UFT Represents Administrative Law Judges

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

The United Federation of Teachers has welcomed 250 per-diem Administrative Law Judges into its ranks.

The judges, who work in various city agencies including the Environmental Control Board, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Taxi and Limousine Commission, voted 221 to 7 to join the UFT.

Needed Union Clout

A group of the per-diem judges, who previously had no union representation, approached the UFT last fall with concerns about inequitable salaries, a lack of benefits, an absence of due-process rights and haphazard case-scheduling.

In February, the UFT filed a representation petition with the city's Office of Collective Bargaining. The city objected, arguing that the per-diem judges belonged in an existing unit of full-time attorneys represented by the Civil Service Bar Association (CSBA), an affiliate of the Teamsters.

But in July, OCB ruled in favor of the UFT and ordered an election. Ballots were mailed out in August and the vote was certified Sept. 10. The union is in the process of formulating demands for the bargaining unit and officials hope to start contract negotiations this fall.