Painters Color HA Layoffs Retaliatory For Past Criticism

By RICHARD STEIER

The union representing Supervisor Painters has obtained a temporary restraining order blocking their layoff by the Housing Authority until a judge decides a lawsuit alleging their jobs are being eliminated because of the union president's criticism of HA policies.

STEPHEN MELISH: Says lawsuit riled HA.

Bronx Supreme Court Justice Patricia Williams's action prevents the HA from adding 59 employees in the title to 131 other workers who lost their jobs two weeks ago as part of a budgetary cutback.

The HA, which must reply by May 2 to the union's claim that the layoffs were retaliatory rather than fiscal in nature, declined comment because of the pending litigation except to say that it disagreed with Justice Williams's ruling but would respond "within the date given by the court."

Also Alleges Health Risks

Local 1969 of District Council 9 of the painters union included three HA tenants as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which also charges that the reductions in staff pose a risk to the health of both HA workers and those who live in the developments. The Supervisor Painters are responsible for overseeing the work done by both HA Painters and private contractors, who actually perform 90 percent of the painting work for the authority.

According to the court papers filed by Local 1969 attorney Robert B. Stulberg, more than 108,000 HA apartments are overdue to be painted, 72 of the 94 children's centers in the projects have not been painted for at least 10 years, and 24 of the HA's 25 day-care centers have not been painted during that span.

The union contended that the HA's plan to eliminate the entire Supervisor Painter workforce - there are 59 incumbents and another 22 positions that are currently unfilled - and have Housing Managers and Resident Building Superintendents assume their duties is a violation of the state Civil Service Law that will also create a health hazard.

'No Proper Supervision'

The union contends this would leave painting crews "without proper supervision, risking irreparable harm to residents' health, including exposure to lead-contaminated paint dust."

The Supervisor Painters would not actually leave the HA payroll if the layoffs go through; rather, they would be able to use their civil service rights to revert back to the lower title of Painter, displacing other employees with less seniority.

Last July, Mr. Stulberg's law firm sent a letter to HA Chairman Tino Hernandez alleging widespread violations of the Housing Maintenance Code requiring that tenants' apartments be repainted every three years. A month later, Local 1969 President Stephen Melish Jr. told Joseph P. Addabbo, the chairman of the City Council's Civil Service and Labor Committee, about the painting delays. In November, he complained about the same matter to the Chief of Staff for then-Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff.

'Not a Good Idea to Sue'

Two months later, the union sued to compel the HA to make appointments from a civil service list to 24 Painter positions that were vacant. A short time after that, Mr. Melish encountered HA General Manager Douglas Apple at Mayor Bloomberg's "State of the City" address. According to the lawsuit, Mr. Apple referred to Mr. Melish as "the guy who is suing us."

The union claims that another HA administrator, Robert Molamo, told Supervisor Painter Robert Pretta to talk to Mr. Melish because "I don't think it's a good idea to sue your boss or NYCHA."

The lawsuit contends that the announcement by the HA in late February that it was eliminating its Supervisor Painter jobs and transferring the job's duties to persons in other positions "was made in retaliation for Local 1969's open and repeated complaints about NYCHA's violations of the Housing Management Code."

Self-Supervision?

One top HA official, according to the lawsuit, subsequently told union representatives that outside contractors would supervise their own painting work.

The union also contends that in preparing the layoffs, the HA was improperly computing workers' seniority based on when they were first assigned to work rather than by the dates on which they were appointed to their jobs.

The suit asks Justice Williams to permanently prevent the layoffs and the reassignment of Supervisor Painters' duties and require the HA to proceed with the painting of all apartments in its developments on the mandated every-three-years schedule.