Ballots Out This Week
MEA Leader Has Opposition

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

Managerial Employees Association President Stephen M. Ferrer will be challenged for re-election by Arthur Pirozzi Jr., the acting chapter leader at the Parks Department, when ballots to elect officers are mailed out Oct. 26.

MANAGING FOR MANAGERS: Managerial Employees Association President Steve Ferrer (left) says he deserves re-election based on his performance in office, but challenger Arthur Pirozzi contends the organization has not done a strong-enough job of recruiting members to maximize its clout.

Mr. Pirozzi says he wants to increase the membership of the 1,800-strong city managers' advocacy group and improve relations with City Hall. Mr. Ferrer, a two-term incumbent, points to an increase of over 100 members, improved legal services, and raises totaling more than 15.5 percent in the past four years as proof of his effectiveness. Each candidate is also fielding a full slate for the board of directors. Joel Fishelson is running as an independent candidate for director at large.

Losing Clout?

Mr. Pirozzi, who is the Parks Director of Telecommunications, argued that an unfocused approach to membership has allowed the group's influence to wane. "One of the issues they always talk about is the membership numbers, and it's a big problem," he said, "but I don't really see what they are effectively doing to change that around."

There are about 8,000 active city managers and of MEA's 1,800 members, about 400 are retirees. Mr. Pirozzi, who began working at Parks as a driver in 1973, said that the membership growth at his agency was a model that could be translated citywide. He said that an effort he led over a four-month period increased the membership there from 23 to about 60 members.

Mr. Ferrer, who began working for the city in 1972, defended his administration's record, noting that due to Office of Collective Bargaining decisions, about 400 members were lost to unions, such as Local 1180 of the Communication Workers of America. He said that his efforts have nonetheless allowed the overall membership to grow by more than 100 members since he came into office. A recent Freedom of Information Law request, which netted the names of all the employees eligible to join the MEA, will also bring in more members, he asserted. He added that he would be in favor of hiring an organizer to move the process forward.

Mr. Pirozzi's slate believes that the MEA's relationship with the Bloomberg administration has become too confrontational, pointing to an effort recently in which the MEA considered affiliating with the Office and Professional Employees International Union, a national labor union.

(Because they are managers, MEA members are prohibited from joining unions. The group acts as an advocate but lacks formal collective-bargaining rights.)

Hanley Displeased

After Labor Relations Commissioner James F. Hanley expressed displeasure with the idea, the group backed off, but Mr. Pirozzi said it was an example of an unnecessarily adversarial relationship.

"If we go with our hat in hand, looking for raises, of course the city wants something in return," he said. "They want to know, 'What will managers do for us?' There should be a two-way street, and I think there can be." By way of example, he argued that improved professional development could lead to higher productivity.

Mr. Ferrer, who retired from the Administration for Children's Services in 2006, disagreed and asserted that the MEA had an excellent working relationship with City Hall. He noted the 1-percent productivity raise the group secured, which some unions did not receive, and attributed it to the good working relationship between the group and Mr. Hanley.

'Has To Be Trust'

He said that MEA was approached by OPEIU, and began to discuss the advantages of affiliation, especially in the area of benefits such as life insurance. He said those conversations led to the group's offer of PerksCard, which gives members discounts on various consumer goods. But he emphasized that when Mr. Hanley said he was "troubled" by the idea of affiliation, "we stepped back." He added, "Obviously the relationship with the Office of Labor Relations has to be based on mutual trust, and we were not interested in doing anything that would be seen as threatening."

Mr. Fishelson, who is the current chair of MEA's Organization Committee, said that his candidacy was an effort to unify a board that has been traditionally divided into factions. "I've worked with both sides, and I feel that I would be able to bring the kind of focus that could enable the board to address the members' problems," said the independent candidate, who retired in 2002 as the Director for Fiscal and Program Integrity at the Human Resources Administration.

He added that membership growth was a central priority and that his record of working with members of both teams showed that he could help to bring the sides together. "In the recruitment area, my belief is that the scope of effort has not been of the magnitude necessary," he said. "The membership numbers are basically stagnant."

Calls for Term Limits

Mr. Pirozzi is also proposing term limits, which he sees as a way of enhancing the health of the organization. "Even the Mayor only gets two terms," he said. "When people are in office for a while, they get tired; they might lose some interest, and other things can distract you."

Mr. Ferrer said he was willing to discuss the issue, but as a general rule he was against term limits in most political institutions. "Term limits limit democracy," he said. "I think if someone's not doing their job, they'll throw the bum out."

Mr. Pirozzi was also displeased by a vote for a dues increase during a meeting last year. He said there were only about 35 members in attendance and that the decision should have been made by mail ballot. Mr. Ferrer said that he would support changing the by-laws to institute mail ballots for dues increases, but that he believed there were at least 60 people at the meeting.

Mr. Ferrer asserted that the past four years had brought overall improvements to the benefits and salaries of MEA members. "I've done a good job for the members, and I have the experience that's necessary," he said.

Points to Improvements

He noted that members now have access to free legal services for job-related issues whereas previously they had to pay a reduced fee. He also asserted that before his administration, there had not been across-the-board raises for managers.

His agenda for the next two years is to win longevity increases and merit-based raises, and to equalize terminal leave benefits so that managers get paid for the same number of accrued sick days as non-managerial staff. He has been meeting with city officials to create a standardized evaluation procedure, which he said would be the basis of implementing a merit increase program.

The presidential candidates and Mr. Fishelson are scheduled to participate in a debate on Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. at 180 Water St. in Manhattan.

The candidates on Mr. Pirozzi's slate are: incumbent executive vice president James Durrah, Jeffrey Talen for treasurer, Edward M. Yood for recording secretary, and Iris N. Rodriguez-Rosa and incumbent Jesse J. Woodbury for directors at large.

The candidates on Mr. Ferrer's slate are: Willie Maye Jr. for executive vice president, Victoria Pitchford for treasurer, Joseph Ramaglia for recording secretary, and Eric M. Ambrose and Darrell Sims for directors at large.