Protest Delay on Contract
Day-Care Staff: City Stalling

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

Several dozen District Council 1707 day-care workers marched around the outskirts of City Hall last week to convince Mayor Bloomberg to "quit stalling" and settle their contract.

The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang 'NOT WAITING FOR SUMMER': DC 1707 Executive Director Raglan George said the city was stalling contract negotiations and that members, who have been working under an expired contract since March 31, would continue to hit the streets to get a contract before the city budget process concludes by July 1.

The protest came the day after DC 1707's May 7 bargaining session that left union leaders frustrated when the city failed to produce an offer for the third meeting in a row. A larger rally for members, who have been working under an expired contract since March 31, is planned for May 15, with other unions on the invite list.

Pact Hostage to Ruling?

"Our contract hasn't been settled," said DC 1707 Executive Director Raglan George, "and what's holding it up is the arbitration."

Mr. George said the two sides were not very far apart on the core issues, but that an arbitration ruling that granted union contract rights to 600 day-care workers currently not recognized by the city is causing the city to delay the process.

The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang  WORKS MORE, PAID LESS: Lizette Incarnacion, an Assistant Teacher at Nuestros Ninos day-care center, said she works harder for less pay than city school Teachers. 'Let the Mayor respect us enough to give us the pay we deserve,' she said at last week's rally.

"First of all, we're not the employer," responded Labor Commissioner James F. Hanley, "so we're not giving them an offer anyways. Second of all, we have met with them, and so I have no idea what they're talking about if they're saying we're stalling around the arbitration."

Mr. Hanley has long contended that the union's quarrel should be with its primary employer, the Day Care Council. DC 1707's 7,000 day-care employees work in centers that are funded by the city, but run by nonprofits that are represented by the Day Care Council. The union in turn has argued that because the city must guarantee the funding to cover wage hikes and other benefits, it is ultimately responsible.

Sees a Paradox

"The city is trying to separate itself," said Mr. George, "but Hanley's the one who sits across the table from us."

Mr. Hanley added that he told DC 1707 officials he hoped to get back to them within two weeks.

Mr. George said the union was willing to accept a deal modeled after DC 37's contract, which included wage increases of 9.42 percent over 32 months, but that the city has yet to make an offer. One additional sticking point is the union's request to remove its members from the city's central health insurance plan and include them in the union-administered plan, which Mr. George said would save the city and his members money.

Mr. Hanley said that the union never raised the health insurance issue with him.

"We're not the problem and we can't be the solution," said Mr. George. "That's why we're out here. This administration has attracted some people who don't know what they're doing. I'm sure this is not what the Mayor proposed in terms of his child-care agenda."

City Balks on Recognition

DC 1707 won an arbitration in February 2006 that ruled that employees who were transferred into an after-school program under a different city agency, but were doing the same jobs, should still be recognized members of DC 1707's bargaining unit. The union has filed suit in Federal court to force the city to comply with the ruling.

Lizette Incarnacion, who has worked for 17 years at Nuestros Ninos in Brooklyn, was one of the employees displaced by the city's after-school care shift. She managed to get a job in another department in the day-care center, although at a lower job title. Half the staff in her program lost their jobs last September.

"We work more than Teachers, but we're paid so much less," said the Assistant Teacher, who arrives at the center at 8 a.m. and usually leaves at 6 p.m. "I think we deserve to be paid just as much. If we get our qualifications, let the Mayor respect us enough to give us the pay we deserve."

Starting salaries for certified Teachers in the city-funded day-care centers are about $12,000 lower than those in the city's public schools.

Other union officials thought Mr. Bloomberg was putting day-care centers at the bottom of his list of budget needs.

'Giving Us the Crumbs'

"It's just not a priority for them," said Luz Santiago, DC 1707's field services director. "They're just waiting and saying to us, you'll get whatever comes at the end, the crumbs. It's just so disrespectful."

The city is working with a $4.4-billion surplus, and the budget must be approved by the Mayor and the City Council by July 1.

"We're not waiting until July," said Mr. George, who promised a series of escalating actions until the contract was settled.

At the end of the march, Mr. George told the members assembled to spread the word about the May 15 rally.

"We're not going to be shutting down the centers," he said, "but you can bring the children with you and we'll set up a safe area for them."

One member asked if the union would bring more signs to the next rally. "Yes," answered Mr. George, "and keep them, because we're going to be using them a lot."