OSA Newsline -- June 25, 1999

Many members have been calling to report receipt of some of — or part of — or all of the monies due for the June 1, 1999 raise.

Good. Do keep the pay stubs. If you got 4.75% but not yet the longevity, give them two more weeks. If you did not get the 4.75% or the longevity, still give them two more weeks.

The union will be sending mail and posting information to the News From OSA section of this website to describe the raises due and how to compute the accuracy of the monies paid, and what to do if you've been paid incorrectly.

We actually expect that all of our members should be paid the raises by the end of July, but we did and do expect the process to be uneven from one agency to the next.

Apologies to any who called the OSA office from Wednesday the 23rd through Thursday the 24th. Our phone lines were out for almost 18 hours due to work related to office expansion.

OSA Newsline -- June 21, 1999

Payroll of the Health and Hospitals Corporation and most City agencies seem to think they can pay the June 1 raise by this pay period, but long experience causes the union to urge caution.

In many cases, our members will receive their increase this Friday, but never, never spend it until it is in your hands.

Reports from the New York City Housing Authority seem to indicate a delay until the following period and, in some cases, an agency will first pay the 4.75% and then later catch up with the longevity if due. Whatever.

All members, as always, are urged to retain their pay stubs indefinitely. If the employer fails to pay the increase correctly, you will need your pay stubs to check for and correct any errors.

OSA Newsline -- June 14, 1999

A few members have been calling to learn about the June 1 raise. All of our members hired before June 1, are due the 4.75% raise as of June 1, and all members outside the Transit Authority are due longevity as well. Exactly when it will arrive is not so clear. Even when Agencies do notify us that it will be in, for example, the June 25 paycheck, we are never truly sure it will show up until it actually does.

A letter will be going out this month and will be posted to the News From OSA section of this website, to review the raises. Members will be able to check the accuracy of payments when received.

Meanwhile, this appears to be the hiring season at the New York City Housing Authority. NYCHA is looking to fill a Staff Analyst Level II vacancy in their personnel section. Their Human Resources Department at 250 Broadway needs someone to become the Placement Coordinator for their Employment Division. You will have to track vacancies, interview and qualify candidates, supervise secretarial staff, submit vacancy and statistical reports, and act as a liaison to the various departments.

Since it is a Level II assignment, the Agency is clear that it needs someone who already has at least a year's experience in this area. NYCHA does not have a residency requirement. The Authority would prefer a bachelors degree, but most especially wants someone with years of experience in personnel work, knowledge of civil service laws, rules, and regulations, plus at least a comfortable familiarity with the computer and the PMS system.

Submit your resume to NYCHA, 250 Broadway, Room 300, New York, New York 10007, Att: Seth Conacdo.

Citywide Bargaining occurred last week, but we seem to be frozen by the City's inactivity. There was some slow progress up to this point, but none recently. The main point of contention is the plight of our members hired as per diem employees. It is the City's belief that creating a third class of City employees below either permanent or provisional is a really good idea. We think it is illegal, immoral, dishonest, unfair, unkind, rotten, evil and entirely unacceptable. We are not going to soften on this issue either.

Members of our bargaining team have been pleased, thus far, by the leadership of both Randi Weingarten and Lee Saunders. It would appear that labor is taking a firmer stance.

There is a meeting Monday on a possible severance package at HHC

OSA Newsline -- June 7, 1999

A job is available at the New York City Housing Authority. The Human Resources Department has a Staff Analyst Level I vacancy. The job itself will be in their Classification Division and will be a job that involves writing.

Actually, the employer is seeking a candidate with both computer and writing skills but the writing part is the more needed skill.

Any person who is a good writer, whether they are now a Staff Analyst or not, should fax their resume to Stewart Minikes, Chief of Classification, at (212) 306-8433.

OSA Newsline -- June 1, 1999

We have received news that some of our members will be properly receiving their raises as of the next pay check, and that others will have to wait for the following paycheck and, in the case of at least one agency, no sooner than July.

But all of this is nonsense. After many years of salary increases, OSA is well aware of the old adage, don't spend it until you get it. We are all due raises effective June 1, and by mid-July we should all have received those raises. Our next edition of News From OSA on this site will go over how much each of us should be receiving.

The major problem expected is a failure by some agencies to properly compute the effect of the compounding of longevity monies. Resolving all expected payroll errors may take us until well into the Fall.

Finally, this coming Sunday, June 6, from noon-2pm the Labor Party is presenting a live national call-in radio broadcast on the healthcare crisis in America. Some 43 million of our brothers and sisters have no health coverage at all, and millions more of us have healthcare that is dependent on our place of employment. Lose your job and lose your healthcare. What can we do about it? Listen to the program for some answers. Tune in to WBAI 99.5 FM, or if you have Realplayer software installed on your computer, you can listen at the website www.djdinstitute.org.


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