December 28, 2007
Anibal Ramos, Director
Essex County Department of Citizen Services
18 Rector Street, Floor 9
Newark, NJ , 07102
Re: Step III Class Action Contractual Grievance
A-OC Unit
Precarious and Prejudiced Relocation
Article I. Purpose
Article XXV. Non-Discrimination
Article VII. Discipline
Article XXX. Work Distribution and Practices
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 Family Service Worker members assigned to the A-OC Unit to protest managements planned precarious and prejudiced relocation of them from the second floor of the privately-owned 18 Rector Street building to the sixth floor of that facility imminently scheduled. Director Nigro’s attached Step II Class Action Contractual Grievance of December 21, 2007 is unacceptable to our adversely affected members and their Union.
- As per the attached photographs our Union took today of the booths to which our aggrieved members are to be reassigned, the requisite precarious placement of pictured clients’ interviewing chairs contiguous to our affected members’ desks represents a clear danger considering how narrow the walk areas are, especially were clients to more likely than not bring child carriages with them.
- The pictured interviewing arrangement represents a prejudiced circumstance for the clients to be interviewed due to the lack of space available precipitated by the close proximity they will be compelled to endure as agency workers other than those interviewing them and other clients both pass by them and/or are seated extremely closely to them.
Inasmuch as a representative from PEOSHA on December 27, 2007 investigated the attached complaint OF December 19, 2007 CWA Local 1081 had filed with the State of New Jersey regarding the dearth of sufficient room existing within the proposed site of the unit’s relocation, and inasmuch as the PEOSHA inspector found at least three booths of the six involved to have insufficient space with which to interview clients, Director Nigro acceded immediately following the State’s investigation and finding not to require the FSW’s to be assigned to the three applicable booths to have to interview on the sixth floor. However, the specter of the three affected FSW’s having to interview on a floor other than that within which they shall be located is inequitable to our members and their clients.
The resolution CWA Local 1081 respectfully demands to this grievance consists of the following:
- Management shall immediately direct the relocation of the A-OC Unit to the sixth floor of 18 Rector Street not to occur.
- Management shall find another, more suitable, area to which to relocate the members of the A-OC Unit, preferably and logically another area of the second floor of the Military Park office.
We seek a hearing, in this regard.
Sincerely,
David H. Weiner, President, CWA Local 1081