Parks Gives 17 Foresters Pay Jump of $6,800

By HOWARD MEGDAL

Seventeen Foresters with the Parks Department won raises of about $6,800 along with promotions from Title I to Title II under a grievance settlement between the department and their union, Civil Service Technical Guild Local 375 of District Council 37.

The department acknowledged the union's claims that the employees cited in the grievance were working on tasks that exceeded the Level I title.

'A Better Fit'

"We agreed to move them all from Level I to Level II of the title since Level II was a better fit for the work they are performing for the Agency," Parks Department spokesman Warner Johnston said in an Oct. 3 e-mail.

Local 375 Vice President Jon Forster hailed the settlement. "These specialized tasks call for scientific knowledge, professional skills and budgeting know-how," he said. Lead grievant John Mueller said his frustration level rose as his title didn't.

"As our duties increased and people weren't promoted, we saw clearly that we weren't doing Level I work," he said.

Local 375 President Claude Fort also praised the decision, saying that "Parks did the right thing by providing for across-the-board promotions."