The Unionist February 2013

8/13/2019 The Unionist February 2013

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Volume 43 Number 2February 2013

Official Publication of Social Service Employees Union Local 371-DC 37 AFSCME, AFL-CIO www.sseu371.org

SANDY, CONTINUED

As the City examines NYCHAs preparedness forthe storm, one thing is certain:SSEU Local 371members stepped up to the challenge. Story on page 3

A man in hurricane-ravaged Coney Island visits a water filling station near a NYCHA facili ty.

C a l e b

F e r g u s o n


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2 The Unionist | February 2013

FEBRUARY19 Alumni Association: 2:00 p.m. Union Office,

12th Floor

20 Delegate Assembly: 6:30 p.m. Advance Realty

Building, 235 West 23rd St in Manhattan

21 Next Wave: 6:30 p.m. Union Office, 12th Floor

26 HPD: 6:30 p.m. Union Office, 12th Floor27 Political Action Committee: 6:30 p.m. Union

Office, 12th Floor

Civilians in Law Enforcement: 6:30 p.m.

Union Office, 15th Floor

MARCH5 HPD Chapter: 6:30 p.m. Union Office,

12th Floor

7 Committee of Concerned Social Workers:

6:30 p.m. Union Office, 12th Floor

13 Executive Committee: 6:30 p.m.


14 Womens Committee: 6:30 p.m.Union Office, 12th Floor

19 Alumni Association: 2-4 p.m. Union Office,

12th Floor

20 Delegate and Membership Combined

Meeting: 6:30 p.m. 127 E. 22nd Street,

School of the Future

21 Next Wave: 6:30 p.m. Union Office, 12th Floor

27 Political Action Committee: 6:30 p.m.


Civilians in Law Enforcement: 6:30 p.m.


CALENDAR

Published monthly except for a combined issue in July/August and a Supplement in January by the SocialService Employees Union Local 371, District Council 37,

AFSCME, AFL-CIO. Subscription Price $2.00 annually.Periodical postage paid at New York, N.Y.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to: TheUnionist, SSEU Local 371, 817 Broadway, N.Y., N.Y. 10003.

USPS# 348990 (212) 677-3900ISSN# 0041-7092

PresidentAnthony Wells

Executive Vice PresidentYolanda Pumarejo

V.P. Negotiations & ResearchRose Lovaglio-Miller

V.P. Organization & EducationArmenta Weekes

V.P. Grievances & Legal ServicesLloyd Permaul

V.P. Publicity & Community RelationsPatricia Chardavoyne

V.P. Legislation & Political ActionMichelle Akyempong

TrusteesVincent CiccarelloYolanda DeJesusMelva Scarborough

EditorAri Paul

Visit us on the web at www.sseu371.org

Optimism and UnityLead to Victory

This month we celebrate the contributions andachievements that African Americans havemade in this country. We honor the lives ofsuch greats as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,

Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer, Louis Latimer andcountless others from all walks of life. We measure theprogress made by celebrating the second Inaugurationof President Barack Obama and the leadership of

AFSCME President Lee Saunders. One hundredfifty years after the signing of the EmancipationProclamation, 50 years after the 1963 March on

Washington and 100 years after the Suffrage March we know there is muchmore to accomplish.

Moving forward, we look at theaccomplishments of SSEU Local 371 andrealize theres much more to do. We fight backeveryday against those who seek to interfereand destroy our ability to put food on ourtables. We fight back against those who seekto privatize our jobs, reduce or eliminate ourbenefits and pensions, and deny our rights.It is a tough struggle that requires an agenda

and a grand strategy. It requires that we all get involved in the struggle. A unitedunion is vital to our success, while a divided union ensures defeat.

It is clear that an informed, mobilized and organized membership is the key toany success we hope to accomplish. It is also clear that the messages we put outmust be positive. We must see the glass as half full, not half empty. We mustcontinue to add to the glass, not simply stop the outward flow. It is easy to fallinto an abyss of sorrow, despair and lethargy. If we do, however, the battle willbe over and our future will be bleak.

However, we choose a different route, one that says working together resultsin the passage of an assault bill, and one that says working together results in

saving hundreds of jobs when CASA is privatized. We choose a path that saysworking together results in civil service lists being called and layoffs reducedor eliminated.

Lets celebrate Black History Month with pride with what has beenaccomplished. We stand united and determined to meet these challenges byany and all means necessary. God bless you and God bless the Union.

Anthony Wells

It is...clear that

the messages we

put out must be

positive.


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February 2013 | The Unionist 3

New Yorkers from Red Hook to FarRockaway to lower Manhattan toStaten Island suffered immenselyfrom Hurricane Sandy, but New

York City Housing Authority residents

had it especially bad.In places like Red Hook, which experi-enced heavy flooding and power outragesin the storm, things are more or less backto normal. SSEU Local 371 members whowork in public housing there recall the shockof the storm, and how they managed to re-spond to residents needs even though therehad been no training for an event like this.

A few days later, it was a little chaotic, itcaught everybody off guard, said Eliza-beth Martinez, a Community Associate inRed Hook. This office worked really hard

to get the food and worked with FEMA.

A Workout

The hardest part of the job after thestorm was the fact that disabled and elderlyresidents were trapped on higher floorswithout supplies or heat for days.

It was a workout, Martinez said aboutclimbing up and down the stairs severaltimes a day, often working in dark andcold conditions. By the third day, I couldconquer all the steps.

She added, It was rewarding.Martinez noted how quickly things fell

into place in terms of the response. NY-CHA workers coordinated with volunteerson how best to respond to residents. But itwas largely an improvised effort.

We prepared for other emergencies, butnot this one, said Community AssociateSonia Brock, who also works in Red Hook.

Did What They Could

Martinez added, We really pulled to-gether as one. The tenants, they were wellfed. We had enough medical teams. Wehad a lot of local vans providing hot foodon a daily basis. For some of the residentsit wasnt as fast as they wanted, but at theend of the day we did as much as we couldand beyond.

Martinez suggested going forward thatNYCHA work with other City agenciesto develop ways workers can get trainedfor these types of situations. With moreextreme weather facing New Yorkers asa result of global climate change, such

storms like this may not be an exception to

the norm in the future.We still have a lot to learn. I didnt feel

that I had the training for it, she said. Itsnot going to be the last time. This was justa warning of whats to come.

Helping Out

NYCHA workers who work in buildingsthat were not affected by the storm are stillhelping out in other ways. Howard Hem-mings, a Community Coordinator since1998, said he is responsible for gardeningprojects at NYCHA buildings and willhelp in the rebuilding effort.

Were going to be involved in the re-building efforts because many of these siteshave been devastated, he said. Most ofthe people who do this are seniors, youre

talking about the people with the leastamount of disposable income on propertythey dont own, yet they take a great dealof ownership over it.

Residents groups have protested public-ly about NYCHA managements handlingof the storm. Some have demanded am-nesty on their rent since they were without

essential services like electricity and run-ning water for weeks.

Hammel Houses resident NathanielDarby said during a demonstration atCity Hall last month that he did not get

his gas turned on until Christmas, butonly received a rent abatement for half ofone months rent. Between losing wages

when we couldnt get towork, having floodwater damage our belongings and spendingweeks in the cold without power or heat,my neighbors and I have been throughenough, he said. This only goes to show

you how out of touch NYCHA is with thelives of public housing tenants.

Much of this has caused public question-ing of the leadership of NYCHA Chair-man John Rhea.

Rashad Robinson, executive directorof ColorOfChange.org said, The fact is,housing officials flat-footed response toinitial flooding not only dragged out theweeks until power could be safely restored,but profoundly worsened the scope ofdamage to residents homes.

Recovering in NYCHA

Elizabeth Martinez: We really pulled together as one.

Continued on page 8

AriPaul


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SSEU LOCAL 371and unions aroundthe City are in solidarity with themembers of Amalgamated Transit UnionLocal 1181, the school bus drivers whoare on strike over bidding procedures that

would not protect workers current jobs.For public sector workers who have

seen many vital City services privatized,the strike is a renewed lesson on whyprivatization is a bad idea for workers andthe public, said Rose Lovaglio-Miller,the Unions vice president of negotiationsand research. If the bus drivers aresuccessful in their strike, it will not justbe a win for private-sector workers, butunions like ours that are fighting off theprospect of privatization.

In the Right

ATU Local 1181 President MichaelCordiello said in response to the NationalLabor Relations Boards declarationthat the strike is legal that the ruling isfurther confirmation that Local 1181seffort to protect the jobs of the mostexperienced and safest school bus driversand matrons is not only necessary for thewell-being of New York Citys schoolchildren, but is perfectly legal.

He noted that it also validates 1181s

longstanding position that the New YorkCity Department of Education, in additionto the bus companies, is a primary employerassociated with this work stoppage.

As Mark Brenner, the editorial directorofLabor Notes,told Fox Business News,the provision to protect workers seniorityrewards stability and longevity andkeeps a much more stable workforce thanyoud have otherwise.

Brenner also noted that the currentpredicament proves the flawed model

of outsourcing, saying, In the long runit would be better for the City to beproviding these services.

Pointing to Bloomberg

He also pointed out that it was provingto be public relations disaster for MayorMichael Bloomberg, who has attemptedto absolve himself of responsibility inthe matter, while the union is urging theDOE to implement worker protections.Brenner noted that Bloomberg couldeasily use his power, as he has done torewrite term-limits rules.

He can get things done when he wants,Brenner said. But now hes saying hishands are tied. Its a little disingenuous.

CCSW ScholarshipDeadline is April 30, 2013

Applications are now being accepted

for the 2013-2014 academic year for

the Committee of Concerned Social

Workers Scholarship and the Sol Gorelick

Scholarship. The one-time grants

$2,500 this yearhave been awarded to

more than 80 members through the years.

In order to be eligible for the scholarships,

persons must be Union members in good

standing and have completed at least

six credits as a matriculated student in a

graduate program leading to a Mastersdegree in Social Work.

An application packet must be requested

in writing from Yolanda Pumarejo, chair,

Committee of Concerned Social Workers,

SSEU Local 371, 817 Broadway, New

York, NY 10003. The deadline for

submitting applications is April 30, 2013.

Scholarships will be awarded at the

September Delegate assembly.

Striking bus drivers demonstrated outside the Department of Educations headquarters last month.

Student Certification for Funds Coverage

Full-time student dependents of covered members may continue to be covered for Fund

benefits up to their 23rd birthday, as long as they provide the Funds office with a copy of

the bursars receipt or a letter from the educational institution each semester certifying their

status as a full-time student. Covered members who have any questions regarding Student

Certification should cal the Enrollment section at (212) 777-9000 ext. 3054.

It should be noted that the Educational Fund does not provide benefits for your

dependents. The Legal Services Fund provides for spouse and/or dependent coverage

under specific benefits.

Solidarity with Striking Bus Drivers

NewY

orkStateAFL-CIO


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Last month we reported thatthe State had accepted severalrecommendations from City

agencies on how to avert layoffs at CASAnow that the Governors Medicaid

Redesign Teams plan for privatization hasbeen approved.About 300 out of 900 workers are still at

risk at CASA and the Lombardi programs.However, SSEU Local 371 has had severaldiscussions with agency leaders on how toavert terminations.

Theyre committed to not doinglayoffs, President Anthony Wells said.There will probably be redeployments.

What that means is that people will havethe choice to be deployed into anotheragency or into another title. The Union is

looking at places to put displaced workers.

Time Is on Our Side

The state is not pushing implementa-tion of the MRT plan, Wells noted. Sowe may have more time than we think.

The deal to stave off layoffs is the resultof a combination of one-on-one meet-ings Union officials have had with City

and State officials, members involvementin pressuring the MRT not to implementlayoffs and a public relations campaignthat included radio spots and newspaperads, informing citizens about the negativeimpact associated with privatizing home-care for seniors.

People Power

The campaign got a boost in Decemberof 2011, when busloads of members along

with our fellow unionists in Local 1549 ar-rived in Albany and demonstrated inside theMRT meeting, armed with signs declaringthat eliminating CASA was an affront toseniors and communities.

Our actions sent a clear message to theState that the members of SSEU Local 371,other unions and community advocateswerent going to take this issue lightly,

Wells said. The people in power clearlylistened. And now were seeing the results.

Members who are concerned aboutthis issue should continue to read theUnionist and the Unions website (www.sseu371.org) for more information as thesituation develops.

We still have some work to do toensure that these 300 workers dont gounemployed, Well said. Lets be clear.A year and a half ago the State was ready

to send all of these workers out the door.Now we averted some layoffs and havethe opportunity to put the other workersin other positions. Thats true progress,and it shows the strength of multi-channelorganizing, creative thinking and coalitionbuilding. Because at the end of the day theone thing that matters for members is put-ting food on their tables.

CASA Update: Were Almost There

SSEU Local 371 members made their dissent loud and clear at an MRT meeting in Albany in December of 2011.

A year and a half ago the State was ready to send all these workers out

the door. Now we adverted some layoffs and have the opportunity to put

the other workers in other positions.

President Anthony Wells

ClarenceElie-Rivera


6/8


On her way out of the Department ofHealth and Mental Hygienes LongIsland City office Feb. 7, Commu-

nity Coordinator Bertha Joyner was on

her way to the Bronx for Black HIV/AIDSAwareness Day. The next day she would betabling in Queens at a Chinese New YearEvent. Earlier in the week she had been at

a diagnostics center in Brooklyn. Like Tra-vis Bickle in Taxi Driver, she goes all over.

Joyner, who came to the agency in 1985,is the public face of the Citys effort to

spread awareness and educational materialsabout HIV/AIDS prevention. In her role inthe Condoms and Material Unit, she goesto community events at colleges, schools,

ON THE FRONT LINES

Shes the Face of HIV/AIDS Prevention

Bertha Joyner: Distributing vital information about HIV/AIDS to the masses.AriPaul

15 Day Election Notice

Official 15-day notice is hereby given thatthe membership meeting of Wednesday,

March 20, 2013, will hold the following

nomination and/or election. The meeting

will at The School of the Future, 127 East

22 Street (corner of Lexington Ave.) at

6:30 p.m.

Nomination of candidates will be

conducted for four (4) positions of Trustee

of the Welfare and Educational Funds for

the two-year term commencing in 2013.

places of worship and other venues to set uptables with information for the public.

I love helping people and then gettingtheir feedback, she said. I work with the

seniors, with the youth. I take pleasure inthe fact that Im offering a valuable serviceto the community.

Joyner believes that work like this haspaid off since the 1980s when the AIDSepidemic began.

Theres progress, she said. I think Ivehelped some people. As for more peoplelearning, theres a lot of materials outthere. More people are using condoms.

A Long Career

Joyners career with the agency began in

the Borough Commissioners Office, whereshe received and tracked environmentalcomplaints from the Community Boards.But this is also where she got her early HIV/AIDS education training, as she helpedorganize conferences on the subject.

By 1994 she was promoted to the HIVPrevention and Control unit, where shemonitored and oversaw agency-fundedprograms.

Joyner is also an active member of SSEULocal 371, serving as both a delegate and

on the Executive Committee. She recalledthat in 2007, a co-worker encouraged herto get more involved in the Union. Theway Joyner saw it, the Union does for itsmembers what civil servants like her do forthe public.

The Union helps members, what-ever problems theyre having, the Unionlistens she said. The Union helps themwith their rights.

City Wins on Snow DaysAN ARBITRATOR HASruled that theCity was right to dock City workerspay or leave time if they were unable tocome to work during the December 2010blizzard that crippled the five boroughsfor days.

Hundreds of thousands of workersall over the City were unable to get towork because roads were closed and masstransit routes were shut down. Fromthe beginning of this storm, for whichthe Bloomberg administration failed tophysically prepare, the City has main-tained that it was under no obligation tocompensate workers who could not get towork if their offices were still open.

TheNew York Postreported Feb. 12that the arbitrators ruling focused on

narrow language in the DC 37 contract

that spells out the rights of employeeswho are to be excused for being late towork because of mass-transit problems.Theres no discussion of what happens iftheyre absent.

A Narrow ReadingAccording to the paper, the ruling said

Section 16 (h) specifically provides thatlateness caused by a major failure ofpublic transportation shall be excusedThe evidence fails to establish that thislanguage is meant to include absence.

I am totally surprised by the arbitratorsnarrow reading of the issue, said UnionPresident Anthony Wells. It is a slap in theface to hard working civil servants all overthe City. We are going to look at other ways

to improve the situation for our members.


7/8


Yesterdays Lessons for Today

Acrowd of SSEU Local 371 mem-bers Feb. 5 packed an auditoriumat the United Federation ofTeachers downtown Manhattan head-

quarters to hear President AnthonyWells join other labor and civil rightsleaders speak on the subject of Blacksin Labor, an event sponsored by the A.Philip Randolph Institute.

One of the key messages people likeWells, Hazel Dukes of the NAACP andMarch on Washington organizer Nor-man Hill agreed upon was that many ofthe problems African Americans facedin the Civil Rights Movement are stillwith us today.

That is why it is so important in ourpolitical engagement as a labor move-ment to look upon these past strugglesas an inspiration for the future.

Hill noted that during the historicmarch on the nations capital in 1963, theCivil Rights Movement was demanding aprogram to put unemployed people intogood-paying jobs, a national living wagethat keeps up with inflation and a newlabor code that protects all workers.

LeRoy Barr, director of staff at theUFT, said that things such as racial

disparities in education, the treatmentof children of color by police and theschool to prison pipeline, called

him to question whether many of usare free. He added, We must be themodel of the future we want to have.

This is why all the panelists believed

it was so critical to organize politically,engage in electoral politics and makethe kinds of demands people like Ran-dolph made. While the labor movementis a movement that fights for all work-ers regardless of their color, during thisBlack History Month, it is importantto remember that labor struggles affectpeople of color acutely. African Ameri-cans and Latinos suffer from unemploy-ment at a higher rate than whites, andpeople of color still face discriminationon the job and in hiring.

Collect, Not Just Elect

Thats the message we need to taketo politicians.

We need to collect from politicians,not just elect politicians, Wells toldthe audience. We must be solutionand resolution oriented. We must findreal solutions to attract people.

When he encouraged people to getout to the polls for all elections, notjust in the presidential election, partici-

pants shouted, preach it!Dukes, an icon of the Civil Rights

Movement, told the audience You

need to learn how to follow leadershipsometimes. We have not learned howto be good followers.

This is an especially powerful and

important message since we are nowliving under President Barack Obamassecond term in the White House.While this is substantial progress forthe nation, the American Right has re-doubled its campaign against him andhis character.

The country has disrespected thePresident of the United States, saidDonald Afflick, the president of theNew York City chapter of the Coali-tion of Black Trade Unionists. Wevebeen too quiet about this. Hes elected,but he also needs our help.

In order for us to do any of this,we need to organize at the communitylevels. These will be the topics wewill discuss in political action meet-ings down the road. We have im-portant Citywide elections this yearthat will determine whether this willbe a city for the 99 percent or the1 percent.

We will show the City how strongwe are politically. That is why we are a

mighty, mighty Union.Michelle Akyempong,

Vice President of Political Action

Anthony Wells and other labor and civil rights leaders spoke about the need for unity in the labor movement.

AriPaul


8/8


Social Service Employees Union

Local 371

817 Broadway

New York, N.Y. 10003

Periodicals Postage

Paid at New York, NY

CondolencesCondolencesare extended to Margaretta

Morman, Sup III at MICSA/Quality

Assurance and Control Unit, 3330 West 34

Street, on the death of her father, Anthony

Morman, who died Jan. 29. Condolences

may be sent to Margaretta Morman, 444

Second Ave., #32H, New York, NY 10010.

Condolencesare extended to Agnes A.

Pemberton, Supervisor at LTHHCP, on

the death of her grandmother, MablePemberton, who died Jan. 28. Condolences

may be sent to Agnes Pemberton, 680

Balcom Ave., #8H, Bronx, NY 10456.

Condolencesare extended to Priscilla

Abernathy, SSEU Local 371 Health and

Safety Coordinator, on the death of her

brother-in-law, Estanislao Otero, who died

in January. Condolences may be sent to

Priscilla Abernathy, 817 Broadway, 14th

Floor, New York, NY 10003.

Condolencesare extended to Deborah

Williams, SSEU Local 371 Health and

Safety Coordinator, on the death of hermother, Mary Frances Williams, who died

in January. Condolences may be sent to

285 Riley Road, New Windsor, NY 12553.

Condolencesare extended to Veronica

Mirand-Toomer, Sup I at Kingsbridge HAS,

on the death of her father, Rene Mirand,

who died Dec. 24. Condolences may be

sent to 950 East 221 St., Bronx, NY 10469.

Recovering in NYCHA

SWAP-Job Opportunity Specialist at Crotona Job

Center #46 in the Bronx would like to swap with

Caseworker at Queens Center #53 43-00 Northern

Blvd, LIC or Queens FSCC Satellite 34-00 Northern

Blvd, LIC or East River Queens #37 One Honeywell

Street, LIC. If interested, please call (718) 901-4583.

SWAP-Caseworker at Coney Island Center in

Brooklyn would like to swap with Caseworker at

HASA Queens 33-28 Northern Blvd, Long Island City,

NY 11101; HASA Greenwood 275-285 Bergen Street,

Brooklyn, NY or HASA Waverly Unit 8-12 West 14th

Street. If interested, please call (516) 451-3872.

SWAP-Community Asst. at Department of Home-

less Services in Manhattan at 78 Catherine Street

would like to swap to Linden or Barbara Kleinman. If

interested, please call ( 212) 877-4434.

SWAP- Job Opportunity Specialist at Linden

Job Center in Brooklyn HRA, would like to swap to

Coney Island Job Center or Bay Ridge Job Center. If

interested, please call (718) 237-7066.

SWAP- Job Opportunity Specialist, FIA/HRA at

Monterey Job Center #46 in the Bronx, would like

to swap to Dekalb Job Center #64, Bushwick Job

Center #66 or Linden Job Center #67. If interested,

please call (347) 792-6923.

SWAP- Caseworker, Home Care at 94 Flatbush

Avenue, Brooklyn, would like to swap to 25 Chapel

Street-Burial Claims or 330 Jay Street, OCSE,

Brooklyn Family Court or 330 West 34th Street-

Inst. Care Nursing Homes. If interested, please call(718) 637-6737.

BULLETIN BOARDMEMBERS

And City officials have slammed the agencys

account of how it prepared. In fact, the DailyNewsreported last month that Rhea failedto show up to a City Council hearing on theissue, telling the lawmakers that he had juryduty. In fact, he did not have jury duty.

Even by NYCHA standards, this is bi-zarre, said City Council Speaker ChristineQuinn, according to the paper. [I]t createsthe impression that theyre trying to hidesomething from us.

And for some SSEU Local 371 members,management does have something to hide.

The Union has fought vigorously to keepsocial service positions in public housing inorder to provide a higher quality of life forthe residents.

They came up with this nonsensical ideathat the authority was spending too much

on social services and so they got out of it,said Juan Ortiz, a Community Coordinatorin Brooklyn, noting that many services havebeen outsourced, What they did is essen-tially union busting.

Total Fiasco

There have not been layoffs at NYCHAin the social service titles yet, but SSEU Lo-cal 371 is against privatization and believessocial services are a vital part of public hous-ing, where the bulk of unionized workers are

members of Teamsters Local 237.Rhea? Its a total fiasco, said Ortiz. Hewas very into dismantling the union in theauthority and going private.

Continued from page 3

Juan Ortiz: Fighting to keep social services in NYCHA.

DaveSanders

Documents

The Unionist February 2013