LOCAL 375 DELEGATES MEETING MINUTES
Local 375 Delegates Meeting Minutes Date February 19, 2025
Date: February 19, 2025
Meeting Location: Local 375 Delegates Meeting held online using Ring Central
Meeting Start: 6:11 P.M.
In Attendance: Attendance taken via Chat Box
The meeting was called to order at 6:11 P.M. by Executive Committee Chair Doctor Paul-Michael
Kazas who greeted all in attendance.
President's Report:
President Troman reported the following:
• Of all the disciplinary issues I go through, which come out to an average of seven per week, the twomain issues are insubordination and time theft, and then inappropriate use of vehicles.
• DOT is going to lose Remote Work for a few months due to lack of performance and quality of work. You must attend virtual meetings when you're at home. You must answer your emails and your phone when you're working from home. It's hard for the union to fight for people who have lost their remote work privileges, because it's not a contractual right at this point.
• According to Henry Garrido, Eric Adams intends to extend remote work if he is reelected. Our current Contract ends November 6, 2026.
• On May 26, DC 37 members are getting their 3.25% raise.
• The RIP-Equity increase will hopefully be in effect by then. When the Administratorship broke our Local into 5 Locals, all five locals have to negotiate and be in complete agreement about what to do with our 0.5% equity increase, which is why it is taking so long to resolve.
• DCAS Research and Negotiations is asking for any Exam titles we want by Thursday, February 27. The Local sent out an email to every member to supply a list of desired exams needed by your chapters ASAP.
Discussion
• Comment: Disciplinaries are being used by Agencies to target people. A lot of their accusations are false. The Union should be hitting back and accusing Management of discrimination. Many of my coworkers were harassed into retiring early, which is wrong. Response: Nobody can say to you they want you to retire. If it's happening to you, you can bring them up on EEO charges.
• Question: Are they negotiating Remote Work with our next Contract? Response: Per Henry Garrido, we expect Remote Work to continue until the end of the Contract. Six months before then we will start Contract Negotiations, including Remote Work.
• Comment: I support raising the dues so we can afford another Grievance Rep to help relieve President Troman. Response: We also have to hire a new Accountant/Book Keeper. So, before we hire a new lawyer or Grievance Rep we need to do that.
• Comment: 1st VP would like to sit in on negotiations with four other Locals within our bargaining pool. Also, I disagree we need another full-time book-keeper. I believe our current accounting staff is underworked. It's not fair to our members and staff that we don't have enough Grievance Reps. We also have a lot of accumulated leave with our current office staff that's going to be hitting us.
• Comment: If we raise dues by a whole dollar beyond what DC 37 and AFSCME required, we keep that additional money.
• Comment: With regard to DCAS Exams, I created a "Civil Service List Status", which you can access under "Resources" in the Local website, to help us decide which titles we should request, also we should check which titles we have a lot of provisionals in. Response: We should also be assessing long awaited promotional opportunities.
• Question: Do you know what the increase in RIP will be? Also, regarding Remote Work taken away, what is the chance that this will be restored? Regarding the time theft, is that more related to remote work abuses? Response: Regarding RIP versus other possible equity benefits, everything is costed out. We need a cost for the RIP and we requested a cost for equity increases for the Admin titles. The other four chapters don't have many Admin titles, and are generally pushing for all RIP. Regarding the loss of Remote Work at DOT, the Agency wants to take it away for two months, which is non-negotiable. One time theft example was a member who was in Europe while claiming that she was on the clock.
• Question: Have we started listing our priorities for what we want to bargain for? Response: The current contract expires in November, 2026. We will start negotiations six months before that.
• Comment: Please request exams for APM, PM and all Intern Engineers.
• Comment: The Admin titles are getting short changed here at DDC. They are generally late in their career workers and they have served the City for years. This is our only chance to fix this. We should hold the line to help these members, who are feeling neglected.
• Comment: We had a meeting with DDC Commissioner about Remote Work and he didn't want to take a position on DDC employees who are being denied remote work by their immediate managers. The Remote workers are giving 110%, and those being denied believe the decision is arbitrary and punitive. Response: There's nothing we can do to demand remote work for all employees, including
those unfairly denied this. I will continue the battle.
• Comment: The hiring of a new book keeper is a replacement, so that shouldn't be an extra cost.
• Comment: Regarding the Admin titles, please keep bringing it up. That's the only request we have for
you.
• Question: We have voted during numerous meetings we want to increase our dues by $0.80. When
will that raise go into effect? Response: We are waiting for MOCS to let us know when we will get that
increase.
• Question: What is the latest with the Qualified Incumbent exam, are they doing that
anymore? Response: Please send me an email and I will find out.
• Comment: Three whole units at DOT got their Remote Work taken away. They didn't provide any evidence about any particular employees who were not performing. There were no concrete reasons given. They told us that it was the Street Lighting and Signals Unit that was low performing, yet earlier in the year we were told by the Commissioner that we were high performing. So the excuses seemed random and capricious. Our Agency Management actually says Remote Work is going to come to an end at the end of May. Response: They said that the unit you mentioned only had one day taken away, and may get it back sooner. The City leaders are not putting anything in writing about the future of telework.
• Question: DDC has asked its members to use Teledoc, a Texas company, and we are not sure if the doctors are licensed in NY or NJ, which means Agencies are not required to accept their doctors notes. Does anyone know about this? Response: I was going to call OLR about it.
• Question: When we go for finger-printing, we have to pay $100, it's a sole source contract and you don't get approved leave for it. Do we have any information? Response: I will check with OLR about that.
• Comment: Regarding Harry's report, I agree we should just start out with one person in Accounting and then see if we need more. Make sure we require in the job description for the book keeper to have Excel, MS Suite and Time Management skills. Maybe we even give a brief assignment in those programs as part of the interview process.
• Question: Do we have the analysis of how much money the Admins have lost out in our Contract in the past 5 years, and how much it would cost to make them whole. We should get those numbers. Response: If they put the additions to gross onto their salaries, they shouldn't have lost out on anything, but that's not always the case. I will ask for those numbers.
• Question: How do we approach it when there are personality clashes between managers and members? Response: We have these problems all the time and we have to investigate those. If thereis a clear case of bias or hostile work environment, we should take that to EEO. We will write to the manager in question and ask them for their side of the story, and try to deduce from that.
• Question: Regarding the Admin titles, it would help the Union greatly to have Admin Level 2 - Non-Managerial. Response: Dc 37 is talking about doing that, but I'm telling them to first resolve the Non-Managerial Level 1's.
• Question: DEP does not want to use the APM title. What can be done? Response: The Local President for DEP Upstate, Richard Kowalczyk, was planning to set up a meeting with OLR about this issue. It's a DEP exclusive issue, both Upstate and Downstate.
Secretary's Report:
Ricardo Hinkle reports the following: No Report
Motion to Approve Minutes::
Treasurer's Report:
Evan Lemonides reports the following:
• Special thanks to Harry for joining from ski vacation.
• There are a lot of outstanding bills that prevent me from giving a full Treasurers Report. However, if we raise the money needed, I think it would be prudent to hire a new Grievance Rep.
• We need to get updated invoices from the Chapters so we can pay their per caps. Please get in touch with us if you need any support on that.
Discussion
• Question: Would it make sense to use shop stewards who have been through the Grievance training to become Grievance Reps. Response: We would have to pay to give them the release time needed to file and follow grievances since most of the work happens during work hours.
• Comment: I have delegate colleagues who are able to do the Step 1 and 2 of grievances. So maybe there is an opportunity to volunteer for this.
• Question: Do we not need to submit financial reports every month? Response: We should issue regular financial reports, but we're in the process of hiring a new accountant who will make this more regular. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in the Accounting Office, in case anyone wants to volunteer sometime. I'm in the office on Thursday.
• Comment: It's frustrating to hear we're behind with the Accounting work since the accounting staff is never there. We need the existing accounting staff to show up more regularly.
• Comment: When we get release time from the City, we don't need to pay the City for that time. Response: We do have to pay for additional release time, and I refuse to do that. In addition, there is liability for such grievance reps. The Union only wants Chapter Presidents and VPs doing this.
• Question: We were supposed to fill jobs in the accounting staff. Did we ever do that? Response: That's what we're trying to do this month.
Motion to Approve Treasurer's 2024 Budget
First VP Report
Harry Donas Reported the following:
• QIE was a Civil Service work-around authorized by State Legislature to help resolve a backlog of provisional workers in the past, and is unlikely to be authorized again.
• The first $0.80 dues increase will mostly go to AFSCME. We need an additional dues increase that would all go to us. I think the dues structure is anti-progressive.
• If you go to the Local 375 website, under "Resources" check under "Civil Service List Status" and it lists the history of all exams, and you can see what exams are being offered, and which are still open, and which are about to be expired. We should use that information to request new Civil Service Exams.
• Regarding Admin titles, the only ones being shortchanged are those that took a pay cut, and didn't have all the additions to gross rolled into their salaries. Those who had their additions to gross added to their salaries, and who were long-term workers, should have already been made whole. Those who are newer and younger members would have been the most short-changed by taking the Admin salary.
• Sick leave requires that you go to the doctor on the first day of illness, and have that extended to the second day, not vice versa.
• The 0.5% equity increase involves a total of about $4 million.
• The Project Manager title is a low paying title, and according to the City, if you're managing a project greater than $1 million in value, you should be APM, not PM.
Discussion:
• Question Regarding the Admin titles and rolling or not rolling in all the RIP and Longevity, what can we do about this inequity? I asked Anthony Welles about this. He said if you're going to lose money going into the Admin title, you shouldn't take the title. We should be fighting this through Research and Negotiations. Response: There was a 10-page document that said when you take a promotional title, you should be making the same or more that what you were making if you include the RIP and all the Service Increments. The City created the problem with the Administrative titles by creating 500 new titles out of nothing. So, we should go after them with full force.
• Comment: On the Admin titles, having more titles to move up into and grieve for is good for everyone, including managers. The only downfall is how can anyone want to go to an Admin title and make less money? Response: The older employees got RIP and Longevity wrapped up in the Admin titles. The Admin title should make more than Level 3. So, we have to take on the City with this.
• Question: For people who are retiring and who were identified as being overpaid, how will this be resolved, if it's not resolved for years? Response: Since they want to have hearings a year and a half from now, if they retire now, they will have to pay back the excess payment before they retire.
• Question: Was there an Intern Test in the past, or were all interns simply hired provisionally? Response: My information shows they have offered these exams in the past.
• Question: If Admins were made whole when their RIP and Service Increments were rolled into their salaries, what about their raises? Response: Their whole RIP and Service Increments were rolled into their salaries, which all goes up the full amount of our Union-negotiated raises. It's the younger members whose RIPs and Service Increments were not rolled into their total salaries who got screwed. Workers who got the "promotion" to the Admin Titles will have to compare their current pay with the proposed Admin pay to see if it's worth it.
• Question: Many of us were asked to work outside of our title. Is there a way to use that experience to enhance your job qualifications. Response: You can only apply for a position where your education and experience matches the requirements.
• Question: Has there been any news on the Admin Engineer exam, which was postponed last month? Response: I will look into this when I get back from vacation. We will be informed when DCAS reschedules the exam.
• Question: If someone was called off the list but declined, is there time to be called again from the list? Response: You get three restorations per list. If you declined once, they should send you a letter to make sure you get back on the list.
• Question: Is the Local monitoring what's going on at the national level with mass layoffs? Many federal employees are forced to work five days at the office. Response: A friend who's a federal worker reached out to do some synergistic action. The federal union is fighting these actions, but a federal judge has said this may be within the Administration's rights. Some things that Trump is doing thejudges are agreeing with him and some Democrats are happy with his actions.
• Comment: We should not cheer or normalize Trump's dictatorial, unconstitutional power grabs.
• Comment: We should be watching what's happening with Federal Workers, which could come back to bite us.
• Question: Agencies are still using Community Coordinator titles to get around hiring from more competitive titles. Can we please request an audit of this action and prevent it from happening? Response: Community Coordinator titles are an opportunity to jump into a title and protect workers who are provisional.
• Comment: Our people are getting screwed by this since Community Coordinator workers are getting positions Housing Development Specialists should get.
• Comment: Federal workers have been fired and these are our brothers and sisters, and I would like to hear from our leadership that if this comes for us that you will fight for our jobs. Response: We would fight to die for our Local brothers and sisters.
Second VP Report:
Liz Eastman reported the following:
• We're trying to decide which committees we need to reactivate and get going.
• The Handbook Committee is planning to meet next week, please check the website for that time and date.
• The Next Wave Committee is meeting regularly and met last week. Kudos to Rebecca and Cassie for keeping that going.
• Next Wave is planning a Happy Hour in a couple of weeks - March 6.
• I met with lawyers working for the Federal Government. They are very concerned. The whole theme how we can fight back against what they are doing at the federal level.
• I agree that workers in Admin titles are getting screwed, unless they were coming from a salary level below the Admin minimum.
• We need to fight against the cuts in public services.
Executive Chair Report:
Paul-Michael Kazas reported the following: No report
Old Business
New Business
• Comments: Updates from the Political Action Committee include the DC 37 Mayoral Forum next week in Lower Manhattan. The Local President from the screening and selection committees will meet at
that forum. The Federal Unionists Network is organizing actions to protect Federal workers.
• Comment: I would love to help out with Accounting work and with Step one of Grievances.
• Question: Can we do hybrid general meetings? Response: DC 37 HQ is still not ready to do large
meetings yet. We have placed our requests in queue.
• Question: I'm required to supply my driving record to my Agency every six months and they charge $15
and it takes more than a week during which they cancel my driving privileges. Response: I'm not aware
of this provision, please send me the emails requesting this.
• Question: Any updates on the remote work pilot. Response: Henry Garrido spoke to the Mayor and
person at Mayor's Office in charge of remote work, and both say they want to extend it.
Motion to Adjourn Meeting
Ricardo Hinkle, Chapter 7, moved to adjourn.
Michael Troman, Chapter 31, seconded.
Meeting adjourned 8:56 pm.
Respectfully submitted by:
_________________________________
March 9, 2025
Ricardo Hinkle, Local 375 Secretary Date