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Union Wins Back Pay for Brooklyn Children’s Museum Worker By MIKE LEE Last November, DC 37 and Local 1502 President Wilson Souffrant negotiated a settlement with the Brooklyn Children’s Museum on behalf of Supervising Custodian Michael Graham after the union discovered he was underpaid in comparison to his predecessor. The action followed months after a significant grievance was settled between the local and the institution regarding pay and longevity issues for employees. However, Graham was left out of the settlement, with management refusing to include him. “Afterward, President Souffrant and I tried to make the member whole and told the Museum, ‘Well, while this is resolved, you didn’t agree to anything for Graham',” said Daniel McCabe, Council Representative for DC 37’s Parks, Cultural, and Higher Education Division. The union set up a labor-management meeting and explained that Graham does the work of the person who formally held a similar position, but is paid less. Armed with his predecessor’s last pay stub and other evidence, Souffrant convinced Museum management that the union was in the right since Graham was doing the same work and was entitled to retroactive pay for his promotion to Supervising Custodian. In the victory, Graham received two salary increases, paid in 14 installments, retroactive to his [...] — Mar 27
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Volunteer Member Organizers Propel Union-Wide Campaign to Sign Up Members By MIKE LEE District Council 37’s Field Operations team has led staff from several departments and Volunteer Member Organizers (VMOs) to spread the union message to non-members. Called a “blitz", the effort is part of an aggressive, ongoing campaign to build the union’s power in educating City workers and employees in nonprofit and private sector institutions about the incalculable value and job protections DC 37 membership offers. Like last year’s internal organizing push, the union has relied on VMOs who have become an integral part of multiple campaigns, political electoral drives, and member recruitment. Their contributions are essential as part of DC 37’s core of highly trained and focused labor activists. With recent collective bargaining contracts settled and essential agreements made with the City on alternative work schedules, the latest blitz is an opportunity to connect with potential members and highlight the efficacy of union participation. The DC 37 Organizing Department, which includes 12 experienced organizers led by Organizing Director Fareed Michelen, has taken the lead on training VMOs during the campaign. Associate Organizing Director Indira Mohan and Organizing Manager Andrew Hackman train volunteers in both the public and private sectors. “We are seeing members who retired trying to find [...] — Mar 27
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911 Operators Secure Compressed Time, Retention Bonuses Local 1549 PCT/SPCT Communications Chapter at PSAC II 911 Call Center in the Bronx By MIKE LEE After several weeks of intense negotiations, the union won an agreement securing raises, retention bonuses, and compressed alternative work schedules for nearly 1,200 911 Operators in Local 1549 and their supervisors. DC 37 and the Adams administration announced the new agreement on Jan. 22, 2024. The 911 Operators work from two Public Safety Answering Centers, one in Brooklyn and one in the Bronx. “When the second center opened in the Bronx, we began having conversations about developing compressed tours for the workers,” said DC 37 Associate Director Rose Lovaglio-Miller who negotiated on behalf of 911 Operators during her tenure in the union’s Research and Negotiations Department. “We started with a limited program in 2018, then assessed and worked with the NYPD to expand it and make changes.” The compressed tour agreement with the City was due to expire Dec. 31, 2023, and the NYPD indicated it wanted to stop the program. The union immediately negotiated with the Office of Labor Relations and NYPD to keep the program in place. From mid-December until the Jan. 19 agreement, the two sides held several bargaining sessions.The [...] — Mar 27
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Union Pushes Administration on Budget Cuts Saves Job Training Program A new group of JTPs walking the grounds of Flushing Meadows Park in Queens DC 37 Field Rep Viviana Elivo collects a signed union card from a new JTP worker during orientation, Fatima Batchelor in standard uniform at the Workforce Development Hiring Center in Queens Story and Photos by JUSTINA RAMLAKHAN District Council 37 made headline news in December 2023 after taking the difficult steps of suing the City over proposed budget cuts that jeopardized the Job Training Participant (JTP) Program. The JTP program began as a temporary employment solution to help welfare recipients transition back into the workforce. Those accepted into the program work four days a week at either the Parks Department, Sanitation Department, or within the Human Resources Administration. JTP job responsibilities vary depending on the agency. For example, JTPs in Parks perform daily operations from custodial maintenance and clerical work to customer service, including seasonal responsibilities like snow or leaf removal. JTP workers are hired by the City as full-time equivalent staff. Participants who are referred to the six-month program meet with a career coach, receive job training, and have access to continuing education courses like security training, driver’s education, OSHA certification, and preparation to pass [...] — Mar 27
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Union Gets Pay Increase, Bonus for City Lifeguards By MIKE LEE As negotiations for a unit contract continue, the City’s Lifeguards agreed to a deal on salary increases and retention bonuses for seasonal and chief lifeguards beginning this summer. The Feb. 1 agreement between the Parks and Recreation Department and DC 37 is a lifesaver for the frontline workers who keep the City’s beaches and swimming pools safe. In the last decade, City Lifeguards have performed many rescues, particularly at beaches like Rockaway Beach in Queens, known for dangerous riptides. Last fall, the DC 37 members celebrated a significant milestone of 10 consecutive seasons without a drowning while on duty. Many incoming lifeguards are just out of high school but quickly adapt to the responsibilities of staying alert for long hours, at times called on to save lives at the City’s eight public beaches and 53 outdoor pools. Lifeguards are well-trained in CPR, first aid, and rescue techniques. Faced with the after effects of the pandemic and historically uncompetitive pay, the City realized help was needed to retain these young workers in the face of a national lifeguard shortage. With swim season approaching, the union pressed forward with the Parks Department to negotiate on behalf of the Lifeguards [...] — Mar 27
District Council 37
- Union Wins Back Pay for Brooklyn Children’s Museum Worker
- Volunteer Member Organizers Propel Union-Wide Campaign to Sign Up Members
- 911 Operators Secure Compressed Time, Retention Bonuses
- Union Pushes Administration on Budget Cuts Saves Job Training Program
- Union Gets Pay Increase, Bonus for City Lifeguards