OSA Newsline -- October 28, 2019

We did receive a response from the Office of Labor Relations in regard to our longstanding requests for further negotiating sessions. We were sent a list of ten days starting as early as this week and later dates as well, all the way to the end of November.

They wanted to know if we were available on any of those dates. We responded that we were available to meet on any or all of those dates.

OLR thanked us and said they would now start to poll the agencies to see if they were available. As of this newsline no further response from OLR was received, so we suspect the eventual dates will be later than we would have preferred.

Once again, be patient.

On a brighter note, DCAS has issued a procedure to all agencies noting that we get up to three hours off to vote in a primary election.

Now, in two weeks we get the whole day off for voting, but that is Election Day and that is not new.

What is new is our being given time off to vote in the primaries. Many, if not most, of us already vote in primaries, so the gift of time to do so is most welcome.

If, in addition, more of us start voting in primary elections, that too is a good thing.

We will send out a copy of the procedure in the next mailing and we link to it here.

If you would like to listen to this newsline as an audio file, please click on this link:

AUDIO - October 28, 2019

OSA Newsline -- October 21, 2019

We are pleased to report that we did get a phone call back from the Office of Labor Relations on the issue of our contract. OLR explained that they were preparing for a meeting with us and that they would be ready soon.

That communication does not actually merit being called bad news, but neither is it enough to make us happy. We are distressed by the delay.

Our grievance section has been going out to represent our newly organized nurses at supervisory conferences at MetroPlus. At first, they were accompanied by some of our organizers. This was because the MetroPlus problems were familiar to the organization team and not to grievances, but we do learn quickly.

For example, if your quota is 20 cases, and you are producing 15, are you always the problem? Well, no, not if we discover your work is being delayed by managers who don�t coordinate with each other. As soon as we learn the source of the delays, we can revise the system to avoid or reduce those impediments. Both sides can end up happier.

If you would like to listen to this newsline as an audio file, please click on this link:

AUDIO - October 21, 2019

OSA Newsline -- October 14, 2019

On the main contract, again the Office of Labor Relations has not yet scheduled our next session.

On a different issue, OSA�s lawyers approached the Hospitals Corporation about the 37 � hour week being worked by the MetroPlus nurses.

After two weeks of talking, management has not given an inch. Our lawyers will therefore bring an unfair labor practice before the Board of Collective Bargaining this week.

We believe we will win this fight and our only regret is that New York City Health + Hospitals is forcing us into it.

If you would like to listen to this newsline as an audio file, please click on this link:

AUDIO - October 14, 2019

OSA Newsline -- October 7, 2019

The City is still not ready to meet with us, so no news on that front.

Meanwhile, a number of members had raised questions about the new paid family leave act and a seminar on that was held last Friday and will be repeated if there is sufficient demand for it.

One topic that came up in relation to it was the effect of taking such leave on our pensions and this led to a discussion of pensions.

There were the fractional plan pensions followed in 1968 by Tier I, A&B, then Tier II C&D, then Tier III and Tier IV.

Most current retirees are retiring under Tier IV, but now there is the upstate Tier V and the City Tier VI.

The story over the years has been that bad guys, like the current governor, change pensions for the worse and good guys, like us, change them for the better.

This week, we will send out to the activists and delegates the story of one such good guy, Chuck Miller. Chuck�s efforts as a union delegate on location improved retirement benefits for tens of thousands of his coworkers.

It is a story of how a union can provide the tools for an activist changing the world, or at least our part of it.

If you would like to listen to this newsline as an audio file, please click on this link:

AUDIO - October 7, 2019