Could Affect Other Unions

Nassau Must Give COs Withheld Pay

By REUVEN BLAU

A Federal judge has ordered Nassau County to pay its Correction Officers the money it withheld as part of a lag payroll plan to help reduce expenditures and avert layoffs during the district's 1999 fiscal crisis.

JOHN DUER: 'Ecstatic' about ruling.

The decision will likely cost the county $2.6 million to repay the 1,100 officers, but the ruling could have far greater ramifications, insiders said.

A Me-Too Clause

The other Long Island-based unions may argue that their members should also be paid, because their Lag Payroll Agreement (LPA) included a provision that specified the deal was only valid if all the county's main labor organizations were included. Compensating those workers may cost the county as much as $20 million next year, sources said. In December 1999, then-Nassau County Executive Tom Gulotta met with all the county's unions and advised them that employees would be laid off unless they could agree to certain cost-saving measures.

The unions agreed to a lag payroll, which allowed the county to defer 10 days of pay for each union member over the course of 10 bi-weekly pay periods. The deferred money would be returned only after employees left their jobs.

THOMAS R. SUOZZI: Liability may grow.

At the time of that discussion and subsequent agreement, the Nassau County Sheriff Officers' Association (ShOA) was in the midst of negotiating a new contract. The LPA for the ShOA stipulated that it would only be valid after a new accord was ratified. But the union's deal was never finalized, and ShOA's renegotiated contract did not include any mention of the LPA.

Fought Enforcement

Nonetheless, in September 2003, the county moved to lag the pay of ShOA members, contending that the union had been given proper notice. The union objected and sued, charging that withholding pay from its members violated the contract. "Our argument was that lag was only tied to our first contract, and that was turned down," said Brian Sullivan, the union's first vice president.

In a Sept. 12 decision, U.S. District Judge Arthur D. Spatt of the Eastern District of New York ruled in favor of the union. "The actions taken by the county were clearly unauthorized," he concluded. The decision noted that the county acknowledged that its authorization was based solely on the LPA, which lower courts ruled was not part of the ShOA deal.

ShOA officials hailed the ruling. "We are ecstatic about it," ShOA President John Duer remarked during a Sept. 21 phone interview. The average officer stands to receive $2,400, he said.

Says Union Reneged

"The county believed that it had a deal in exchange for no layoffs," responded Dan McCray, Nassau's Director of Labor Relations. "The county and all the other unions lived up to their side of the bargain, and were disappointed that the ShOA hasn't."

He added, "We respect the decision, but we disagree. The County Attorney is reviewing her options." The ShOA blamed County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi's lack of attention for the problem. The union contends that he has failed to address the issue and other contract matters because he was busy with his unsuccessful campaign for Governor in the Democratic primary against Eliot Spitzer.

"We haven't heard a word from Tom Suozzi since he was running for Governor," Mr. Duer asserted. "He had his underlings running the county."

The union president said he would not be "bullied" by Mr. Suozzi. "He's looking for savings as well as looking for a potential disaster," Mr. Duer added.

Overtime Dispute

Further complicating matters are the current heated contract talks between county negotiators and ShOA. The wage dispute seemed to be resolved in August 2005, when both sides announced a tentative six-year agreement that included a provision to end excessive overtime at the Nassau County Correctional Center.

A week before the proposed deal was announced, it was revealed that one Correction Officer earned $224,903 over the previous year with the help of 1,040 hours of overtime. The county also claims that the average officer earns $100,000 annually by supplementing his or her salary working overtime, an assertion the union vehemently denies.

"Today's announcement makes clear two simple facts: this was a contract this administration inherited. And this won't happen again," Mr. Suozzi told reporters last summer.

Legislature Vetoed Deal

The tentative deal provided a 20-percent raise over six years, starting with a 2.5 percent hike in 2005 and a 3.5 percent boost for each of the next five years, as well as a six-month wage freeze in 2008.

But the accord was rejected by the State Legislature after it was revealed that Nassau's other unions had the ability to demand similar benefits under their "me-too" clauses. Changing all those deals could have cost the state an additional $140 million. Referring to Mr. Suozzi and the lag pay order, Mr. Sullivan said, "What is he going to do, close all the parks and cut social services to pay back the money he should have given us four or five years ago?"