August 3, 2009
Anibal Ramos, Director
Essex County Department of Citizen Services
18 Rector Street, Floor 9
Newark, NJ, 07102
Re: Step III Class Action Contractual Grievance
Unsafe Food Stamp Office File Room
Article I. Purpose
Article XXV. Non-Discrimination
Article XLIX. Safety of Staff
Dear Mr. Ramos:
CWA Local 1081 submits this Step III Class Action Contractual Grievance on behalf of all of our Union’s members assigned to the Food Stamp Citizen Services Office to perform work duties within the lower level file room situated within the basement of that County-owned site located at 50 South Clinton Street, East Orange. Director Nigro’s attached Step II Class Action Contractual Grievance denial response of July 31, 2009, in this respect, is unacceptable to CWA Local 1081 and all of our Union’s adversely affected members.
As per the attached memorandum of July 9, 2009, written Supervising Clerk Marsha McQueary by CWA Local 1081 member and JD Unit Clerk Margo Della Volpe in this exact regard, the following unacceptable conditions exist within the cited file room:
- The file room is overcrowded, rendering access to the files both difficult and dangerous.
- The files’ drawers are very heavy, due to being filled beyond their capacity.
- Cardboard file boxes are piled atop other cardboard file boxes, on top of the file cabinets, causing our adversely affected members to perilously perch upon a stool in order to access them.
- The cardboard file drawers have no handles with which to open them, and the front of the boxes are ripped.
- There are presently many file box drawers lying upon the floor, thus representing a hazardous tripping condition when our adversely affected members are forced to climb over them to access the file cabinets.
- The situation is such that Sister Della Volpe experienced a cardboard file drawer falling upon her arm, and bruising it, as she attempted to access the top drawer of a file cabinet while narrowly averting even more serious injury.
The resolution CWA Local 1081 respectfully reiterates to this grievance consists of the following:
- The County shall post haste adequately address and rectify the abovementioned unsafe conditions.
As per Mr. Nigro’s sage suggestion, our Union shall arrange with Chief of Administrative Services Marc Pilchman to schedule, and conduct, a contractually-stipulated Health and Safety Committee Meeting with us at the Food Stamp office as soon as possible.
Additionally, please note the attached “Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health Complaint” CWA Local 1081 has filed this date with the New Jersey Department of Labor, Office of Public Employees Safety in this regard.
We seek a hearing.
Sincerely,
David H. Weiner, President
CWA Local 1081