THE JANUS DECISION... by the Supreme Court is a pretty obvious lie.

The conservative faction of the Supreme Court has overruled a forty-year-old decision on agency shop fees. The original decision in the 1970's said that workers who chose not to belong to a union could be charged for services provided by a union (grievances, negotia-tions etc.), but had a right to a refund of any money spent on political activity.

OSA, incidentally, spends no dues on political activity. What little money we do spend comes from members’ voluntary political contributions.

The new decision states that all union activity is political. If we negotiate a contract, that is political. If we grieve unhealthy working conditions, that is political. If we defend you when you are brought up on false charges by a boss who hates you, the fact that we provide a defense is also political.

Therefore, the same conservative faction of the Supreme Court that found corporations to be people and entitled to unlimited political spending in the Citizens United case, states that unions may not charge agency shop fees.

One of our earliest cases, even before OSA became a union, involved an Analyst from the Medicaid section of HRA. He was set up by his boss who was angry that our member was about to transfer to a better job, thus deserting this boss.

Our member was charged with theft of postage money but, when investigators arrived, the money and receipts for the packages mailed were all found in the original sealed envelope secured in his desk. The boss had told him to hold onto them for a bit and then reported our member for theft.

The hearing officer at Step 1 shared that there was “pressure” to find our member guilty. He did find our member guilty. However, he assigned an absurdly low penalty if, in fact, any theft had occurred.

We appealed the case to the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. Again, the City representative told us that he was under “pressure” to get a penalty at all costs. Once the OATH judge heard the full story from the member, the City representative and the OSA representative, all charges were dropped and the judge called the agency to read them the Riot Act.

And yet, five Supreme Court Justices would have you believe that OSA’s actions in defending our member were “political.” They insist all union actions are inherently political.

It is a lie.

No matter. This is not our first time doing battle against a lie.

We were repeatedly told, from 1970 to 1985, that no person doing our kind of work could ever be represented by a union because we were either managerial or confidential, or maybe both. We knew we were certainly not managerial and how could we be confidential if we did not know a single blessed secret? So, the City was telling a lie to keep us out of the union.

In 1985, thirty-eight Analysts at the Board of Education were finally ruled to be neither managerial nor confidential. They were allowed to vote and they chose OSA as their union. By 1988, another 650 were allowed to vote and, by 1992, virtually all Staff and Associate Staff Analysts could belong to a union. We had defeated their big lie, but it did take twenty-two years.

And now, we face another lie, but not as serious. This new lie will enable members to drop out of the union to save union dues – and some will do so. This will cost OSA lost dues and will financially hurt the union.

How will this affect OSA? It will do us harm, but it will not kill us. OSA has always been among the thriftiest of unions, as reflected in our low dues. Also, we are greatly assisted by our good-hearted retirees who often become volunteer grievance reps or organizers or general administrative workers.

Moreover, we had begun to react as far back as the period before the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. A final part of the seventh floor had become available at 220 East 23rd Street. The landlord offered it to us for a good price.

Since we are organizing new titles – Health Services Managers, Administrative Nurses and Associate Directors of Hospitals – we could easily use the entire 3000 square feet of office space. In light of expected loss of agency shop fees, we turned down the space.

We will survive.

WE HOPE YOU BELIEVE IN KEEPING OSA A STRONG UNION... Recently, many of our card-signing, pro-union members have noticed that the City stopped collecting dues from their paychecks. If this is the case, please call the union office and let us know or email us at this link. You can also sign a new card by clicking “Sign An OSA Membership Card” on the main page of the union’s website. And, if you’d like to take one more step, sign up for our Activist Classroom Training sessions, already in progress. If you have not yet signed up for the ACT sessions, call John LaGuardia at the union office.

NEGOTIATIONS... have proceeded more quickly than we expected in May.

The Health Agreement was concluded in June and was approved by a vote of the Municipal Labor Committee. The one big give back is that new employees will have to enroll in HIP upon hiring. They will, after one year, be allowed to switch to another carrier at the time of the normal health plan reopener. The assumption is that some of these young folks will voluntarily choose to remain in HIP thereafter and that this will save the City money.

The good part of the agreement is that the various savings are shared with us, so there will be more money in the Welfare Fund.

As a result of the successful conclusion of the health negotiations, DC 37 was able to conclude its contract.

On the bright side of the DC 37 contract, members still do not have to pay for basic health insurance. Also, we got raises of 2%, 2.25% and 3%. The less wonderful aspect of the pattern contract is its length. DC 37 had extended its old contract to provide a needed infusion of cash. It further extends the proposed contract by an extra month to generate a bit more money for their Welfare Fund and other needs. More details about the DC 37 contract can be found at this link.

PAID FAMILY LEAVE... the most interesting novelty of this bargaining period is increased paid leave.

The City started the ball rolling by giving six weeks of paid maternity or paternity leave for managers and original jurisdiction employees. To pay for this “gift,” the City reduced senior managers’ leave allowances by two days a year and revoked a one half percent raise due them as well.

The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) responded by agreeing to a 72-day extension of their current contract, in return for a similar six week maternity/paternity leave for UFT members.

DC 37 went in another direction, choosing to opt for the New York State “Paid Family Leave” program.

Members already have coverage under the Federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and can take off up to twelve weeks of leave, even if they have no leave time on the books. Of course, FMLA leave provides no salary and that is a problem to many of our members.

Under the New York State program, a worker taking unpaid FMLA leave will now receive a payment from the State – not full pay, but a portion thereof.

If you are in the program by 2018, and take off for the full twelve weeks, the benefit is 50% of salary, capped by 50% of the State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW). For a member earning $52,000 a year, this works out to $500 per week but, in 2018, only for the first eight weeks.

The cap on weekly benefits means that the max you can receive from the program is $652.96 per week, even if your annual salary is in the six figures.

However, in 2019 and 2020, the period paid for rises to 10 weeks and, by 2021, the full 12 weeks are covered. Better yet, the amount of the benefits received goes up each year. Eventually, by 2021, the benefit is 67% of salary capped by 67% of the SAWW.

The only downside to the new benefit is that each of us pays for it at a cost of less than $2 per week, at present. (You do know that such payments tend to increase, especially as the benefits increase.)

OUR OPINION... Paid leave for child care and bonding, or for family emergencies is a good idea.

Sixty years ago, we still had large extended families living together. Single wage earner couples during child bearing years was the rule. Many mothers left the labor force for a few or even a score of years and then returned once the youngest child was out of school.

Nowadays. we have moved toward both men and women working full time and overtime, yet grandma may no longer be available for childcare. We put the full burden of children on the couple or, yet still more difficult, the single parent.

It is no surprise that our national birth rates have dropped dramatically. We are asking a lot of our young mothers and fathers.

At the other end of life, the absence of many siblings makes caring for elderly or disabled family members far more difficult as well. If you are the sole caregiver, the burden can be unbearable.

So, we very much favor these baby steps of six weeks paid maternity/paternity leave and the partial payments for a bit longer for Paid Family Leave. We do know that in Europe a full year or more off, with pay, for such leave is the rule, not the exception, and we think that is a good idea.

We don’t really think we should be paying for these benefits and that the really rich (who actually love two earner couples creating ever more wealth for the shareholders) should be giving more back. They should be paying for this leave.

But, for now, we will endorse this concept of us paying for our own social welfare improvements. You can find more information about the “State Family Leave” plan at the following link.

One more novelty this year is a return to a limited exercise in civilian citywide bargaining. Henry Garrido, DC 37's Executive Director, has notified OSA that we will be needed for such bargaining.

It seems the City wants one or more things. One thing we know they want is to compel direct deposit of City paychecks for new employees.

Okay, once upon a time, City employees received pay envelopes with dollars and coins inside. Later, City employees were paid by check, but only once a month. We are not going back to pay envelopes with dollars and coins and we may be willing for new hires to be paid in a new fashion so long as it’s safe, free and secure, but what do we get in return for saving the City money? We will see.

The meetings have not been set yet and it is August. So, maybe soon, maybe not.

THE LAST NEGOTIATION... is our own. Members are already calling to ask when they will be paid for a contract not yet written. The answer is maybe next year or a lot sooner if we can arrange it, but don’t count on it.

Especially, don’t count on it.

Earlier this year, we praised DC 37 for not biting into the poison fruit offered by the City when the City thought the union was in a hurry to settle. They did not bite and, a few months later, the offering is much improved and has no hidden suicidal give backs.

Every one of us at the union office would be pleased at a quick negotiation and settlement… so long as we got all that was due to us. Our last contract was delayed, as we predicted it would be, by our extra demands. It added six months to the process, but in return we won a lot extra and that made it worth it.

This contract will seek no major new demands, but rather will seek to solidify the gains of the last contract. We are not expecting any delays, but it is always good to note we are not playing solitaire. The City may have other plans and, if so, they could slow things down for us.

Remember, we are pretty certain to end up being due a small amount of retroactive pay for 2017 and 2018 but, do not, I repeat, do not, spend it until you get it.

UPCOMING STAFF ANALYST EXAM... The current list for Staff Analyst is nearing its completion and the City’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services has now scheduled a new Staff Analyst exam for this November. The application period for the exam runs from August 1st to August 21st. The union intends to offer an eight week set of training classes weeknights and weekends during September and October, starting the week of September 10th. If you or anyone you know files for the exam and would like to take part in the training, please have them complete and return the exam training sign-up form you can download at the link below:

2018 Staff Analyst Exam Training Course Registration Form

THE CHIEF LEADER... More than 2,600 OSA members are now receiving the E-Chief version of The Chief-Leader civil service newspaper each week courtesy of the union. If you are a member who is not presently receiving The Chief, be sure to fill out and return the coupon you will find at the bottom of this page immediately. Those union members who return the coupon below will be subscribed to The Chief for six months starting in November 2018.

PLEASE NOTE WELL... At least one of our members has complained that his coworkers are mad at him for his benefitting from the City’s recent use and abuse of experience exams and tied scores. No. The City is wrong and we will fight that, but please do not blame your fellow civil servant if he or she benefits from these poor practices. Blame the folks who arranged it.

THE LABOR DAY PARADE... Members and activists are invited and encouraged to join the OSA contingent in the Labor Day Parade on Saturday, September 8, 2018 and march behind the OSA banner. We have marched in every parade since 2000 and usually have had a good turnout. It can be a lot of fun and we gather together for lunch right afterwards. It is also a day to remind our political leaders, the City and the nation of the strength of New York City’s unions. In the wake of the Janus decision, demonstrating union solidarity and power is that much more important.

A flyer can be downloaded from the bottom of this page providing information on where we will gather for the parade: East 45th Street (between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue) near the corner of Madison at 9:45AM. Look for the union banner. Join us for your OSA T-shirts, hats, water and snacks. Your family and friends are also welcome. Give John LaGuardia, Rob Spencer or Ken Kearns a call at the union office and let us know you are coming and who you are bringing.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING... Mark your calendar for the September general membership meeting which will take place on Thursday, September 20, 2018 at 6pm at the union office on 23rd Street. As has occurred at recent membership meetings, the meeting will be followed by food and then the latest session of Activist Classroom Training. A flyer can be downloaded at the link below to remind you of the date, time and location.

BITS AND PIECES ...