. The achievement is particularly valuable right now, since many of the laid-off Climbers and Pruners are “on the edge of retiring,” said Local President John Huber.

In 1991, during one of the city’s periodic budget crunches, Mayor David Dinkins laid off the Parks Dept. workers along with several thousand other city employees. The union pressed to bring them back; recalls began in 1993 and continued until all the laid-off workers were back on the job.

While the members were off the payroll, they lost not only pay but also time in the pension system. In the local’s effort to win state legislation giving members the right to buy back their missing pension credits, Huber worked closely with DC 37 Rep Bill Fenty and Legislative Analyst Sue Graham and Director Wanda Williams of theDC 37 Political Action Dept.

In 2005, the proposed legislation failed to get the required “home rule” message from the City Council. In 2006, former Gov. George E. Pataki vetoed the bill. This year Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed it into law.

“The buyback will increase our pensions so it will be like we were never laid off,” said Huber. “This is fantastic, and the folks at DC 37 were a fantastic help to our members.”