Grievance pays off for IT specialists


By DEBORAH A. MILES Three PEF members who


were laid off in December 2010 at the state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) filed a class-action grievance and recently received compensation from the state. They were able to do this


because their work was given to consultants, a situation covered under the PS&T Contract Article 22. “The PEF contract


provides important benefits to employees who face layoff while the state is contracting out their work,” said Renee Delgado, PEF associate counsel. “That prompted these members to file a grievance.” Luis Perea, one of the information


technology (IT) specialists at the New York City OCFS regional office, described the layoff process as “very sloppy.”


“The layoff notices went out in pieces. No one got notices at the same time. None of the notices were sufficient to meet the contract’s requirements,” he said. Perea, along with


IT specialists Dennis Vaisberg and Steve Mulligan, were


aware of the 60-day- notice requirement for a layoff, when the state


plans to contract out those services. Vaisberg said PEF was very


supportive and came to bat for them right after they received the official layoff notice. A grievance was filed January 5, 2011. The case was presented to the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations in August 2011, and a settlement was reached in March 2012.


The combined severance pay and


back pay ranged from $8,100 to $19,500, depending on their years of service. “PEF did everything it could to help


us,” Vaisberg said. “PEF stood by us all the way.” “Everyone involved, especially


Carlos Arroyo, our field representative and Delgado, kept us updated and communicated with us during the whole time. I can say with ease that PEF is a union that looks out for you. It certainly looked out for us,” Perea said. Vaisberg added, “All in all, this


process works. There’s talk now that unions are no longer relevant, especially in the white-collar sector. Our case proves unions are needed. If not, it would be a world of management doing whatever it wants on a whim. Everyone suffers then. Civil servants have a vested interest in the outcome, because our goal is to serve the people.”


Nominations for privatization fight back due June 1 For more than a decade, the state


PEF Vice President Pat Baker said,


has been trying to privatize services. Instead of recognizing the value of state employees, it continues to lay the groundwork for privatization. The 2012-13 Executive Budget is an example filled with plans to privatize services for people who suffer from developmentally-disabling conditions and from mental illness.


“Privatization is an ongoing challenge. Our members have stood up when privatization attempts have threatened state jobs. Because of their awareness, PEF was able to step up and fight.” Mary Lou Vasilev, co-chair of the


Fight Back Against Privatization Award Committee, said, “The loss of one PEF job to privatization will only lead to


fought privatization, nominate that person for the 2012 award. You can mail in the form found below or find and submit it online. — Deborah A. Miles


You can fill out this form online at http://www.nyspef.org/privatization_fightback_form.htm


_________________________________________________________ Name(s) of nominee(s)


_________________________________________________________ Job Title(s)


_________________________________________________________ Location


(_____) _____________________ (_____) _____________________ Work Phone


Home Phone


_________________________________________________________ Nominator's Name


(_____) _____________________ (_____) _____________________ Work Phone


Home Phone


_________________________________________________________ Names of the agencies being impacted


_________________________________________________________


_________________________________________________________ Explain the privatization threat


Page 8—The Communicator May 2012


____________________________________________________________ Highlight the strategies the nominee(s) are using to wage a fight-back effort


_________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________


_________________________________________________________ Tell us about the nominee(s) proudest fight-back effort during 2010-2011


Must be received by Friday June 1, 2012, to be eligible.


For more information call: Mary Lou Vasilev at 315-468-0809


Mail To: NYS Public Employees Federation Attn: Mary Lou Vasilev P.O. Box 12414 Albany, NY 12212-2414


PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445 20 12


more. It’s important for all members to be observant and report any unusual or suspicious conduct in agencies.” If you know a PEF member who has


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