January 28, 2013
Yvonne Davis, Director
Essex County Division of Welfare
18 Rector Street, Floor 9
Newark, NJ, 07102
Re: Step II Class Action Contractual Grievance
Overdue Unprocessed Intake Unit Applications
Article I. Purpose
Article VII. Discipline
Article XXV. Non-Discrimination
Article XXX. Work Distribution and Practices
Article XLIX. Safety of Staff
Dear Ms. Davis:
CWA Local 1081 submits this Step II Class Action Contractual Grievance on behalf of our Family Service Worker members assigned to the Intake Unit of the Military Park Citizen Services Center to protest the reported fact that eight (8) of these FSW's presently maintain unprocessed overdue client applications for more than thirty (30) days since first taken and that twenty-four (24) of these FSW's presently maintain unprocessed overdue client applications for more than sixty (60) days since first taken. ASFS Aaron Crawley did not respond to our Union's attached Step I Class Action Contractual Grievance of December 31, 2012, submitted in this exact respect.
As you will please recall, CWA Local 1081 wrote you the attached missive of January 28, 2012 entitled "Client Application Appointments" in which our Union asserted, " CWA Local 1081 has been informed by our Family Service Workers assigned to the Intake Unit within the Military Park Citizen Services Center located within the privately-owned 18 Rector Street, Newark site that they have been instructed to give clients applying for public assistance appointments dates far in excess of what is allowed by law."
The applicable New Jersey statute stipulates the following:
ยง 10:90-1.5 Prompt disposition by the county or municipal agency of the New Jersey Administrative Code mandates the following:
Persons shall be given the opportunity to comply with the eligibility requirements and apply for WFNJ benefits without delay. Staff of the county or municipal agency shall accept, process and recommend action on applications for assistance within 30 days. If the applicant is eligible, payment shall be issued as soon as eligibility is established. The county or municipal agency shall act promptly and timely on applications as long as the WFNJ participant is eligible for assistance and is complying with program requirements. Failure of the county or municipal agency to act promptly and timely shall not be a basis for denying or delaying the issuance of benefits. The county and municipal agency shall also act promptly and timely on redetermining eligibility, but failure of the county or municipal agency to act promptly and timely shall not be a basis for delay in granting assistance."
As will please recall, as well, CWA Local 1081 wrote the attached Step II Class Action Contractual Grievance of September 14, 2012 which received no response from you, the attached Step III Class Action Contractual Grievance of October 9, 2012 to Director Ramos which received the attached denial of October 17, 2012 and the attached Request for Arbitration of October 19, 2012 written National CWA Representative Alan Kaufman, all entitled "Cessation of Quiet Time". Within the above cited Step II and Step III Class Action Contractual Grievances our Union wrote the following:
- Without a quiet time day dedicated to our adversely affected members being allowed to devote their energies towards completing the cases they had initiated for clients during the week, the FSW's will be hampered in completing their cases in a timely fashion.
- Without a quiet time day dedicated to our adversely affected members being allowed to devote their energies towards completing the cases they had initiated for clients during the week, a slew of clients will not receive their benefits and/or have actuated other case actions.
- Without a quiet time day dedicated to our adversely affected members being allowed to devote their energies towards completing the cases they had initiated for clients during the week, many clients not serviced in a timely fashion as a result may well wreak their wrath upon our members thus creating an environment ripe for verbal and/or physical abuse of our members.
- Without a quiet time day dedicated to our adversely affected members being allowed to devote their energies towards completing the cases they had initiated for clients during the week, the deficiencies of the Essex County Division of Welfare cited by the New Jersey Department of Human Services and its Division of Family Development will be exacerbated and may well possibly put at risk State and/or Federal funding to our agency.
Additionally, as you are no doubt well aware, CWA Local 1081 has been for many years urging the Essex County Division of Welfare to hire and maintain the requisite number of eight-hundred and twenty-two (822) minimum total staff required within an annual arrangement with the New Jersey Department of Human Services to justify the latter to "loan" our agency $15 million each year for TANF administrative funding. Despite this arrangement with the State, the Essex County Division of Welfare appears to have abided by this bogus bargain only once between 2002 and 2011 by fully staffing the agency (the $15 million was money advanced to the administration of former Essex County Executive James Treffinger by then Governor Christie Whitman which Mr. Treffinger deposited into the general treasury and which was never repaid our agency by his administration, this despite assurances made upon the public record by then Essex County Administrator Vincent DiMauro that the funds would so be repaid).
The resolution CWA Local 1081, therefore, reiterates to this grievance consists of the following:
- The County shall hire and maintain a minimum total of eight-hundred and twenty-two (822) minimum total staff.
- The County shall assign more staff to the Intake Unit so that its FSW members may complete their applications in a lawfully timely fashion.
- The County shall restore quiet time to the Intake Unit's FSW's and to all applicable FSW's within the entirety Essex County Division of Welfare.
- The County shall not discipline any of the aforementioned Intake Unit FSW's for maintaining overdue applications through no fault of their own.
Sincerely,
David H. Weiner, President
CWA Local 1081