Rule 410 Admin. Managers Belong in CWA Local 1180

ARTHUR CHELIOTES: 'Victory will correct injustice.'

More than 400 city Administrative Managers will be unionized as members of Communications Workers of America Local 1180 under a decision by the Office of Collective Bargaining's Board of Certification in a case that dragged on for 15 years.

Most of those involved were interviewed and surveyed about their tasks and responsibilities by the union and the Board, the results of which disproved the city's claim that Administrative Managers were too actively involved in policy formation to be part of a labor union.

Calls Salaries 'Outrageous'

Local 1180 President Arthur Cheliotes called it a victory for the 410 affected workers, who he said were grievously underpaid, starting at $45,758. "The city for a very long time has suppressed the Administrative Managers' salary because they were not covered by collective bargaining," he said in a phone interview. "It's outrageous that the city can dare to call someone a manager and pay them the salaries they were paying them. That's an injustice, and it will be corrected."

MARLENE A. GOLD: 'Not policy-makers.'

Administrative Managers, Levels I and II, work in almost every city agency. Their general responsibilities include managing offices engaged in data entry, payroll functions, clerical work, facilities management, bookkeeping and the collection of revenue.

OCB Director Marlene A. Gold noted that the Administrative Managers have no history of collective bargaining. They have been represented by the Managerial Employees Association, an advocacy group that lacks formal bargaining rights.

Local 1180 first filed its petition seeking to unionize the Administrative Managers in April 1994. "We had to just about interview every person, so scheduling and hearings and allocation of time to do that is just very time-consuming, and here we are 15 years later," said Mr. Cheliotes. "It was a very painstaking, very difficult process, and we slugged it out, job by job, person by person."

Did Duties Exempt Them?

The city argued that the Administrative Managers were too high up in their agencies to be eligible for union status. "They have been assigned duties relating to labor relations, budget allocation and formulation, personnel administration and discipline," city lawyers told the BCB. Local 1180 countered that all decisions made "must be approved by higher-level employees," and that "similarly situated employees" had been found eligible for bargaining before.

After testimony from more than 300 of the managers, the board decided that, save for 30 employees, the workers could not be barred from unionizing. "They do not formulate policy, do not have a significant involvement in labor relations or personnel administration, and do not assist in a confidential capacity a manager who has significant involvement in labor relations," said Ms. Gold.

The MEA decried the decision. "Reclassifying management positions to non-managerial status creates a barrier to an employee's managerial advancement and limits executive management's work assignment prerogatives," said Executive Director Linda A. Barnes in a statement. "Combining managers and non-managerial employees into one bargaining unit impedes management/employee interaction and relations."

MEA: Will Cost City

The MEA also predicted that the city would have to spend more money as a result of the decision. "This reclassification will create a distinct possibility of increased costs in overtime and pension benefits in these difficult economic times. Non-managers are entitled to overtime, longevity, and shift differentials—managers are not," said Ms. Barnes.

Mr. Cheliotes said that there were still several steps to follow before the Administrative Managers joined Local 1180. "After we get our committee together, the city has to transfer the welfare fund and start negotiating. We're initiating those steps to do that," he said.

He said that negotiations would be especially tricky due to the managers' relatively low pay, which in some cases fell below that of some Local 1180 members in lesser titles. "The city thinks that giving people a title is enough," Mr. Cheliotes said. "You've got to give them compensation. If you want to have a manager, then treat someone like a manager, and start by paying them a decent wage."

The city's fiscal problems will also be an issue in negotiations, Mr. Cheliotes admitted, but he said the union would press on. "In some ways it's kind of surreal, when you're going to meetings and negotiating layoffs, and then going to meetings to negotiate pay increases," he said.

He also plans to push to represent more low-level managers in the future, noting that Local 1180 was originally called the Municipal Management Society. "We think there's many more managers that would like to join the union, given the option, and be assured across-the-board pay increases, benefits and overtime protection, someone who can effectively bargain on their behalf," he said.