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                  Get to know your Business Agent today!  Find out how the union makes a difference on the job. |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 24, 2006 Contact: Moronke Oshin 212-924-2000 ext. 8593 SUPREME COURT REAFFIRMS LOCAL 237 GRIEVANCE WIN FOR MAINTENANCE WORKERS New York City — The New York City Parks Department has lost yet another legal battle to force three Local 237 maintenance workers to perform out-of-title work after a Supreme Court judge rejected the agency's appeal of the Union's arbitrated-grievance award. In the case of NYC Parks Dept. v. Local 237, IBT, NYS Supreme Court Justice Marilyn G. Diamond on February 16 rejected the Parks Dept. petition to vacate the May 18, 2004 arbitration award to the Union on behalf of maintenance workers Ralph Biscotti, Angelo Gerbasio and Mitch Rippe who had refused and grieved an order to drive Parks Dept. vehicles because their job specifications did not require them to drive. The May 18, 2004 arbitrator ruling had ordered that the agency should "cease and desist requiring Grievants to drive parks' vehicles" because "driving is a duty substantially different from those duties stated in their job specifications." In their appeal to the Supreme Court, the Parks Dept. charged that "the arbitrator's award impermissibly encroaches on the power of the Executive Branch and must therefore be vacated as a matter of public policy." However, Judge Diamond rejected the claim and upheld the grievance award, stating that the award "is entirely rational and should be confirmed." In addition, the Judge wrote that driving "is no more related to the [task in the Maintenance Worker job specification] than is the act of purchasing materials…in order to perform these tasks." "It is highly unusual for the City to appeal something like this and for both the Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Labor Relations Commissioner James Hanley to come out and testify. It tells us that this grievance win is a significant one for all municipal workers," said Local 237 President Carl Haynes. Earlier this year, Local 237 won an Improper Practice Petition against the agency after two of the three Maintenance workers involved in the original grievance -- Biscotti and Gerbasio -- were transferred for refusing to drive, and the third member -- Rippe -- was threatened with a transfer. The Union won that case in January 2006 and the Board of Collective Bargaining ordered the Parks Dept. to "cease and desist from retaliating against Ralph Biscotti, Angelo Gerbasio and Mitch Rippe;" to "cease and desist threatening adverse employment actions against Mitch Rippe." In addition, the Board ordered the Parks Dept. to "rescind the transfers of Ralph Biscotti and Angelo Gerbasio and return them to Forest Park Shops in Queens;" and ordered [the agency] to make assignments to the men "without consideration of their union activity and in the same manner that it makes assignments to other similarly-situated employees who have refused to drive." The Board also ordered the Dept. to post a notice regarding the decision and order "for no less than thirty days at all locations used by Parks for written communications with bargaining unit employees." |
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