Local 1070 Event Calendar for 2012

January 12- Court Reporter committee met to discuss legislation.

• January 19- Represented 2 members in the Department of Probation, both step 2 out of title grievance hearings- we settled the cases in favor of the members.
• January 23- Represented a member at an OCA Inspector General investigation.
• January 25- Attended a labor/management meeting with OCA regarding the transfer of those new members in the title Secretary to Judge into the Local 1070 unit.
• -Court Report chapter meeting to review draft legislation.

February 1- Met with Chief Administrative Judge Prudenti in a meet and greet. Had light discussion over pressing Local 1070 issues.

• February 3- Represented member at the New York County District Attorney’s office -negotiated the member’s returned to work.
• February 8- Represented a member at an OCA Inspector General investigation.
• February 9- Represented member at a counseling session- OCA/New York County Criminal Court.
• February 27- Represented member in the Department of Probation at a  step 3- out of title grievance hearing- we settled the case in favor of the member.
• February 23- Attended a meeting with Judge Marks of OCA regarding the benefits for those in the title Secretary to Judge. We successfully negotiated an extension of their OCA provided benefits from February 16 to April 1.
• February 29- Held informational meeting at DC 37 with new members in the title Secretary to Judge.
• March 6- Officials and members attended the AFSCME lobby day in Albany NY pushing Court Reporter legislation.
• March 8- Officials testified before the NYC Council on understaffing in the
  Department of Probation and the Union’s opposition to any future budget cuts.
• March 16- Attended a labor/management meeting with OCA regarding the staffing problems in the Kings County Civil Court.

- Lunch meeting with new members in the title Secretary to Judge in              Brooklyn.

• March 20- Lunch meeting with new members in the title Secretary to Judge in Bronx.
• March 23- Lunch meeting with new members in the title Secretary to Judge in Queens.
• March 27- Lunch meeting with new members in the title Secretary to Judge in Kew Gardens.
• March 29- Lunch meeting with new members in the title Secretary to Judge in Staten Island.
• -A step 2 group grievance was argued by the Coalition of NYS Unions before OCA in the matter of the mandated NYS Health Insurance Program premiums effective October 1, 2011. The basis for the grievance is the unilateral failure of the Office of Court Administration to collectively bargain any premium increases prior toimplementation. We await a decision.
• April2- Represented a member at an OCA Inspector General investigation
• April 10- Lunch meeting with new members in the title Secretary to Judge in Brooklyn.
• April 13- Lunch meeting with new members in the title Secretary to Judge in Long Island City.
• April 18- Attended a labor/management meeting with the Department of Probation regarding a new policy barring members from speaking to NYS/NYC Elected Officials. We successfully negotiated a new policy that no longer bars union members from speaking to NYS/NYC elected officials, the new policy was reissued by the Department of Probation to our members.
• April 19- Held a General Membership meeting where a number of constitutional changes were passed by the membership.
• April 23- Unions representing Court Reporters statewide met here at DC 37 to discuss legislation, scheduled meetings with elected officials, lobbying plans, bill sponsors and the May 1- DC 37 lobby day in Albany.
• April 24- A step 2 group grievance hearing was argued by Local 1070 before OCA in the matter of the NYS Health Insurance Program applied premiums effective October 1, 2011. This matter concerned the application of implemented rates different than those denoted in information sent by the NYS Department of Civil Service to our members in grades 9 and below. We won the grievance and any person who was charged the higher rate incorrectly will be corrected by the NYS Department of Civil Service and made whole retroactive to October 1, 2011. This could affect over 200 Local 1070 members and numerous other court employees statewide. We will notify our effected membership once a correction date and plan is established by the NYS Department of Civil Service.
  • Ø The following is an outline of the estimated savings from the period of October 1, 2011 through May 30, 2012:
  • Ø The new October 1, 2011 biweekly plan premiums for individuals is $32.09 for grades 9 and below while it is $42.79 for grades 10 and above. The estimated overpayment in this case for a member in grade 9 or below who was charged the rate for grade 10 and above would be $10.70 per biweekly pay period for these 17 pay periods amounting to an estimated $181.90 due the member. We are unsure how these monies will be returned to our members. Once we are advised of the NYS Department of Civil Service plan to refund these monies, we will inform each effected member.
  • Ø The new October 1, 2011 biweekly plan premiums for a family is
    $128.08 for grades 9 and below while it is $153.00 for grades 10 and above. The estimated overpayment in this case for a member in grade 9 or below who was charged the rate for grade 10 and above would be $24.92 per biweekly pay period for these 17 pay periods amounting to an estimated $423.64 due the member. We are unsure how these monies will be returned to our members. Once we are advised of the NYS Department of Civil Service plan to refund these monies, we will inform each effected member.

In preparation for negotiations the leadership of Local 1070 was concerned about the tentative agreement of New York State and PEF (NYS Public Employees Federation)which was rejected by the rank-and file, forcing the State negotiators and the Union back to the bargaining table. One of our main concerns is the Health Insurance premium that is included in that package. If the agreement was ratified, it would have made the negotiations much more difficult for the rest of the Unions including us. The difference is that PEF is trying to avoid layoffs, and we already had the layoffs. We are monitoring every aspect of the budget because we continue to provide services with a depleted workforce. As the cost of living increases, the members of Local 1070 that we represent deserve to see some increases in their paychecks.

Budget Reductions and Contract Violations:
First the layoffs, followed by the demotions, no overtime, the compressed work week and change of work hours. The weekend schedules in the Criminal Court are a disaster and the elimination of the night shifts in Family and Civil Courts are affecting our members negatively. OCA expects our members to do more with less. We’ve been doing that for years!
We believe the layoffs and the bumping were not done according to the Rules of the Chief Judge and Civil Service Law. We also believe that our contract was violated with compressed schedules and the change of hours to avoid overtime. We filed several actions against the Office of Court Administration which will be litigated in the near future. We also provided the Office of Court Administration with notice that we are ready to start negotiations for a new contract. We predict that the upcoming round of negotiations will be the toughest that we have faced. We are getting ready and we are working on our demands, so if you have any suggestions or would like to add a specific demand, please let us know.
We are aware of contract settlements with other unions, and the impact it may have on our negotiations. Some of the items in those settlements concern us, but we are ready and preparing to battle those issues during negotiations. We are an experienced bargaining committee and we will do all we can to find creative ways to reach a tentative agreement we can bring to you for your consideration.

COURT REVENUE ASSISTANT

Members of Local 1070 DC-37, working as cashiers, and performing fiscal tasks such as accepting fees, fines, bail, and other payments, and are NOT Court Revenue Assistants JG-14, please contact Local 1070 at 212 815 1070.

pension Myth

The terms and conditions in your contract remain in effect until a new agreement is negotiated and ratified by the membership.

ARTICLE 1.  The State, pursuant to Article 14 of the Civil Service Law (Public Employees’ Fair Employment Act), recognizes District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL_CIO, and Local 1070 as the exclusive representative for collective negotiations with respect to salaries, wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment for all full-time, part-time,hourly and per diem employees in the Unified Court System within the City of New York whose job title or position is set forth in Appendix A, attached hereto, or successor or similar titles or converted titles as a result of the Classification Plan adopted May 28,1979, or amendments hereto.

Members of the Union went to the Capitol on May 3, 2011 with a Legislative Agenda that included: Civil Service, Pension, Layoff Prevention, Fair Taxation, Safety and Health and other issues. They met with their Senators and Assembly-persons from their District and expressed their concerns.

This is the first report on Local 1070’s web although we didn’t expect to have to deal with the budget and layoff problems that the Governor and legislators have caused by drastically cutting the judiciary budget. Local 1070 is prepared and will do everything possible to protect and support our members and do whatever necessary to fight for the restoration of money and jobs.

 Local 1070 is not initiating layoffs. Layoffs are being implemented by the Unified Court System.

The Unified Court System notified the court unions that it intends to layoff approximately 400 to 500 employees and by doing that it may cause thousands of employees to be affected. OCA offices,(administration) will be laying off 50 to 70 employees of the total number of employees. UCS has stated that the additional 70 million dollar cut in their budget is the reason.

All of the court unions met with UCS on Monday, April 11, 2011, and at that time it had not been determined what positions would be abolished and which employees would be affected.

Your Local Officers have been meeting with the DC 37 Legal and Research Departments to check the legal procedures, process and methods that should be followed, butuntil UCS informs us of their plans for the layoffs, we don’t have specifics.This is the information we were given on April 11, 2011: OCA Employee Layoffs (Administrative Offices)4/11 – OCA’s workforce reduction plan to be submitted to OCA at Beaver Street by 1:00 p.m. and Veteran’s & Volunteer Firefighter credit forms distributed. The form is due as soon as possible so members will be in receipt of the OCA acknowledgement of credit by April 22, 2011. There will be no exceptions to these dates.4/15 – OCA Employees Seniority List prepared.

4/15 -4/19 – Identification of OCA employees to be laid off.

4/20 – Layoff notices delivered to OCA employees-effective 5/4/11.All Other Layoffs in the UCS4/15 to 4/27  UCS will generate a seniority list.4/18 – UCS will distribute Location Preference forms. Fill them out and return them to management. They must be back to OCA by April 27, 2011.

4/20 – All transfers and personnel transactions will be suspended statewide. Also, OCA to inform some employees of the layoff effective May 4, 2011.

4/22 – Veteran’s & Volunteer Firefighter Credit form must be returned and verified by this date.

4/27 – Location Preference forms must be returned to UCS.

5/17 – The list of all affected employees will be completed by close of business on this date.

5/18 – Notice of the layoff effective June 1, 2011 will be given to some employees. Those affected by a bump down would be notified after May 18, 2011.