News

Some payroll problems resolved

There is some relief in sight for our summer payroll travails!

UFT President Randi Weingarten and union staff have been working tirelessly over the summer to deal with the multiple payroll problems created by the DOE as it moved nurses, occupational therapists and physical therapists to a 10-month work year.

The DOE told us that it will pay arrears in the Aug. 11 paycheck to the 165 physical therapists, occupational therapists and nurses that did not get paid for working July 3-14 because the DOE mislaid their time sheets.

The DOE paid arrears on July 28 to the 736 OTs, PTs and nurses who were not paid for their work on June 29 and 30.

We want to thank those of you who made your concerns known to the DOE and to us. We encourage you to stay involved in defending your workplace rights when this crisis is over. We are looking for delegates and board members for the chapter. If you are interested, please contact Leslie McDonnell at lmcdonnell@uft.org.

More progress made on summer payroll woes

 The DOE agreed to significant changes in its summer payroll practices concerning occupational therapists, physical therapists and nurses in response to a union-initiated grievance filed in July.

Following a Step 3 hearing on Aug. 11, the DOE agreed to switch to a pay rate that includes educational differentials and longevities and to pay arrears to affected employees. It also agreed that full-time OTs, PTs and nurses should accrue sick time during the summer (one day per month), be paid for the two orientation days, and be paid for the five minutes before the start of the day that they were mandated to work.

The DOE also said it would pay arrears to the OTs, PTs and nurses who had union dues taken out of both their regular and summer checks.

The DOE continues, however, to refuse to pay July 4 as a holiday.

The union-initiated grievance was filed to rectify a litany of summer payroll problems afflicting OTs, PTs and nurses as a result of the DOE’s flawed implementation of the new 10-month work year.

“Because of management’s lack of cooperation and planning, no one who worked over the summer was paid correctly,” said McDonnell, the OT/PT chapter leader. “I’m just glad that most of the issues are finally being resolved.”