January 8, 2008

 

David Gawenus, ASFS

Downtown Citizen Services Center

18 Rector Street, Floor 7

Newark, NJ, 07102

 

Re: Step I Class Action Contractual Grievance

       Altered Lunch Schedule

       Article I. Purpose

       Article IV. Work Schedules and Overtime

       Article VII. Discipline

       Article XXV. Non-Discrimination

     

Dear Mr. Gawenus:

 

CWA Local 1081 submits this Step I Class Action Contractual Grievance on behalf of our members assigned to the Downtown Citizen Services Center to protest the inequitable imposition, on January 7, 2008, by you of an inequitable, illogical and discriminatory lunch schedule. Your dictate that all our affected members must take their contractually stipulated lunch break exactly four (4) hours subsequent to their respective work start time is unacceptable due to the following:

 

1.      Client coverage will be adversely impacted, inasmuch as most of our affected members start work at 8:30 AM and your pronouncement will leave the office bereft of adequate client coverage.

2.      In the beginning of most months, client volume within the office is particular high and those clients will be particularly adversely affected by your diktat

3.      Upset, if not irate, clients not receiving adequate services as a result of your myopic mandate will pose a possible threat to our members and other clients alike.

4.      Your deplorable declaration represents retaliation against CWA Local 1081 for our Union’s appropriate recent intervention on behalf of a Family Service Worker member whereby we successfully petitioned Director Nigro she be allowed to take her contractually stipulated lunch break at approximately 1:00 PM when you were going to deny her said break and insist she instead attend a hastily-scheduled court hearing regarding a client.

 

The resolution CWA Local 1081 respectfully demands to this grievance consists of the following:

 

1.      Management shall withdraw its avowal our affected members need take their contractually stipulated lunch break exactly four (4) hours subsequent to their respective work start time.

 

CWA Local 1081 requests a hearing, in this regard.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

David H. Weiner, President

CWA Local 1081

 

 C: Bruce Nigro

    Yvonne Davis

    Gloria Mills

    Barbara Russo-Salcines

    Lynn Buckley