PEF to appeal ruling Union fighting RPCI title downgrades By DEBORAH A. MILES In yet another civil-service battle with Roswell Park Cancer Institute, PEF is fighting in court to maintain salary grades for five union-represented titles. Roswell Park’s director of classification and compensation created new titles and allocated salary grades to those titles effective January 1999. PEF challenged the classification to lower the pay grades of five of the titles with an Article 78 proceeding. The five titles affected are: research associate, research technologist, maintenance supervisor, laboratory animal technologist and volunteer services administrator. Although Roswell Park ceased to be a part of the state Health Department in 1997, the formal transfer of Roswell employees to its new civil-service system did not occur until January 1999. The lower salary did not affect anyone hired by Roswell Park prior to January 1999, but applies to people hired after that date. “Members hired prior to that maintained the same salary because PEF negotiated certain protections for our members when Roswell became a public-benefit corporation,” said PEF Deputy General Counsel Lisa King. “One of these protections provided our members would not suffer any reduction in salary as a result of Roswell becoming a public-benefit corporation,” she said. “We are concerned for the incumbents and also our members hired after January 1999, who are harmed by the title reallocation because they have a lower salary,” said PEF President Roger Benson. PEF lost the first battle in this case when the Erie County Supreme Court responded unfavorably to the Article 78 proceeding filed by PEF. The judge found that since the memorandum of agreement between PEF and the state protected the salary grades of the incumbents, even though their positions were reallocated to a lower salary grade, they suffered no harm. “We contend that people in those titles, even though they have salary protection, are suffering a loss of status,” King said. “And anyone hired after January 1999 is harmed because they have the same title and responsibilities — similar job descriptions — but with a lower salary grade.” PEF intends to appeal the decision to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. King and PEF associate counsel Edward Aluck are handling the case.