unionist october 2010 issue

8/8/2019 Unionist October 2010 Issue

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Volume 40 Number 9

October 2010

As thousands march todemand jobs at the na-tional level, City workers

are pressed between a rock anda hard place. On September 21,

Mayor Bloomberg declared atemporary hiring reeze on mostCity jobs, and instructed Cityagencies to slash their budgets by5.4% this scal year and 8% theollowing year. The cuts are inanticipation o an estimated $3.3billion budget decit or the scalyear beginning July 1, 2011 andan estimated $4.1 billion budgetgap or the ollowing year.

More than one hundred thousandpeople converged in Washington,D.C. on October 2 or a rally to

promote jobs, justice, and education.SSEU Local 371 President Faye Moore,

ocers, sta, and members helped ll thethirty buses hired by DC 37 to participate inone o the largest and most ervent political

demonstrations in recent memory. Leav-ing rom DC 37 headquarters at six in themorning, the workers were eager to maketheir voices heard. Carrying signs that readAFSCMEWe Make America Happenand We Vote, and Stand Against War& RacismJobs Not War, the attendeeswere out in orce to show their support orthe Obama administration and demand thatthe increasingly deadlocked Congress workthrough their dierences to govern past theNovember mid-term elections. Brenda De-

ares, a CPS Supervisor II with ACS, said shewas there trying to get the young workersto come out and participate, because whenpoliticians see numbers they see votes.

President Faye Moore looks on as VP Anthony Wells presents photos o jobcenter lines at HRA Labor Management meeting on September 27.

Union members join hundreds o grassroots organizations atOne Nation Rally in Washington D.C.

Continued on page 8

Meanwhile, HRA Job Centers are burst-ing at the seams as the number o joblessapplicants soars beyond the agencys cur-rent capacity to provide services. Workersare caught in the middle as managers assign

cases three at a time, and rustrated ap-plicants and their children wait all day onlines that stretch out the door and downthe block.

We are in a crisis, said Union PresidentFaye Moore. Our members are strugglingto provide services in a humane manner toamilies in need o assistance, many o whomare rst-time applicants. The clients arerustrated, the workers are rustrated, and

As Demand for Social Services Soars, Mayor Freezes Hiring and Cuts Budgets

Union Mmrs Turn Out for On Nation Rally

Continued on page 2

Organized by One Nation Working To-gether, the participants included such majorcivil rights groups as the NAACP, theNational Council o La Raza, the NationalUrban League, and the Human RightsCampaign. Individual attendees came romall over the country heeding a call to putAmerica back to work and pull America

back together, according to One Nation.Ive never in my lie seen so many

people, said Union member Irish SheemaJenkins rom Brooklyn. It reminded me oMLKs march on Washington or peace.The protestors covered the Mall romthe Lincoln Memorial to the Washing-ton Monument, straining at times to hearspeakers like the Reverends Jesse Jacksonand Al Sharpton, comedian Charlie Hill,and MSNBC commentator Ed Schultz whoenergized the crowd by shouting, Are you

America? To which the crowd respondedwith a resounding, Yes! Other speakersincluded activist and singer Harry Belaonte,

C l a r e n c e

E l i e - R i v e r a

AleahBarley

Latino Heritage Celebration

Pags 4-5Vote for Union Endorsed Candidates

Pag 7African American Day Parade

Page 6


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2 The Unionist | October 2010

OcTObeR12 committ of conrnd Soial Workrs:

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

13 Womns committ Mting: Domsti

Violn Sminar: 6:30 p.m. Union Oce,

12th Floor

14 Soial Srvi employs chaptr:


19 Alumni Assoiation Mting:2 p.m.

Union Oce, 12th Floor

20 Dlgat Assmly: 6:30 p.m. Advance

Realty, 235 West 23rd Street in Manhattan

26 Halth and Hospitals corporation

chaptr: 6:30 p.m. Union Oce, 15th Floor

27 Politial Ation committ Mting:


civilians in Law enformnt chaptr:


NOVeMbeR2 eltion Day: an ocial City holiday

Dont oret to vote!

3 exutiv committ Mting:


7 Daylight Savings Tim nds

9 committ of conrnd Soial Workrs:


11 Vtrans Day: an ocial City holiday

16 Alumni Assoiation Mting:2 p.m.


Womns committ Mting: 6:30 p.m.


17 Dlgat Assmly: 6:30 p.m. Advance

Realty, 235 West 23rd Street in Manhattan

CALENDAR

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

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

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

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

PresidentFaye Moore

Executive Vice PresidentYolanda Pumarejo

Secretary-TreasurerJoe Nazario

V.P. Negotiations & ResearchAnthony Wells

V.P. Organization & EducationBeverly Mallory Brown

V.P. Grievances & Legal ServicesLloyd Permaul

V.P. Legislation & Political ActionMichelle Akyempon

V.P. Publicity & Community RelationsMichelle Conklin

TrusteesMichael Ballesteros

Yolanda DeJesusMelva Scarborouh

Acting EditorMichelle Conklin

Editorial AssociateJessica Ramos

Visit us on th w at www.ssu371.org

DaveSanders

Every year, SSEU Local 371s Committee o Concerned Social Workers awards scholarships to Union members who are working ontheir Masters degree in Social Work. Each scholarship winner is awarded $2,500 toward his or her studies. The 2010 scholarshipwinners and CCSW chairs pictured are: (L-R) CPS Wilhemina Poindexter, CPS Sharema Jackson-Ferguson, CWS Supervisor II andCCSW Committee Co-Chair Bernice Adeyemi-Brown, Executive VP and CCSW Committee Chair Yolanda Pumarejo, CPS NatashaFoncetta, Addiction Counselor Antoinette Burton-Sabinsky, CWS Supervisor II and CCSW Committee Co-Chair Lucy Lane, CPS AniEmenogu, and CPS Francia Williams. Congratulations to all the winners!

Six Win Committee of Concerned Social Workers Scholarships

Union Urges SocialWorkers to Join NASWDear colleagues:

As Chair o the Committee o ConcernedSocial Workers, I would like to stress the im-portance o being part o NASW, the NationalAssociation o Social Workers, a proessionalorganization always at the oreront o is-sues pertaining to our proession. Here is aletter rom Harriet Putterman rom the NYCChapter o the NASW, inviting you to join withellow social workers around the country and

strengthen our proession.

Joining is made easy with our union educa-tion benet that will reimburse $100 o yourmembership dues annually, and makes a greatdierence in the lives we strive to improveevery day.

Yolanda PumarejoChair

Committee o Concerned Social Workers

DearProessionalSocialWorkers,

ImostwanttoconveytoyouhowmuchtheNationalAssociationoSocialWorkers, yourproessionalorga-nization,valuesandrespectstheworkyoudo. SocialworkersinthepublicsectordirectlyaddressthebasicneedsohundredsothousandsoNewYorkers. Thatistheessenceosocialwork.Wealsounderstandthatyouworkin achallengingenvironmentwhereyoumaynotbevaluedorrewardedoryourproessionalskills.TheNationalAssociationoSocialWorkersneedsthebeneftoyourconsiderableexperience, andthatiswhyIurgeyoutoconsiderjoiningNASW. Membershipallowsyoutoattenddiscountedproessionaldevelop-mentworkshopsandspecialevents,networkwith otherproessionalworkers,andreadpublications

thatvalueandbuildonyourproessionalskills. Tojoin,justgotowww.naswnyc.organdclickon theJoin Onlinebutton.Wewanttohearrom youaboutwhatshappeningonthejobanddiscusshowwemightworktogethertoadvanceyourproessionalexperience. PleasecalloremailHarrietPutterman, 212-668-0050;[email protected].

Sincerely,

HarrietPuttermanMembershipandSocialActionAssociateNASW-NYC

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who all talkedabout the importance o government actionin new job creation, an issue that has becomeincreasingly important as the Great Recessiondrags on, with unemployment recently climb-ing as high as 9.6 percent. Janice Pemberton, anACS Child Protective Specialist, said, Its ourlives now, our jobs.

While job creation was the major ocus o theOctober 2 rally, other issues like ending the warsin Iraq and Aghanistan, LGBT rights, health

Continued rom page 1One Nation Rallycare, public education, and immigration reormwere also enthusiastically represented.

Although the rally was a rousing success, it isimportant to make sure that elected ocials hearUnion members voices not just at the demon-stration but also at the voting machines by turn-ing out or the mid-term election on November2, said Michelle Akyempong, Vice President oPolitical Action. Pemberton added, Everyonewas so energized or the 2008 vote, and peopleneed to remember that its not a one shot deal.

Aleah Barley


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October 2010 | The Unionist 3

Rats!

When they moved into the MelroseJob Center on June 21 o this year,Community Alternative Systems

Agency (CASA) workers had no idea theywould be subject to a relentless invasion by

the Citys rat population.The oces in the subbasement o 260

East 161 Street in the Bronx had recentlyundergone extensive renovations, makingthem a pleasant change rom the CASAemployees previous oces at 1775 GrandConcourse. Everything appeared shinyand new. We were happy [with the newspace], said Wardella Mazyck, a Delegateand Supervisor I who has worked or theCity or 21 years. Then the incidentsstarted happening and it was like a night-

mare, she said.The Union raised concerns about thelocation beore workers were moved inbecause the space had a known history orodent inestation. HRA responded withassurances that the renovations had putan end to the rodent problem. Ater theworkers moved in, the Union began re-ceiving calls about rats almost immediately.Rats are very dangerous, says PriscillaAbernathy, a Health and Saety Represen-tative with Local 371. I bitten you will

need a series o rabies shots.At rst, the incidents were

small things. Food let in deskdrawers disappeared over-night and droppings were

let on various suraces.Mazyck came into work oneday and all o her Girl Scoutcookies were gone. Therewasnt a crumb let in the box,she said. Even ater workers stoppedleaving ood at the oce and eating at theirdesks the rats continued to show up. Somerodents were trapped in trash cans anddisposed o by janitorial sta. On July 19,Union ocials went out to talk with work-ers at the job site. A subsequent inspection

by the New York State Department oLabor Public Employee Saety and HealthBureau (PESH) conrmed the presence oNorwegian rats.

Caseworker Sherryl Richardson said,I already had a phobia and people werending rat droppings the size o peanutshells. On July 27, a big rat eighteen totwenty inches ran across Richardsonseet, triggering a panic attack that senther to the hospital. I thought I was hav-ing a heart attack, Richardson said. I

was overwhelmed. The City dispatchedGeneral Services to plug up the holes inthe building the next day. According toMazyck, it was like the workers were under

attack. You were araid to openyour desk, you were araid to

go to the restroom, you werearaid to come to work. OnAugust 2, a rat jumped out o

a workers desk causing panicin the oce. When a client

saw the animal she scrambledonto the nearest table, injuring

her knees in the process.Mazyck said she was thankul

that the Union came in right away andtold HRA to Get them out o there.On August 9 the employees were movedto swing space, and on September 20they were relocated to Hamilton Center.The lasting eects are still elt. I have

problems with sleeping, said Richardson.I have anxiety and chest pains.I workers nd evidence o rats in the

workplace they should notiy their ocemanager or site director immediately. TheUnions Health and Saety section shouldalso be alerted by calling (212) 677-3900ext. 3048 or 3068. Workers can call 311to make a report directly to the Depart-ment o Health to request an inspection,and the phone number or PESH is (212)775-3548.

Aleah Barley

Editors Note: Aleah Barley is a Union Semes-ter intern at Local 371.New Website

Feature: EasyAccess to Dentaland OpticalProviders

The Welare Fund is pleased

to announce a searchable

directory by zip code o

optical providers and dentists

who provide services coveredunder the Welare Funds

Dental Plan and Optical

beneft at no out-o-pocket

expense. To use this eature,

go to the Benefts section

o the Unions website at

www.sseu371.org/benefts

and choose the Find your

DENTISTandOPTICAL

STORES button.

Hold the DateA Civil Service Roundtable presented by

DC 37s Civil Service Committee will be held

on Wednesday, October 27. The topic is: A

discussion o issues and answers on the state

o the Civil Service System and the current

attacks on it. Speakers include DC 37 Execu-

tive Director Lillian Roberts, NYC Council

Member and Chair o the NYC Civil Service and

Labor Committee James Sanders, Jr., State

Senator and Chair o the NYS Civil Service and

Pensions Committee Diane Savino, andAl

Viani, Arbitrator and ormer Local 371

President and Chie Negotiator or DC 37. Lisa

Colangelo, columnist rom the New York Daily

News, will moderate. The event begins at 6

p.m. at DC 37 Headquarters, 125 Barclay Street

in Manhattan. Rereshments will be served.


4/8

Latino HeritaT

he 19th Annual LatinoHeritage Celebrationbrought together a re-

cord number o Unionmembers and riends at DC 37headquarters. Executive VicePresident Yolanda Pumarejoand Secretary-Treasurer JosephNazario, chairs o the LatinoHeritage Committee, hostedan evening o oods and beatsrefecting the wide spectrumo Latino cultures under thetheme, United in struggle:immigrants and labor will make

the dream come true.

Executive VP YolandaPumarejo led a moment osilence in honor o ormer

SSEU Local 371 PresidentCharles Ensley, who was pres-ent at last years celebration.Pumarejo invoked Ensleysmantra: We have ound thecommon ground and that com-mon ground is the Union inexplaining why it is so im-portant that SSEU Local 371celebrate dierent heritages.

President Faye Moore ad-dressed the audience inEspaol

and welcomed ellow localpresidents rom DC 37, or-mer Executive Vice PresidentJulia Jorge, as well as electedocials including New YorkCity Council Member CharlesBarron, Civil Court JudgeSylvia Ashe, and ormer VicePresident o Political Actionand Legislation and currentState Senator Diane Savino.Representatives o other electedocials were also present in the

audience.Keynote speaker Ramon

Jimenez took up pressing is-sues in his remarks, drawingexamples rom his personal lie

to illustrate how we must havecompassion or those strugglingwith obstacles we may havealready overcome. The worstthing discriminated people cando is discriminate, Jimenezsaid to a round o applause. Heis currently running or NewYork State Attorney General onthe Freedom Party line, alongwith Council Member Barronor New York State Governor.

Union members and theirriends warmed up with Yerba

Buenas Puerto Rican bombaandplena. Their lyrics talkedabout community and equality,one singing, Ante Dios somos

iguales, meaning we are all thesame beore God.

Renowned singer GeorgeLamond was the surprise guest,singing some o his greatesthits in reestyle andsalsa. Theaudience danced the rest o thenight tosalsa and boogaloo per-ormed byZon del Barrio.

It was a wonderul eventthanks to our members andthe committee, said Nazario.This was one o the most suc-cessul and memorable Latino

Heritage events. I am veryproud o the committee and Iam so thankul or all the workthey did, Pumarejo added.

Jessica Ramos

UNITED IN STRUggLE:IMMIgRANTS AND LABOR

Photo

s4&

5:PatArnow

Keynote Speaker Ramon Jimnez

7

21



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25 YEARS AGO October 1985CITY COUNCIL PASSES UNION BILL THAT

MONITORS CONTRACTING OUT

District Council 37 scored a major victory when

the City Council passed the Union sponsored

Consultant Control Bill... The bill, sponsored by

Councilman Robert Dryoos, mandates that every

agency that contracts out must write guidelines

and establish procedures or those contracts.

These guidelines must include such items as cost

eectiveness and an explanation o why the job

cannot be done by city workers.

15 YEARS AGO October 1995RATS AT WORK: MEMBERS FACE RODENT

INFESTATIONS ON THE JOB

The rodent problem in New York City has becomeprogressively worse in the last ew years, statedLocal 371 Health and Saety Coordinator ArnieGoldwag... The Union is waiting to see the resultso grievances and arbitrations on rats in variouslocations. And in the worst cases, such as a seriousrat inestation at Ryder Welare Center in the Bronx,weve gone to the media with the story and gotten a

quick cleanup o a potentially hazardous situation.

10 YEARS AGO October 2000HRA ANNOUNCES PLANS TO CREATE A NEW TITLE

SERIES

At an October 10 meeting at the Ofce o Labor

Relations, Human Resources Administration First

Deputy Administrator Marl Hoover announced

plans to create a new title series, Job Opportunity

Specialist, that would provide a single case manager

or most o the cases in the agency... Union

President Charles Ensley said, We have always been

proponents o a single case management system.

Dav

eSanders

October is Breast CancerAwareness Month . . .a time when many people think about can-cer and the eect it has on riends and lovedones. Union member Erica Pagan, a CPS at

1200 Waters Place in the Bronx, encour-ages members to support eorts like WhereTheres a Need, an organization that pro-vides hairpieces or children and adults withcancer and other medical conditions. Itsvery expensive to purchase wigs, especially inlow income communities, said Pagan. And,its especially hard or children to adapt to hairloss rom cancer, so the wigs help them adaptand eel more comortable going to school.For more inormation, check out their websiteat www.wheretheresaneed.org.

Union members marched in the annualAricanAmerican Day Parade on September 19 inHarlem. The parade included dignitaries such asGovernor David Paterson, Congressman CharlesRangel, and the Reverend Al Sharpton. It wasorganized to showcase positive Arican-Americanachievements as part o a larger movementagainst racism and racial profling. SSEU Local371 President Faye Moore is pictured, right, withVP o Organization Beverly Mallory-Brown andmembers o the NYC Labor Chorus.

African American Day Parade

Union members Bella Urman, HRA Caseworker and RosellieDavis, Supervising HCI are the proud parents o scholarshipwinners Michelle Urman (center) and William Davis (not pictured).The awards were given by the DC 37 Education Committee attheAnnual Scholarship Awards Luncheon on September 12.

Union member and activistAurea Mangual (seated center)celebrates with riends at the College Award Gala o the New YorkLeague o Puerto Rican Women Inc., where she was honoredon August 18. Seated on let is Union member Mary Rosario.

DianaDia

z

PatArnow

Judge Marcy Friedman heard oralarguments on September 23 on theUnions motion or discovery in thecase against ACS. The case was led bythe Union to challenge that agencyspractice o laying-o permanent socialservice workers while at the sametime hiring workers provisionally innewly created Improved Outcomes orChildren (IOC) titles.

The ormal motion was led by the

Union ater ACS reused to answer eightquestions about their hiring practices atthe time o the layos, and respondedinstead with a motion asserting theyshould not be required to provide theinormation, even though they maintainthey did nothing wrong.

Judge Friedman is expected to rule onwhether and how much discovery will berequired in this case. The next hearingdate will be set ater the ruling is issued.

Judge Considers Union Motion on ACS Court Case


7/8


8/8


Social Service Employees Union

Local 371

817 Broadway

New York, N.Y. 10003

WANTED- Top cash paid or your old jazz, soul, R&B

and ospel albums. Call Howard at (212) 873-4016.

FOR SALE- Lare ceilin xture, dolly, luae, dishes,

pots, lassware, it items, never worn size smallladies clothin includin dark brown Borhese aux

ur jacket, never worn boots and shoes size 8, lare

American fas, books, new cordless telephone with

clock radio, electricians meters and tools, lots more.

Call 718-430-1769 and leave a messae.

SWAP- Supervisor I at 180 Water Street would like to

swap with Supervisor I at another lower Manhattan

location, or Brooklyn. I interested, please call (718)

756-5788. (7)

SWAP- CWS at IOC System Support Proram, 150

William Street, would like to swap with CWS in Manhat-

tan, Bronx or Queens. I interested, please call (212)

676-7448. ( 9)

SWAP- CPS at ACS /FSU 2501 grand Concourse in

the Bronx would like to swap with CPS at 1200 WatersPlace in the Bronx. I interested, please call (718)

679-7561. (9)

SWAP- CWS Supervisor II at ACS O ce o Placement

Services, 492 1st Avenue, Manhattan, would like to

swap with CWS Supervisor II in a dierent Manhattan

location or Brooklyn. I interested, please call (917)

213-6183.

CLASSIFIED ADS are ree to Union members and

aency shop ee payers in writin only (typewritten i

possible) to THE UNIONIST, 817 Broadway, New York,

N.Y. 10003. Include your work phone with ad copy, but

work phone numbers will only be printed with swap

transer ads. In no instance will ads run loner than

three months. No real estate or business ads accepted.

The Union neither endorses nor is responsible or theseoerins.

bULLeTIN bOARDMeMbeRS

Condolences are extended to Nora Bruce, Union

Welare Benefts Fund staer, on the death o her brother,

Norris Bruce on September 8. Condolences may be sent

to Nora Bruce c/o SSEU Local 371 Welare Benefts

Fund, 817 Broadway, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10003.

Condolences are extended to Jamel Lenard, Communi-

ty Associate at Manhattan APS, on the death o his ather,

William Fields on September 19. Condolences may be

sent to Jamel Lenard c/o Adult Protective Services, 400

Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10001.

Condolences are extended to Ivory Scott, ormer

Supervisor II at HRA CASA III, on the death o her ather,

John Green, on September 11. Condolences may be sent

to Ivory Scott c/o HRA CASA III, 250 Church Street, 8th

Floor, New York, NY 10013.

Condolences are extended to Michael Carthen, Supervi-

sor I at Manhattan HASA and Latoya Carthen, CPS at

ACS Brooklyn Field Ofice, on the death o his ather and

her grandather, Roscoe Carthen on August 20.

Congratulations to Margaret Smith, Caseworker at

Adult Protective Services, 250 Livingston Street, Brook-

lyn, on her retirement October 1 ater 20 years o service.

Periodicals Postage

Paid at New York, NY

Congratulations

Condolences

Demands Soar, Mayor Freezes Hiring

Applicants line up around the block on a rainy Monday morning at HRAs Northern Boulevard Job Center in Queens.

PatArnow

cutting HRAs budget is not the answer.

Moore spoke at a Citywide Labor Man-agement Meeting between SSEU Local371 and HRA held on September 27. VicePresident o Research and NegotiationsAnthony Wells, who requested the meet-ing, highlighted major issues when hesaid, The Job Centers are overcrowded,understaed, and lacking security. TheUnions Research and Negotiations sec-tion presented concrete suggestions to helpalleviate the crisis. Ultimately, it will takemore sta to handle the increase in peopleseeking services, stated VP Wells.

Suggestions included easements regard-ing elevator delays at the Melrose Center inthe Bronx, where too many programs arecrowded into one building, and clarication

o certain practices that are not dealt with ina uniorm manner across the agency.

Overtime issues, inadequate cleaning ser-vices, and HRA computer system problemswere also discussed.

Continued rom page 1

PatArnow

unionist october 2010 issue

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