TO: All CWA Local 1081 Members
FROM: David H. Weiner, President
DATE: November11, 2008
SUBJECT: Arbitration Hearing Regarding Seniority Violation-Overtime
Attached, please find a letter of October 6, 2008, written me by CWA Representative Lynn Buckley, confirming that an arbitration hearing has been scheduled for January 12, 2009 regarding CWA Local 1081’s grievance found below submitted on June 2, 2008 to protest the fact the County of Essex failed to post Clerical overtime opportunities and failed to assign such opportunities by seniority within the Downtown Citizen Services Center.
As I have extolled the members of CWA Local 1081 many times over the nearly past three decades of my administration as president of our Union, our contract with the County is only worth the paper upon which it is printed if our Union polices it and fights to ensure it is strictly enforced. This we have always done, and this I will always do.
July 2, 2008
Anibal Ramos, Director
Essex Department of Citizen Services
18 Rector Street, Floor 9
Newark, NJ, 07102
Re: Step III Class Action Contractual Grievance
Failure to Post and Provide Overtime Offer
Article I. Purpose
Article V. Seniority and Vacancies
Article VII. Discipline
Article XXV: Non-Discrimination
Dear Mr. Ramos:
CWA Local 1081 submits this Step III Class Action Contractual Grievance to protest the fact that the County of Essex failed to post Clerical overtime opportunities and failed to assign such opportunities by seniority within the Downtown Citizen Services Center.
Director Nigro failed to respond to our Union’s attached Step II Class Action Contractual Grievance of May 20, 2008, submitted in this identical regard.
This practice violative of our contract began on April 7, 2008 and on April 6, 2008 became known to our Union.
Article V. Seniority and Vacancies, 3. stipulates “It is agreed that overtime work shall be shared by all employees in an occupational classification within any work unit without discrimination. The opportunity to work overtime shall be extended to each employee on a rotational basis by seniority provided that he/she is capable of performing the work.”
The resolution CWA Local 1081 demands to this grievance consists of the following:
1. The County shall forthwith provide our Union with the names, titles and seniority of those Clerks assigned to the Downtown office to whom the abovementioned overtime was provided and the manner in which the overtime was calculated.
2. The County shall hereafter post the availability of overtime for all of our Union’s applicably titled members to view.
3. The County shall posthaste provide the opportunity for overtime to all Clerical employees based upon their seniority.
4. The County shall make whole those of our Union’s members denied the opportunity to work overtime.
We seek a hearing, in this regard.
Sincerely,
David H. Weiner, President
CWA Local 1081
C: Bruce Nigro
Yvonne Davis
David Gawenus
Ruth Prager
Lynn Buckley
Annmarie Pinarski, Esq.