| Quick action
pays dividends for Division 240 PEF leaders at Insurance Fund head off holiday-leave disaster |
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| By SHERRY
HALBROOK Members at the state Insurance Fund (SIF) were spared some holiday angst, thanks to quick action by their PEF leaders and the union's Albany staff. On Nov. 19, PEF leaders at SIF were given a management memo to all employees announcing that SIF offices statewide would close on the Friday after Thanksgiving, as well as the Fridays before Christmas and New Year's. Employees, the memo said, should charge the November day to their floating holiday for Election Day. And SIF told the workers to use the floating holidays for Christmas and New Year's to cover the two December closings. "The unions weren't even consulted on this," said PEF Executive Board Member Bernie Kahn, who pointed out that the Taylor Law requires the state to negotiate changes in terms and conditions of employment with the unions. Kahn and Harold Huges, council leader of PEF Division 240 at SIF, immediately contacted PEF Director of Labor Relations Roger Scales and PEF Supervisor of Budget Policy Marty O'Connor for help. PEF research associate Arlene Zilkowski provided the local leaders a copy of a 1983 Public Employment Relations Board decision on a similar case at the state University of New York which required SUNY to refund the time charged by employees during closings in 1977 and '78. "That decision was right on point," Kahn said. "I hand delivered it to management Nov. 23, the Tuesday morning before Thanksgiving." Meanwhile, Scales advised Huges on how to approach management and to meet with his members on the issue. And Scales personally contacted SIF Executive Director H. Neal Conolly to discuss the situation. "Our staff in Albany were great," Kahn said. "They were so solid, it was incredible." The fast action paid off. On Wednesday, Nov. 24, SIF announced it would remain open after all on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Later, Conolly and Deputy Director Kenneth Ross met with Huges several times to discuss the December holidays. "I had already talked to our steward council, and I worked closely with my counterpart at CSEA," Huges said. "We agreed to management's proposal to close on the Fridays before Christmas and New Year's and have members use those floating holidays to cover the absence." The PEF leader said closing in December was a much better arrangement for most employees than the hasty decision to close in November. The managers wanted employees to use the floating holiday they had received for Election Day, but many of them had already used it. "I explained to Conolly that many of our members are very politically active. They took that holiday to work at the polls or help get out the vote," Huges said. "Since this began, I've held several meetings with members in New York City and on Long Island," he added, "and it's been very positive." |
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