CO Steady Tour Bill is Approved By City Council;
COBA Happy; Capts. Still Wary About Later Impact

By REUVEN BLAU

The City Council Oct. 25 unanimously approved the Correction Department's plan to shift thousands of additional officers into steady tours.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow 'PUT STABILITY IN COs' LIVES': Correction Officers' Benevolent Association President Norman Seabrook tells a City Council committee that working rotating duty tours regularly 'is very stressful [and] physically draining.'

Increasing the number of fixed tours will help stabilize officer schedules, enhance staff accountability, and enable the agency to expand its plan to deploy supervisors in larger jails, according to the department and the correction unions.

'Cuts Fatigue, Ups Morale'

"When you look at the fact that it is going to benefit over 4,000 Correction Officers, of course I'm going to be in favor of it," said Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., the chair of the Civil Service and Labor Committee, during an Oct. 26 phone interview. "It eliminates fatigue and increases morale; there is little reason not to support the measure."

The plan was agreed to by city negotiators and the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association as part of the union's September 2005 contract. The vast majority of COs are in favor of increased steady tours, COBA President Norman Seabrook told the Council during an Oct. 24 hearing examining the issue.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow 'HEY, MARTY, WHADDAYA WANNA DO?': Labor Commissioner James F. Hanley makes sure his conversation with Correction Commissioner Martin F. Horn stays private during their testimony at a City Council hearing on legislation to give more Correction Officers steady work tours.

"The bottom line is that working the wheel is very stressful, physically draining, and antiquated," he testified, referring to the rotating tours that have been customary. "Although it has not yet been proven, I strongly suspect that it's detrimental to the health of Correction Officers."

The measure, Intro. 370, was also supported by the Assistant Deputy Wardens'/ Deputy Wardens' Association. But the Correction Captains' Association opposed the change, arguing that the legislation was vaguely worded and might enable the Commissioner to change staffing levels and force officers to work undesirable tours, a contention those supporting the measure vehemently denied.

Downplays Concerns

"He's doing his job as president of his union," Mr. Addabbo remarked. "I'm quite convinced that you can implement Intro. 370 and not affect his workers."

Labor Commissioner James F. Hanley testified before the Council that he was unaware of any opposition to the measure. "I didn't hear any specific objections from anybody, including the Captains," he asserted after his testimony.

The full Council later approved the amendment, which also repealed Section 9-116 of the city's Administrative Code that required the Correction Commissioner to institute a system of rotating tours based on a law enacted in 1939.

Mr. Seabrook emphasized that minimizing rotating tours would greatly enhance the lives of his members. "We have to put stability in people's lives," he testified. "We have to take that 1939 antiquated piece of legislation that was established when the Correction Department had 55 people in it and do something with it."

Drastic Shifts in Hours

Most new officers work rotating shifts of 8 hours and 31 minutes, which often change from night to day tours after each week. The rotating tours are colloquially known as the "wheel." The majority of officers eventually transfer into an open steady shift, enabling them to maintain a routine schedule outside of work.

A small group of officers spend their entire careers working rotating shifts. Those officers, however, can't maintain a steady sleep pattern and often have difficulty scheduling basic personal appointments, DOC and COBA officials testified.

Correction Commissioner Martin F. Horn has maintained that no officers will be forced to work steady shifts under the measure. In an interview with this newspaper two weeks before the hearing, he threatened to put all officers back on the wheel if the legislation was blocked by any union.

Mr. Meringolo, who testified at the end of the hearing, stressed that he was not against expanding the use of steady tours but voiced concern about the bill's wording. "I'm not going to give up something I fought so hard for," he asserted. "All I've asked for is to be included on the dance floor."

Staffing Issue

CCA attorney Harry Greenberg added, "We don't want our current rights being trampled." The CCA has several arbitration decisions which require the department to maintain specific staffing levels in safety security areas.

Sidney Schwartzbaum, president of the Assistant Deputy Wardens'/Deputy Wardens' Association, initially had similar misgivings. But the Office of Labor Relations gave his union a "cover" letter, which specifically states that the measure is not designed to adversely affect his members.

The union, which represents second- and third-line supervisory personnel, has gained an additional 16 members under the expanded unit management plan, a method that uses more high-level managers to oversee smaller segments of large jails.

Other Outdated Clauses

Mr. Schwartzbaum also urged the Council to amend other sections of the city's Administrative Code that need to be updated. According to Section 9-116B, officers cannot be assigned to work for more than 10 hours, except in emergency situations. But the department routinely assigns officers to work added shifts to cover for officers who are out sick or injured, Mr. Schwartzbaum pointed out.

The department should not "cherry-pick" sections of the Administrative Code it wishes to amend, he testified.

Mr. Meringolo, who represents first-line supervisors, complained that the Bloomberg administration never discussed the plan with his union before "rushing" to implement it. "I was made aware that Intro. 370 existed quite by accident," he testified. "We should have been notified that there was going to be a change ... and we should have had meetings to resolve our differences."

Mr. Addabbo acknowledged that the lack of communication was an issue. "I do believe there could have been better negotiations and better information exchanged between the administration and the unions," he remarked. "But when all the dust settles, a vast majority of the workers are in favor of it."