Field Services

Field Services is comprised of three directors and their respective staffs within the 12 geographic regions of PEF in New York state. There are 29 field representatives and 15 administrative employees assigned to Field Services. They handle the day-to-day administration and enforcement of the PEF/State (PS&T) contract and other public- and private-sector bargaining units PEF represents.

Field representatives advocate for employees at grievances meetings and at improper-practice-charges conferences and hearings. They participate in various levels of negotiations and collective bargaining, both at the state and local level, are an integral part of PEF's health and safety initiatives, and generally ensure that the policies, goals and programs of PEF are carried out.

Field Services continues to work with PEF local, regional and statewide leaders, defending the rights of PEF members at every worksite. Field representatives are involved on a daily basis in combating the downsizing and closing of state facilities and the restructuring of agencies and departments.

Activities are divided into three general categories, overseen by Director of Labor Relations Roger Scales. Tom Privitere, director of field services in Rochester, is responsible for approving and monitoring all improper-practice charges. Director of Field Services Robert Jackson in New York City is responsible for approving all Step 3 and Step 4 appeals and for representing Field Services on appeals to PEF's internal Grievance Appeals Committee.

As you will note in other sections of this report, the emphasis on arbitrating grievances and handling hearings at PERB as a major part of the duties of field representatives has changed somewhat due to the triage and expedited arbitration procedure being handled by PEF's Contract Administration Department. This is allowing Field Services to refocus on internal organizing, health and safety and political action.

Highlights of Field activity are as follows:

Western New York — Regions 1 - 5

PEF in Western New York is comprised of Regions 1 through 5 which encompass the cities of Buffalo, Hornell, Rochester, Syracuse and Binghamton.

Working in close cooperation with the regional coordinators and the elected council leaders, stewards, PAC and labor/management chairs, the staff and members have been very successful in their primary purpose of defending our contractual and Taylor Law rights.

Western New York has successfully organized two non-PS&T bargaining units. One private-sector hospital, Lockport Memorial Hospital, is located in Region 1 and serviced by field representative Art Munson. Their latest contract was dominated by a proposed change in health insurance. After several meetings with the employees to negotiate an agreement on changing medical plans, we were unable to reach agreement over economics. The efforts of Elizabeth Vignaux and Deborah Stayman had already ensured that the new self-insured hospital plan would be identical to our existing plan. Of the four different union contracts in place at Lockport Memorial Hospital, only the PEF contract required the hospital to:

1. Negotiate over the proposed change; and

2. Provide an "identical" plan.

Armed with this bargaining chip, we attempted to eliminate any shared cost for which our members were presently responsible.

In October 1997, the hospital implemented its self-insured plan on the entire hospital, except the PEF unit which maintained its present Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. Having not agreed with the hospital to change plans assured that the medical-insurance issue would be a major item in the contract negotiations due to begin in February 1998.

By March 1998, during our contract negotiations we were able to learn that the hospital had saved approximately $50,000 in the first quarter of going self-insured with the rest of the hospital. We used this information to negotiate the elimination of employee contributions for medical.

The contract was settled at the eleventh hour, thanks to a strike vote which authorized a work stoppage and to the help of the Contract Administration and Legal Departments.

Field representative Dennis Flynn, Region 4, heads PEF’s contract team in the newly formed Oswego County Unit. Certified by PERB as a PEF unit in December 1997, PEF represents approximately 50 professional employees of that county. Their initial contract negotiations began in March 1998 and impasse was declared after the June 19, 1998 session. A mediator has been assigned by PERB and the first mediation session will be held between the parties Sept. 18, 1998 in Oswego.

Flynn works very closely with Team Chair Michael Rosen, Privitere and Contract Administration’s Lisa Newmark. Regional Coordinator Dave Stallone has met with and personally assured our newest brothers and sisters of PEF’s commitment and resources.

The main issues separating the parties are wages (in the form of unilaterally imposed "caps" by the county); and the county’s insistence that about 1/5th of the PEF members be ineligible for protection under the discipline/ grievance procedures. Several members of the negotiating team, including it’s chair, were targeted in this way.

PEF continues to seek a fair settlement of our members’ first contract.

Field Rep Fred Becker, Region 1, and Council Leader Jim Pazik, have been working on behalf of the hundreds of PEF members at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in the wake of Roswell’s becoming a public-benefit corporation.

Critical issues for our members there center around the development of Roswell’s own classification and compensation plan and the dispute over whether the MOA which PEF entered into with the state, setting aside $2 million for each of two fiscal years for training and education, was intended to "roll over" if some monies went unspent. The resources of Field, Legal and Contract Administration have been combined with the Roswell leadership, Regional Coordinator Bill Parolari and Vice Presidents Ken Brynien and Joe Fox to help resolve these extremely important issues. Meetings with Roswell officials continue as do communications between our leadership and the members.

Field Service staff and some local leaders will soon benefit from the utilization of our closed-circuit-teleconference capabilities. Scales has asked that Privitere provide on-going training programs for field and administrative staff. He has also extended an invitation to, and encouraged participation by, local PEF leaders (stewards, etc.) who have the time and inclination to avail themselves of these programs. Training which includes staff and members simultaneously, should strengthen the already close bond between these two groups and promote President Benson’s desires to constantly improve our ability to serve the needs of PEF members.

Malone — Region 7

Of greatest significance to the PEF Region 7 members was the reopening of a Field office within the region. The office, located in Malone, was chosen by the local union leadership because of its accessibility to all parts of the region.

The great North Country ice storm that hit PEF members in January 1998 was remarkable in a number of respects. Most noteworthy, from a labor-relations perspective, was the waiving of attendance rules during the worst of the period for employees who could not travel to work, the restoration of leave time used during this period, and the awarding of additional time for those employees who were able to get to work.

Albany — Region 8

On May 4, Lenore Boris joined PEF as the nurse coordinator, a new position made possible through a grant from SEIU. Kathleen Fitzmaurice replaced Roger Scales as a field representative.

Poughkeepsie — Region 9

The Region 9 Field Office has been hit hard with illnesses and, in the case of one of our field reps, the loss of a son. The two remaining reps have stepped in and kept the office running. Dominick Mannino, a Region 9 Executive Board member, has filled in this summer and Lisa Newmark from Contract Administration has been on call.

Regions 10 - 12

Field Representative Linda Bermas resigned in May 1998, after being on an extended leave for two years. Priscilla Marco, who had replaced Linda on a temporary item, was made permanent. Field Representatives Carmen Gonzalez-Gannon and Norman Danzig resigned in June 1998.

Negotiations

Field Services just completed negotiations for the two units PEF represents at National Development and Research Institute, Inc. (NDRI). In the Research Unit, positive changes include a pay increase of 9 percent over the next three years, changes in the recall provision, severance pay for part-time workers, reduced probationary period, working conditions and equipment improvements and other gains. In the AIDS Outreach Program (AOP) Unit, gains include a pay increase of 6 percent over the next two years, stronger language on doctor's notes, increased funds for PEF's education fund and working-conditions and equipment improvements.

Theses contract improvements came about through the hard and dedicated work of the joint negotiating team (Division 500 and 501) and Field Services.

Negotiations are still underway on contracts for members at Oswego County, Coxsackie RMU, and Albany County Probation Department.

PS&T Unit Grievance Activity

Field representatives continue to represent members in the vast majority of grievances under the PEF/State contract. They continue to show their competency and diversity in grievance performance-evaluation and Section 72 appeals, and in other administrative actions utilizing the contract to protect members' jobs and rights.

The Grievance Appeals Committee received 19 appeals during the period September 18, 1997-July 22, 1998. Of these, 12 appeals were heard by the Grievance Appeals Committee, two were sent to Step 3 by the director of labor relations without a hearing, three members failed to appear for their hearings and two appeals are in the process of being heard. Of the 12 appeals heard, seven were sustained and sent to Step 3 as recommended by the Grievance Appeals Committee. This number represents 58.3 percent of the 12 appeals heard. Of the five appeals denied (41.7 percent), the committee recommended other administrative action (Legal, Research and/or Labor-Management) be pursued in at least three cases.

1997-98 IP Report

(14 new IP’s were filed during this time period)

Won prior to Hearing 14

Won after Hearing 2

Won at Hearing 1

Withdrawn prior to Hearing 6

Withdrawn after Hearing 1

Settled prior to Hearing 6

Settled after Hearing 1

Lost after Hearing 1

Total disposed cases (1997-98) 32

Nurse Organizing

Since beginning in May, Boris, PEF’s nurse coordinator, has been working on several issues affecting PEF nurses across the state. Those projects include: fighting a proposal to include nurse competencies in the current performance-evaluation system at OMH; the use of unlicensed assistive personnel in OMRDD community residences; addressing the impact of SUNY Upstate redesign; developing and evaluating a survey of DOC’s nurses; and working on an upgrade package for several nursing titles.

IP UPDATE 8/20/98

U-19239 422 DOH (Roswell) Retaliation 8/12/97