News From OSA - May, 2019

NEGOTIATIONS. There is not a great deal to report on negotiations. They are proceeding and, since their resumption in the Spring, going on at a sort-of-normal pace (slow).

Both sides do come closer at each session, and we are even especially pleased at the technical meetings held in early May. Obviously, we would like to obtain as good a deal as possible, but in order to do so, we need to know the City's assumptions and how they “cost out” our demands. "One detail that matters very much is the City's contribution to our Welfare Fund. At the end of the last contract, DC37 signed an extension of their contract, months after it had been tentatively settled, in order to add $200 per member to their Welfare Fund. This was done because they had reached a crisis point in seeking to sustain the cost of their Drug Program.

The City did offer us the right to extend our own contract at that time, but for two reasons we passed on the offer. Most importantly, of course, we were not in immediate need of a cash infusion to our Welfare Fund. Beyond that, while we did need to raise the contribution to stay in line with DC37, we suspected that an extension to obtain the money later would cost us less in days of extension of our contract.

To be sure, we were not certain. We did feel the prior contract “period” had been distorted by the need to undo the action taken by Mayor Bloomberg against the UFT and other unions as he “lame ducked” viciously against them and other unions in his last term.

As it turns out, we now know we guessed correctly and obtaining the same $200 will cost less days of contract extension during this period. This is a small win for us, but it does matter and, with bad luck, it could have gone the other way.

Exactly how much that is worth to each of us will be calculated and explained once the contract negotiations are completed and the contract is being sent to members for a vote.

This is the sort of technical detail that absorbs your representatives' attention when we are bargaining, and we actually even find it interesting.

The entire process of bargaining a contract with us once the overall pattern is set could probably be accomplished in a couple of weeks or at most two months if the City were in a hurry. We always ask for more than we expect to get, but we can drop unrealistic demands as fast as the City agrees to meet our serious demands (at least halfway).Why then does it take so long? We do not doubt that the City has its reasons and, so long as all raises are retroactive, delays are not long-term harmful.

We will plug on, as fast as our dancing partner (the City) is willing to move, and inevitably we will be done at some point.

There is even one good, if unintended, side effect of the delay imposed by the City. OSA never has ceased from organizing Analysts and Analyst-equivalent employees. Thus, once we do get our contract, all those we have won collective bargaining rights for since 2017 will be included in our contract. The new titles to be included in our contract are:

Budget Analyst - Comptroller's Office - 2018
Budget Analyst - Independent Budget Office - 2018
Director of Tenant and Community Affairs - NYCHA - 2018
Assistant Director of Intergroup Relations - NYCHA - 2018
Health Services Manager - Citywide - 2019
Clinical Documentation Specialist (L1,2) - New York City Health + Hospitals - 2019

ANALYST EXAMS. As you are or should be aware, the next two exams planned by DCAS are the Associate Staff Analyst and the Administrative Staff Analyst. Applications for both are to be filed in June. Classroom training by OSA will begin in July, and the exams will be given towards the end of September. Please read carefully the flyer describing the timetable and the follow up needed to participate if you plan to take either or both exams.

2019 Analyst Series Exam Prep Information

If you would like to sign up for the training, you can download a registration form at the following link:

2019 Exam Training Course Registration Form

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING. The next General Membership Meeting will take place on Thursday, May 30th, 220 East 23rd Street, Suite 707, at 6pm sharp. Members can expect a bit more detail on negotiations and reports on potential affiliation, plus updates on our organizing drives and our fight to increase the number of our members offered Alternate Work Schedules. After about an hour, food will be provided and those members interested in Activists Classroom Training will reconvene. OSA needs a trained cadre of union activists to replace those always retiring. The ACT program is our effort in that direction.You can download a meeting flyer to remind you of the date, time and location at this link. You can post it as well.

News From OSA - May, 2019 NEGOTIATIONS. There is not a great deal to report on negotiations. They are proceeding and, since their resumption in the Spring, going on at a sort-of-normal pace (slow). Both sides do come closer at each session, and we are even especially pleased at the technical meetings held in early May. Obviously, we would like to obtain as good a deal as possible, but in order to do so, we need to know the City's assumptions and how they “cost out” our demands. "One detail that matters very much is the City's contribution to our Welfare Fund. At the end of the last contract, DC37 signed an extension of their contract, months after it had been tentatively settled, in order to add $200 per member to their Welfare Fund. This was done because they had reached a crisis point in seeking to sustain the cost of their Drug Program. The City did offer us the right to extend our own contract at that time, but for two reasons we passed on the offer. Most importantly, of course, we were not in immediate need of a cash infusion to our Welfare Fund. Beyond that, while we did need to raise the contribution to stay in line with DC37, we suspected that an extension to obtain the money later would cost us less in days of extension of our contract. To be sure, we were not certain. We did feel the prior contract “period” had been distorted by the need to undo the action taken by Mayor Bloomberg against the UFT and other unions as he “lame ducked” viciously against them and other unions in his last term. As it turns out, we now know we guessed correctly and obtaining the same $200 will cost less days of contract extension during this period. This is a small win for us, but it does matter and, with bad luck, it could have gone the other way. Exactly how much that is worth to each of us will be calculated and explained once the contract negotiations are completed and the contract is being sent to members for a vote. This is the sort of technical detail that absorbs your representatives' attention when we are bargaining, and we actually even find it interesting. The entire process of bargaining a contract with us once the overall pattern is set could probably be accomplished in a couple of weeks or at most two months if the City were in a hurry. We always ask for more than we expect to get, but we can drop unrealistic demands as fast as the City agrees to meet our serious demands (at least halfway).Why then does it take so long? We do not doubt that the City has its reasons and, so long as all raises are retroactive, delays are not long-term harmful. We will plug on, as fast as our dancing partner (the City) is willing to move, and inevitably we will be done at some point. There is even one good, if unintended, side effect of the delay imposed by the City. OSA never has ceased from organizing Analysts and Analyst-equivalent employees. Thus, once we do get our contract, all those we have won collective bargaining rights for since 2017 will be included in our contract. The new titles to be included in our contract are: Budget Analyst - Comptroller's Office - 2018 Budget Analyst - Independent Budget Office - 2018 Director of Tenant and Community Affairs - NYCHA - 2018 Assistant Director of Intergroup Relations - NYCHA - 2018 Health Services Manager - Citywide - 2019 Clinical Documentation Specialist (L1,2) - New York City Health + Hospitals - 2019 ANALYST EXAMS. As you are or should be aware, the next two exams planned by DCAS are the Associate Staff Analyst and the Administrative Staff Analyst. Applications for both are to be filed in June. Classroom training by OSA will begin in July, and the exams will be given towards the end of September. Please read carefully the flyer describing the timetable and the follow up needed to participate if you plan to take either or both exams. 2019 Analyst Series Exam Prep Information If you would like to sign up for the training, you can download a registration form at the following link: 2019 Exam Training Course Registration Form GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING. The next General Membership Meeting will take place on Thursday, May 30th, 220 East 23rd Street, Suite 707, at 6pm sharp. Members can expect a bit more detail on negotiations and reports on potential affiliation, plus updates on our organizing drives and our fight to increase the number of our members offered Alternate Work Schedules. After about an hour, food will be provided and those members interested in Activists Classroom Training will reconvene. OSA needs a trained cadre of union activists to replace those always retiring. The ACT program is our effort in that direction.You can download a meeting flyer to remind you of the date, time and location at this link. You can post it as well.