The Unionist November 2013

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Volume 43 Number 10

November 2013

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

A New Day for New York

The Unions VP for Political Action explains Decision 2013. page 3

M i c h e l F r i a n g


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2 The Unionist | November 2013

NOVEMBER 2013

18 Latino Heritage:6:30 pm

Union Office, 12th Floor

19 Alumni Association:2:00 pm


19 Political Action Committee:6:30 pm


20 Delegate Assembly & General Membership

Meeting:6:30 pm P.S. 40 319 W. 19th St.

btw 1 and 2 Aves. in Manhattan

DECEMBER 2013

4 Executive Committee:6:30 pm


5 Black Heritage Committee:6:30 pm


11 Womens Committee and Political Action

Committee Meeting:6:30 pm Union Office,

12th Floor

12 Committee of Concerned Social Workers:

6:30 pm Union Office, 12th Floor

16 Latino Heritage Committee:6:30 pm


17 Alumni Association:2:00 pm


18 Delegate Assembly:6:30 pm

235 W. 23 St. in Manhattan

19 Next Wave:6:30 pm


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

Secretary-TreasurerJuan Ortiz

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

Celebrating a Win, andFighting a Challenge

The progressive winds blew through New YorkNov. 5. Bill de Blasio was elected mayor by anoverwhelming margin. It was a victory that willchange the landscape of New York.

Mayor-elect de Blasio ran on an unapologeticallyprogressive platform that seeks to change New Yorkfrom a tale of two cities to one city that cares about allpeople. His progressive agenda includes strengtheningthe social safety net, stopping outsourcing and a

commitment to affordable

and public housing. Itmust also include a commitment to negotiate afair, livable wage, with retroactivity, for the public

workforce. New Yorkers voiced their opinion atthe ballot box, and now we must have a voice at thebargaining table.

We also celebrate the elections of Letitia James,Scott Stringer, Gale Brewer, Eric Adams, Daneek Miller and a new incomingBrooklyn District Attorney, Kenneth Thompson. They represent change and abright future for New York. We look forward to working with them.

As we celebrate and reflect on Election Day results, we continue our fightback.

As we go to press, more than 160 NYCHA workers received at risk of being laidoff letters. NYCHA management continues its agenda to privatize communityand senior centers, even as they walk out the door. As we continue to fight back,

we are also organizing members, working with coalitions, using the media andseeking help from our allies in government.

The struggle continues as Medicaid reforms threaten to privatize our functions,eliminate programs and add burdensome requirements to our titles. Although weare in a better position today than two years ago, the fight is not over. We mustand will do everything in our power, including using our resources, to protect our

jobs, benefits and rights.

We cannot rest on our laurels and successes. Yes, we are fighting to preserveour drug prescription benefits. Yes, the Crisis Intervention Program is helpingmembers deal with crises. Still, we cannot rest.

We will organize and energize the membership. Our delegates are trained andprepared for the daily challenges in the work place. They are committed to makingthis a strong union through their advocacy in all workplaces. And most importantly,the members are poised for the changes Election Day brought. They understandthat our voices will be heard and our issues addressed. We look forward with hopeand a renewed energy. God bless you and God bless the Union.

Anthony Wells

[A] victory thatwill change the

landscape of

New York.


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November 2013 | The Unionist 3

The collective elation of the Citys99 percent the morning of Wednes-day, Nov. 6 was palpable. It was as if

the newspaper headlines morphed beyondtheir ink form and shouted to the popu-lous that a new day was here.

Where to begin? Mayor-elect Bill deBlasio didnt achieve a mere politicalvictory with a whopping margin. Thepeople stood athwart the reactionaryagenda of Joe Lhota, whose platform con-sisted of the old Giu-liani tactics of racismand class warfare. Thepeople kicked to thecurb the support Lhotagot from the red-baiting

New York Post and thecries of outgoing MayorMichael Bloomberg thatde Blasio was waging awar on the rich.

Voices Heard

New Yorkersput their desires inthe open: We wantprogress. We wantworkers rights. Wewant affordable housing. We want goodhospitals. We want retroactive raises forCity employees.

In Brooklyn, we witnessed anotherhistoric victory. Kenneth Thompson un-seated incumbent Brooklyn District At-torney Charles Hynes. While the peopleof Brooklyn had grown tired of Hynesscronyism and approved of Thompsonsfresh vision of reducing drug prosecu-tions, this is a special victory for SSEULocal 371.

Under Hynes, the DAs office over-

zealously prosecuted two of our formermembers not in the name of justice but inthe name of self-promotion for a narcis-sistic and intransigent political hack.Given that Thompson is coming into hisposition with heavy backing from SSEULocal 371, the next year looks better forour members in the Brooklyn DAs officewith Hynes and his stale, sullied adminis-tration put out to pasture.

At the same time, there were othervictories. For example, we will have a new

progressive Brooklyn Borough President,

Eric Adams, who as state senatorfought valiantly for civil rights andfighting police violence and exces-sive force. We are also blessedto have an aggressive fighter andfriend of SSEU Local 371 Le-titia James in the role of publicadvocate, keeping a check on theoperations of City Hall. And wewelcome new members of theCity Council, with whom we will

work in the nearfuture.

While this is atime for celebra-tion, indeed, itis also a time for

reorganizationand recalibration.We cannot sim-ply rest on ourlaurels. Rather,on Jan. 1, when our newleaders are sworn intooffice, we must also takean oath. We, as union-ists and warriors ofeconomic equality mustpromise that we will

hold these leaders accountable.We will rally, agitate and lobby. We

should find guidance in a tale aboutFranklin D. Roosevelts first days aspresident, when labor leaders presentedhim with demands for workers rights thatwould end being the framework for theNew Deal. Allegedly, the newly mintedcommander-in-chief said, I agree withyou, I want to do it, now make me do it.

As Tim Price of the Roosevelt Insti-tute explained, FDR understood thatregardless of what he personally believed,

change had to happen from the bottomup, not just from the top down.

Work Ahead

Or as one of our members, Guy Alcin-dor, a BEV Delegate from Brooklyn, putit so eloquently the day after the election,Yesterday was quite a day for our Union.However victorious we feel as a progres-sive Union we have to keep our eyes on theprize. We have our work cut out for us.

That is the attitude we must bring

to this new administration. With the

leadership of SSEU Local 371, the labormovement can make its demands heardby officials who are willing to negotiate.

So we must organize. Come to Politi-cal Action Committee meetings. Stayinformed. And remember, celebrate thisvictory, but be prepared to fight in thenear future.

-Michelle Akyempong, Vice Presidentfor Legislation and Political Action

New Day Rising

Eric Adams will be the new Brooklyn Borough President.

Ken Thompson will be the new DA in Brooklyn.

Letitia James will be the first African

American woman in a citywide office.


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Ortiz, who previously servedas a NYCHA community cen-ter director, also told membersthat the Union was preparedto sue the City in order tostop the terminations.

The Union has until Jan. 5,2014 to keep all these mem-bers working in some way.Vice President for Researchand Negotiations RoseLovaglio-Miller said that NY-CHA management has offeredsome at-risk workers positionsin resident engagement and ingardening, but she added thatthe Union is pressuring theagency to look at other skilledtrades positions.

We dont only want themto look into community titlesif there are other positionsthey are fit for, she said.

SSEU Local 371 is fighting

back the terminations not justbecause it is a strike againstthe membership, but because

the Union is fighting againstausterity in general. Jay Arena,a sociologist at the College ofStaten Island whose research isfocused on urban public hous-ing programs, said that therecent news of possible layoffsand outsourcing to non-profitsocial service agencies was partof a larger campaign againstthe public sector.

A National TrendAs we have seen around

the country in the attack onpublic housing and otherpublic services, so called non-profits are put forward as thefriendly face of privatization,but whether privatization iscarried out through a for-profitor non-profit, workers endup the losers through lowerwages, less security and rights,

and reduced services, Arenasaid. The plan to privatizethe community centers is part

Earlier this year, SSEULocal 371 won a majorvictory when City

Council preserved fundingat NYCHA through the endof the year, ensuring that ourmembers at community cen-ters were safe from termina-tion. The idea was that with amore progressive administra-tion likely to come to powerin 2014, the Union and otherlabor and community groupswould be in a better negotiat-ing position with the City interms of how it handles publichousing.

But the outgoing Bloombergadministration, and its cor-rupt and inept managers atNYCHA, couldnt end 2013

without causing more pain tostruggling communities. At riskof layoff notices have been sent

to 160 members, as the agencymoves to put community andsenior centers under the aus-pices of other city agencies, who

will oversee their privatizationby non-profit groups.

Saving All Jobs

We will not tolerate evenone layoff, Union PresidentAnthony Wells said betweenmeetings with NYCHA-basedmembers at SSEU Local 371headquarters. We are explor-ing every possible option. Weknow that the agency can trainworkers to move into new titles.We know that they can moveinto other agencies. It doesntmatter if these workers have toswitch into a different union.Whats important is that noNYCHA worker has to spendthis holiday season wonderinghow to put food on the table.

Secretary-Treasurer Juan

NOT ONE LAYOFThe Union Unites to S

NYCHA Chairman John Rhea has been under fire for financial mismanagement and for

waging a war on workers and residents.

AriPaul

As we have seen

around the country in

the attack on public

housing and otherpublic services, so

called non-profits

are put forward as

the friendly face of

privatization, but

whether privatization

is carried out through a

for-profit or non-profit,

workers end up the

losers through lower

wages, less security

and rights, and reduced

services, Arena said.


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98 NYCHA attorneys whowork on the taxpayers dime.

City Council has expressedoutrage at Rheas intention topull NYCHA out of running itsown social services, and has seenit as an extension for his ad-ministrations general disregardfor integrity. Council Membershave lambasted him for spend-ing $10 million for a profitfirm, where he used to be theCEO, to conduct a cost-savingreport for the agency and thenattempting to block the Councilfrom seeing the report.

Forcing Changes

Further, another investiga-tion indicated that NYCHAmanagement was seekingservice cuts while it sat on $1billion in Federal funding. Theboondoggle, indeed, forcedthe administration to make

fundamental reforms to the

of a larger attack on publichousing in New York, attacksthat include the so-called infillscheme to hand over what littlegreen space exists in the devel-opments to developers to buildluxury housing, to the placingof a privatized charter schoolat the St. Nicholas develop-ment despite the opposition ofresidents, to allowing banks toinvest in developments.

A War on the PublicHe continued, All of

these initiatives are of coursesold in the name of savingpublic housing, but in factare directly or indirectlypart of the privatization anddestruction of public hous-ing, a resource that the Citysworking class needs more thanever as the local real estatebarons increasingly gobble up

what little affordable housing

exists in the private sector andplaces it out of reach for mostNew Yorkers.

For the last several months,media outlets like the Daily

Newshave noticed that theagency has money to run itsoperations, despite its claimsof poverty. The reality isthe current chairman, JohnRhea, has elected to use thatmoney to work against theinterests of residents insteadof serving them. The paperrecently reported, that TheNew York City HousingAuthority spends $8 milliona year on lawyersfar morethan it does on bricklayers orexterminatorsto wage legalwarfare against its 600,000residents. When tenantsturn to the courts hoping toforce the agency to fix long-standing decrepit conditions,

theyre outgunned by one of

ve Jobs at NYCHA

Members at NYCHA gathered to discuss the campaign to save jobs at the agency.agencys governing structure.

Mayor Bloomberg announcedthis summer, Moving forward,board members will no longerbe salaried, but rather servein part-time positions withstipends for time dedicated toboard activities. This bill willalso increase the overall size ofthe Housing Authoritys boardfrom four to seven and providefor additional tenant represen-tation with three of the sevenboard members being requiredto be public housing residents,ensuring a more diverse rangeof views.

But despite this trackrecord, the agency thinks itcan get away with this down-sizing. However, the Unionhas won more challengingbattles than this.

The Union is engagingwith the administration to seea way out for these workers,

Wells said.

AriPaul


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Delegate Training ResponsesThe feedback just keeps on coming from

members who attended the Unions three-

day delegate training in upstate New York

last month.

Among some of the things delegates and

alternates found most helpful, according

to their responses, were conductingexamples of workplace situations, legal

and grievance information, and skills

for organizing the rank-and-file at the

workplace.

Some gathered their ideas on how to do

these trainings differently in the future.

Those suggestions included using more

multi-media presentations and more time for

members to ask questions of presenters.

But what was most encouraging from

these responses were the many things

The Ensley Scholarship Is Gaining Steam

Members are getting excited forthe Unions planned schol-arship fund in the name ofCharles Ensley, the legendary

departed SSEU Local 371 president.The Union is dedicated to looking at

new and innovative ways to honor thelegacy of Ensley, whose colossal contri-butions to this mighty Union and theentire labor movement in his two decadesas president have made him a kind ofeternal and celestial overseeing presencesince his death in 2010.

The first annual scholarship fundrais-ing event and auction will take placeThursday, Jan. 23, 2014 at Russos onthe Bay, 162-45 Crossbay Boulevard,Howard Beach, NY 11414, from 6:00 to

11:00 p.m. Individual tickets are $125,and table for 10 is $1,000.

A Lasting Tribute

We think this will be a great way notonly to honor Ensleys unmatched legacy,but it will be for the betterment of allmembers, said Union President AnthonyWells.

The scholarship will be used for memberspursuing higher degrees in labor studies.

Deborah Williams, of the Unions health

and safety team, who is leading this effort,

said, These scholarships will provide ourmembers with the opportunity to heightentheir abilities, which can serve to strength-en our Union.

Wells added that there would be many

more benefit events for the fund in thefuture.

For tickets and information, contactDeborah Williams at (212) 598-7050 [email protected].

delegates and alternates said they would

do on location as a result of this training

program. They said they would have more

floor meetings to get more members

involved, be more proactive with engaging

the membership and better learn the terms

of the contract.

It really is encouraging to see how

committed these members are to

learning more and being more engaged,

especially among the newer delegates

and alternates, said Armenta Weekes,

vice president for organization. That really

was the goal of this training. We really do

appreciate the members giving us their

feedback about these sessions. Our goal

for the future is that each delegate training

is better than the previous one.

Charles Ensley believed in education in classrooms and in the streets.


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SSEU LOCAL 371members, alongwith many other working people aroundthe City, are keenly aware that one of theworst things Michael Bloomberg has doneto the City is harm its health services.

Its ironic, considering that everythingthe media has chosen to focus on, such asBloombergs crusades against salt, trans-fats and large sodas. The reality is, theseare stunts meant to distract the media

and the public at large from the cuts tothe safety net hospital systems.

On the surface, most recently, thisreduction in service has manifested itselfin the form of job cuts for SSEU Local371 members at the Health and HospitalsCorporation. However, the Union wassuccessful in averting layoffs.

Finding Jobs

Harlem Hospital attempted to termi-nate four community liaison workers

after the grant money justifying theirsalaries ran out. After pressure from theUnion, the workers were moved to am-bulatory care jobs at the hospital, and theworkers never left HHC payroll.

District Council 37 and many otherunions gathered on the steps of City HallOct. 30 to protest other draconian cuts.The council said in a statement that HHChas temporarily closed North CentralBronx Hospitals Labor and DeliveryDepartment potentially creating danger-ous consequences for low-income womenand families in the northwest Bronx com-munity. The Citys Department of Healthand Mental Hygiene plans to reduce hoursfor nine STD Clinics that served close to100,000 in 2012. Earlier protest temporar-ily halted the Health Departments closingof two of the citys three immunizationclinics in Queens and the Bronx at theheight of the school vaccination season.Now, the DOHMH plans to shut theimmunization clinics down as of Decem-ber 31 in the middle of flu season, leaving

only the Ft. Greene Clinic in Brooklyn.

SSEU Local 371, having members inboth HHC and DOHMH, fully sup-ports increased funding for services. Inaddition, safety net hospitals are alreadyfeeling increased strain as low-incomepatients are running out of health optionsas private sector hospitals like St. Vin-cents in Manhattan have closed.

Bloombergs Arrogance

As the protest went on, with thesupport of community activists andprogressive elected officials likePublic Advocate-elect Letitia James,

Bloomberg ascended the steps as hereturned with his entourage from aSanitation Department ceremony. Theactivists taunted the lame duck mayor,insisting that the cuts were too much forthe 99 percent to endure. In his trade-mark, plutocratic fashion, he smiled andscoffed at the hoi polloi.

Moments like that should remindmembers that while these cuts are serious

and need to be addressed, there is hopethat we will be better equipped to negoti-ate and win what the public needs fromthe next administration.

BloombergsUNHEALTHY LEGACY


Workers made it clear that they were on the side of the patients not the bean counters.


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The Unionist | November 2013

Social Service Employees Union

Local 371

817 Broadway

New York, N.Y. 10003

Periodicals Postage

Paid at New York, NYCondolencesare extended to Brenda

Jacobs, Caseworker at Queens CASA, on the

death of her uncle, VanDyke Jacobs, Uncle

Sonny, who died Oct. 27. Condolences

may be sent Brenda Jacobs, 143-06 170th

Street, Jamaica, NY 11434.

Condolencesare extended to the family

and friends of James A. Brooks JB, who

recently retired, after working with HRA/Claims & Collections Department, who died

Oct. 6. Condolences can be sent to Lisa

Brooks, 925 Prospect Place, Apt. 1E, Brook-

lyn, NY 11213.

Condolencesare extended to Amenta

Bowan, Caseworker, at Coney Island HASA,

on the death of her sister, Denise Bumbury,

who was a Caseworker at APS in Brooklyn,

250 Livingston Street, who died in October.

Condolences may be sent Ms. Claudette

Bumbury, 2023 Caton Avenue, Brooklyn,

NY 11226.

Condolencesare extended to Grievance

Representative Maria Jimenez-Gonzalez on

the death of her father, Felix, who died in

September. Condolences may be sent to Ma-

ria Jimenez-Gonzalez, SSEU Local 371, 817

Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10003.

Condolencesare extended to Union clerical

staffer Tonya Baker on the death of father,

who died in October. Condolences may be

sent to Tonya Baker, SSEU Local 371, 817

Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10003.

Condolencesare extended to the family

of Kwame Bey, a retiree and former Union

Delegate at Bedford Atlantic Shelter, who

died in November. Condolences may be sent

to Monifa Bey, 98-40 57th Ave., Apt. 181,

Corona, NY 11368.

Condolences

Seven Laid Off in HPD,Union Fighting Back

Update on Lloyd Permaul SuspensionAFSCME President Lee Saunders informedSSEU 371 on Oct. 10 that the internationalunion has upheld the Executive Committeessuspension of Vice President for Grievancesand Legal Services Lloyd Permaul pendingthe outcome of charges.

The Executive Committee suspended Per-maul for 30 days pending a decision by theinternational after the vice president admit-ted to tampering with City timesheets. The

Union then filed changes on Sept. 30 against

Permaul for forging timesheets, disregardingExecutive Committee decisions and for beingthe subject of a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Permaul will remain suspended until theresolution of these charges, when the chargeswill be heard before the AFSCME JudicialPanel Thursday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m. at the Mil-lennium Hilton Hotel in lower Manhattan.

For now, the section is being supervised byexecutive assistant and former section vice

president Shirley Gray.

Seven Community Assistants at theDepartment of Housing Preservationand Development were laid off Nov. 1,

and the Union is working to find them newpositions as soon as possible.

The Union protested the proposedlayoffs and tried to stop the terminationsduring labor-management meetings,noting that the agency was hiring in othersectors. There was no reason for thelayoffs, said Union President AnthonyWells. Hopefully, the new administration

will realize how cruel it is to layoff peoplein one part of an agency while it is hiringin another.

The Unions research and negotiationssection is currently monitoring otheragencies to see if there are other titles thesemembers can move into.

The workers have also been put on arecall list, as per the layoff procedure, Wellsadded. Hopefully, through attrition therewill be a need to hire, as has happened inthe past.

Lists Established

The Union is happy to report that

several Civil Services lists havebeen established and are now

viable: Sup II, Sup III, Social Service

and Social Work titles. The Union

will be asking Commissioners

to start moving these lists as soon

as possible.

Correction

An article last month misspelledthe name of the new dental clinic

manager. It is Dr. Ronald Mith.

Documents

The Unionist November 2013