 
UNITING TO FIGHT
— PEF President Roger Benson speaks to members from
Divisions 201, 246 and 259 about the need for statewide
participation to fight pay inequity and other issues
affecting many who work at the state Office of Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. The meeting
was held in Canandaigua in October. — Photo by John
Prince
Members
unite to fight pay inequity among OMRDD staf
By DEBORAH A. MILES
Joining forces to identify and rectify issues within the
state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental
Disabilities (OMRDD), more than 50 PEF leaders and
members from Rochester, the Finger Lakes and Elmira
gathered in Canandaigua at the end of October.
Participants from PEF Divisions 201, 246 and 259, whose
members coordinate care of the OMRDD population in
central and western New York, discussed multiple concerns
such as dignity and respect in the workplace, and a
punitive work environment.
One issue — pay inequity among Medicaid service
coordinators (MSC) — rose to the top of the list.
“These coordinators have a very complex and
intensive job,” said Greg Case, PEF Executive Board
representative for OMRDD. “Their responsibilities
run the gamut of tending to all the needs of
developmentally disabled people and their families. They
take care of everything from basic food and shelter to
legal services.”
One of the main problems with the MSC title is its
classification as a functional role, rather than a civil
service title. As of February 2002, there were 579
members who work in an MSC capacity, and 17 percent of
those were getting paid at salary grade 14 or below,
according to Case.
Most coordinators performing the same duties are getting
paid at salary grade 17.
“We need agency-wide participation to address these
concerns,” PEF President Roger Benson told the
participants. “The thing we must remember is
achieveability. Those working in MSC titles are battling
paperwork time over consumer time. They travel long
distances in rural areas to meet the special needs of
people with disabilities. And they are living with
consequences of old decisions that we need to fix.”
After the meeting, PEF’s Mobilization Department
presented an issue training workshop to bring the OMRDD
members to a second level of mobilization.
Council leaders from the participating divisions, John
Prince, Jeannine Dutcher and Jim Carlisle along with
Region 3 Coordinator Frank Besser and others also met in
November to further their strategic plan for MSC
employees.
“Both meetings helped us identify specific issues
and the mobilization training helped determine what we
could do about them,” Case said. “Our next step
is to refine the issues and develop strategies and bring
our concerns to a statewide level.”
|
Site Map What's New Search
COMMUNICATOR HOMEPAGE
Inside This
Issue
Features
PEF activists boost Gunther
campaign
Join campaign to defeat Bush
Save your retirement while you can
PEF E-Board backs Dean for prez
Union stops threats to fed job
services
tate wildlife pathologist do battle
Fighting privatization of youth
services
Departments
President's Message: Pride in
our goals
You Said It: Member's letters
this month
Member Mobilization: OMRDD
fights
Nurses' Station: Protect patients,
& you
Contact Update: Members’
support helps
Health Benefits: HMOs rates up for
’04
Retirees: Ferraro sets the bar
Members In Action: Fight back
thanks
PEF Membership Benefits &Travel
Corp
Union Matters
Kehoskie new Region 4 coordinator
Inmates fake taking their meds
Members honor fallen parole
officers
Jan. is financial aid awareness
month
DeBow scholarship forms ready in
spring
Parole officers honor founding
member
PEF E- Board Report: August summery
Agency-fee procedure / Audit Report
Other Links
Professional Directory
Members' Classified
Member Communicator Feedback
Do You Prefer The Online Edition?
How To Advertise Here
PEF Pride Store
The Communicator Staff
Questions on this site? Email the comwebmaster.
Register
here on the PEF Member Network.  Click Here email notice when next issue is
online
|