We continue to press the city for the start of negotiations. In the meantime, our June mailing is in the mail, and with it a sheet requesting your contract demands. The mailing should be received this week and if not, call George at the union office so we can send you a copy.

This is a split mailing, with only union members being sent the contract demands sheet. All however are invited to the Labor Day Parade this September.

The contents of the mailing, minus the contract demands sheet are already posted on this website as the June 2014 OSA Newsletter.

Most recently, the Nurses have settled and DC37 has at least entered discussions, so patience is in order.

The Newsline goes to biweekly from now until September as things invariably slow down as the summer season starts.

The City office of Labor Relations has promised to set dates to start contract negotiations this month. If there are only starting dates to start the process in June, it’s very clear that patience is in order.

OLR will give priority to finishing those contracts not concluded by 2008 and then will proceed to the later contracts. DC37, as the largest civilian union, will likely be given next priority, but in any case, OLR tends to slow down negotiations during July and August.

In short, we do not expect serious negotiations for OSA to occur until this fall.

We will be sending out mail seeking demands for our bargaining team and they will be putting together a package to bring to the city.

A number of our members have been meeting to discuss ways to pressure the city towards giving us the best contract possible. Their very next meeting is this Wednesday at the union office at 6pm sharp.

Stan Williams of our organization section will convene the meeting. One item that has already been agreed upon is the value of a large turnout for this year’s Labor Day Parade. Members who want a good contract should, at a minimum, be prepared to spend a part of a Saturday with OSA walking proudly up Fifth Avenue wearing OSA T shirts and caps.It can make a difference.

At the membership meeting on May 29, the contract settlements were the main topic. Members understand that the UFT settlement sets general terms but that OSA and the other civilian unions will still have to negotiate details.

We have requested to negotiate, but the city may prefer to settle with DC37 first.

Our negotiations will likely extend on into the fall of this year. For this reason it is really a good idea if OSA gets a large turnout for the Labor Day Parade. It is fair to say that 100% of our members want more money in the contract, but if only 1 or 2% march on Labor Day, how is the city supposed to evaluate that?

On a separate issue, DCAS is seeking to compress the title of Ed Officer by getting rid of exams and putting in levels instead.

The UFT asked our input on the DCAS action and we responded with tales of how OSA fought against title compression for analysts in years gone by.

Title compression reduces a civil servant’s chance to rise by way of competitive exams and is a very bad idea for sure.

It opens the door wide for increased cronyism and patronage. We do wish our brothers and sisters of the UFT good luck in their fight to stop this bad move by DCAS.

At our general membership meeting last week, the one topic of interest was our union contract.

In summary, the Transport Workers Union has approved their contract by a four to one vote. The United Federation of Teachers is expected to approve their contract and DC37 has accepted the UFT contract as the basis for their negotiations.

Thereafter, our task will be to get as much as possible out of the overall negotiation, seeking to obtain the full value due to us. In order to position ourselves well, the active support of our members can be of great help.

Mention was made of the importance of a good showing at the September Labor Day Parade and some members expressed an interest in getting started even earlier. A committee was formed with Stan Williams, OSA organizer, assigned – and a number of members signed up.

No one should expect immediate progress in contract negotiations. The really old contracts are being completed, but we are just now starting on the recent, but still overdue contracts.

The Office of Labor Relations has stated that dates for talks will be set in June and our l ong term experience is that matters will slow down dramatically in the summer.

At least, we are now moving in the right direction, unlike the last four years of “l’état, c’est moi” from Bloomberg.

On an entirely different subject, OSA retirees are reminded that the OSARC June gala luncheon is fast approaching on June 11th at Iguana Restaurant in midtown. If you have not yet paid, you must mail or hand deliver your payment to the union office by close of business on Monday, June 9th. Please print out and complete the form you can find at the link below and mail or hand deliver it with your payment. The form includes information about the restaurant, the menu for the luncheon and travel directions.

OSARC June Luncheon Registration Form