Changes in Executive Board
There have been several changes in the Executive Board since your last newsletter. Tony Bonamassa, blue-collar vice-president, retired. Donna Hubbard, corresponding secretary, resigned after years of service on the Executive Board. Andrew Trotta, custodial representative, was unable to attend meetings. To fill these vacancies, the Executive Board appointed replacements, and the following were sworn in at the February membership meeting: Fred Zimmermann—blue-collar vice-president, Ceil Toffel—corresponding secretary, Dean Carrington - custodial representative, and Sergio Campolongo—maintainer representative.

Next Membership Meeting - New Location
As a result of an informal survey last fall, the next general membership meeting on Tuesday, April 13, will be at the Central Library’s auditorium, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Food (usually sandwiches and beverages) will be available at 6:00 p.m. In addition to the usual agenda, we hope to have a representative of MELS, our legal plan, there to explain what they offer and answer questions.

This will not be the place to bring up issues of problems with the Library: we hope that you will have already contacted the Local president Eileen Muller at either her B-line email (e.muller) or by phone (212-815-7615 – leave a message) or Audrey McConney, our DC 37 representative, on the Library’s email (a.mcconney) or phone (212-815-1929).

If you need immediate assistance, call DC 37’s Professional Division (212-815-1040) and leave a message. We hope that this will give Eileen time to find answers to the problems and bring the information to the meeting.

Collective Bargaining - Economic Contract
There have been bargaining sessions but negotiations are in their early days. We have settled on the benefits part of the contract. As for wage increases, the city’s latest offer was 2% over two years from the date the contract was signed, with no retroactivity. They also think it would be nice if we went back to a 40-hour work week with no increase in pay. We don’t think so! (Did you know that the city was practicing to go on Comedy Central?) Lillian Roberts, executive director of DC 37, has stated repeatedly that she will not accept a contract with no retroactivity.

We feel that the city was stalling because of the DC 37 elections: they didn’t want to start serious bargaining until they knew who they would be negotiating with. We resumed bargaining with the city during February.

Changes in Drug Plan
Dennis Deahn, Director of Field Services for DC 37’s Health and Pensions division, spoke at our February membership meeting, explaining the changes and answering questions. He commented on the range and complexity of questions, saying library employees were obviously more aware of and interested in the issues than many of the groups he addresses.

The major change in the drug plan is that now all maintenance drugs—those you or your family use over a long period—must be ordered through the mail, rather than from your local pharmacy. You will still be able to get prescriptions for short-term needs (for instance, antibiotics for an ear infection) at your local drugstore.

The reason for this change is that, as we all know, drugs cost a lot of money. With the cost of prescriptions and the number of members and their families who need this benefit, the plan was under great financial pressure. Ordering through the mail will save money for both the plan and the member: you can get a three-month supply of medicine for the cost of a two-month supply through your local pharmacy. Another important reason to save money is that benefits, including the drug plan, are part of our economic bargaining. The more money spent on the drug plan, the less money is available for wage increases.
Everyone was sent forms in the mail, and you can get more through DC 37 by calling 212-815-1234.

Web Page - www.local1482.org
Finally! Our Local has a web page at www.local1482.org! It is still a work-in-progress, but we already have access to our working conditions contract, a list of the Executive Board members and how to contact them, meeting notices, newsletters, and links to DC 37 and its benefits plans. We plan to add other features, including the local’s constitution, personal information like births, marriages, deaths, graduations, and other news of interest, and notices of issues affecting the staff.

This has been a long haul, with most of the original members of the committee now retired. Thanks are due to Paul Otto, Judy Susser and Eileen Muller. Again, the web address is www.local1482.org.

Safety Issues
We have learned that in the blackout of 2003, emergency lights in some locations did not work and have not worked since. This is a serious issue. If this is the situation in your branch, please make sure a work order has been sent.

We remind you again that blocked or locked fire exits could cost you your life. We know work locations are overcrowded. However, in an emergency your safety is a higher priority than their work.

If you know of other safety or health issues in your work location, contact Eileen Muller or Audrey McConney. Of course, if you are the head of your unit, you should already have contacted the appropriate unit (e.g. maintenance or custodians or security) at the library to report the problem, preferably by email so you have a record. If necessary, follow up the work order with another email reminding them of the problem. If the situation remains uncorrected, contact Eileen or Audrey. If they are unable to resolve the issue, they can call in DC 37 Safety and Health staff, who are familiar with OSHA rules and regulations.

1% Bargaining
In the last economic contract, which expired June 30, 2002, there was provision for 1% unit bargaining. Many people confuse this as being a one percent increase in their salary. Sorry, but no. The 1% is really a pool of money for each occupational series, and the amounts in the pool vary widely. The individual units bargain separately, and on a citywide basis. For instance, all the clerks in the entire city are covered by the 1% for clericals. The locals who have clerks send representatives to the unit bargaining and it is decided there, with the consent of the city, as to how the money is distributed. Some units decide on step plans, some go for across-the-board increases (though these are usually very small), and some get an annuity. Since Brooklyn Public Library has relatively few employees, we have little power to make the decision. The only exception is for librarians, since the three public library systems constitute most of the librarians in the bargaining unit.

At this point, all units have concluded their bargaining, and almost everyone has been paid—some of you so long ago you’ve probably forgotten. The custodians and maintainers settled first and were paid in the summer of 2002. Special officers got their increase in March 2002. Clericals who were eligible (and because of the bargaining, this only affected entry level office aides who had worked more than one year and less than five) were paid in December 2002. MVOs settled and were paid in the summer of 2003. Librarians settled late in 2003. Some were paid in late December 2003, but when the library discovered an error in the payments, they held off paying the rest. When the error is corrected, everyone will receive their increase.

Labor - Management Meeting
We held an all-day Labor-Management meeting late in January. Among the issues discussed were the clusters, staffing problems, temporary reassignments, branch health and safety issues, issues of individual work groups, training, and hours of service. It sometimes seems that we go over the same issues repeatedly with no results, but sometimes the process just takes a long time. For instance, we brought up our concerns with the 12-6 branch schedule as soon as it was instituted. We know that it was only recently changed, but we feel that we did play a part in the switch to more reasonable hours. We emphasized the difficulty in staffing when the lunch hour had to be factored in.

Recurring Increment Payments
Clerical Titles, Effective July 1, 2002

Disclaimer: Please note that this schedule is being distributed for informational purposes only. Every effort has been made to insure its accuracy. However, DC 37 and Local 1482 are not responsible for, nor will pay damages for, any inaccuracies, either in fact, or arising from varying interpretations of the information provided.

The application of RIPs to the salary of any individual must be reviewed through proper procedures. If you think that your salary is not correct, based upon this or other information, please first contact the Human Resources Department. If, after their review, you still feel that your salary is not correct, please contact the local office.

Recurring Increment Payments
Clerical Titles, Effective July 1, 2002

Disclaimer: Please note that this schedule is being distributed for informational purposes only. Every effort has been made to insure its accuracy. However, DC 37 and Local 1482 are not responsible for, nor will pay damages for, any inaccuracies, either in fact, or arising from varying interpretations of the information provided.

The application of RIPs to the salary of any individual must be reviewed through proper procedures. If you think that your salary is not correct, based upon this or other information, please first contact the Human Resources Department. If, after their review, you still feel that your salary is not correct, please contact the local office.

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