Presidents Report April 6, 2022
FLSA – On December 12, 2021, the City filed its appeal in the Perry litigation advancing three primary arguments: (1) that it should not be liable for unpaid pre-shift work because CityTime provided Plaintiffs with an opportunity to report the pre-shift time and request to be paid for it; (2) that a new trial on damages in necessary because the jury should have been asked whether all time recorded in CityTime is work time, not the question that it was asked, which was whether CityTime accurately records the work time at issue in the case (i.e., up to 15 minutes of pre-shift time and up to 15 minutes of post-shift time); and (3) that the lower court erred when it concluded as a matter of law that the EMTs’ post-shift equipment and information exchange was not de minimis.
On March 10, 2022, your attorneys at McGillivary Steele Elkin LLP (MSE) filed a forceful response in opposition to the City’s request for a new trial and to overturn the jury’s sound verdict. MSE argued that: (1) the jury had more than enough evidence to conclude that the FDNY had a policy or practice that suffered or permitted Plaintiffs to perform unpaid work prior to their shifts and that CityTime does not insulate the City from the jury’s finding of a willful FLSA violation; (2) that a new damages trial is unnecessary because the Court asked the correct question of the jury (i.e., does CityTime accurately record the unpaid work at issue); and (3) the City waived its right to ask the appellate court to overturn the lower court’s decision regarding the City’s de minimis defense, and, even if there was no waiver, the lower court’s de minimis decision was correct.
The City filed its reply brief on March 31, 2022 and has requested the Court of Appeals to schedule the matter for oral argument. MSE anticipates that the Court will schedule the oral argument in either the late spring or early summer.
Tier 6 – TELL ALBANY: FIX TIER 6 NOW!
Reforming the state’s pension system is critical for the state, local governments, school districts, and transportation systems to recruit and retain employees.We need your help. Together let’s tell Albany to FIX TIER 6! We must make employment in the public sector more appealing by making our pension system more competitive.
• Tier 6 passed in 2012 and dramatically reduced retirement benefits for public employees. Nearly 50% of all New York public sector workers are now in Tier 6.
• Tier 6 reduced the pension multiplier for workers, which reduces their retirement benefit.
• Tier 6 increased retirement contributions from 3% for all workers under previous pension tiers systems to a new “banded” system where employees contribute between 3% to 6% of their salary based on earnings, including overtime earnings.
• Tier 6 increased the time it takes to vest in the system from 5 years to 10 years. This leads to higher employee turnover as newer employees have less incentive to stay in the public sector.
TIER 6 REFORM PROPOSALS:
- Set employee pension contribution rates at 3% for ALL public workers. This is only fair and equitable.•Reduce employee vest time from 10 years to 5 years
- Reduce employee vest time from 10 years to 5 years.
- Increase the multiplier for tier 6 members to the same level as Tier 4 and Tier 5 members.
These reforms will significantly increase retirement benefits for future retirees. FIX TIER 6!
To see how to participate click Fix Tier 6! · AFSCME DC 37 (mobilize.us). Tell your State Legislator to Fix Tier 6 NOW! Call 844-959-1425 TODAY!
Gain Sharing – Maybe you forgot, but we didn’t.
Part of the 2017 contract ratification was that the city will share the savings with our members by going to 12 hour shifts.
Now that things are slowly going back to normal, we have asked the city to start those discussions again. We’ll advise as things develop.
FPI – A few of our Chief Inspectors recently had a wage adjustment on top of the wage increases ratified September 2021. As you know, there were discrepancies in wages.
City council testimony – On March 9th, 2022 the union testified at a city council hearing regarding ongoing issues with EMS & Fire Inspectors. From low staffing, lack of resources, lack of stations, and most importantly low wages.
Our equal pay campaign continues, we are again in discussions with our local elected leaders regarding the importance of having livable wages.
Today, April 6, 2022, we had another city council hearing (5 hours) regarding major safety issues within our city, twin parks fire. At this hearing I strongly expressed my displeasure with the FDNY on the poor resources both our fire inspectors and our EMS members are given, it is point blank offensive how the FDNY gives the council wrong information, which places the public and our members in danger.
We will post the testimony once it is made available.We encourage everyone to see how things went today.
Essential services – there is legislation in Albany to make EMS an essential service in NY State. Many communities are simply unable to provide services as volunteers are slowly dissipating and the cost of private EMS is too expensive to operate. Should this legislation pass, it would be the first in the state for public service.
Yadira arroyo medal – Yadira MedalMedal to annually honor a member (or members) of FDNY EMS who performs an exceptional act of bravery in the performance of their duties. This medal is named in honor of EMT Yadira Arroyo, who was killed in the line of duty March 16, 2017. This medal is sponsored by Local 2507….
The original design team:
PAR Chaz Perry
PAR Alex Tull
PAR Alexandra Torres
EMT Arthur Persaud
EMT Joel Rosado
Thank you to all those involved.
—
Oren Barzilay
President.
FDNY EMS Local 2507
Vice President’s report
Return to 8’s:
As you are all aware by now, the transition back to 8’s is postponed until October. The goal is not to eliminate 8’s. We want the transition back to be painless to the membership and down according to contract with your best interests in mind.
We feel a happy workforce is a productive workforce. Which in turn means better patient care and the public service in general.
Union Placards:
There has been a massive uptick in complaints regarding our placard usage. While a lot of them are fake placards which we ask to get towed, some are not. Our placards are a courtesy. They hold no city rights. With that in mind we ask that you do not share them. Please Park in legal spots. Do not block hydrants under any circumstance. Make sure the car information is up to date with the office. If we get a request to run a placard and they don’t match we will instruct them to tow the vehicle.
FMLA/Leave Request/Sick Leave:
Remember if you plan on being out for more than 30 consecutive days an extended leave form must be filled out. Even if you are calling the sick desk every day. If you fail to do so every absence after 30 days is considered AWOL. You should also be filling out an FMLA request through your Capt. This will prevent any absence from negatively affecting you on Evaluations, plus keep benefits if off payroll. Contact the office for help if you are having trouble.
—
Michael Greco
Vice President