Raises for City Managers

The
New
York
City
Manager
Spring 2015
www.nycmea.org
info@nycmea.com
Raises for City Managers
By Bendix Anderson
I
t’s been a long time in coming, but New managerial and Original Jurisdiction (OJ)
York City managers are finally getting employees working in the Mayoral
agencies.
raises.
“I’m happy that as many people are getting The raises include salary increases of 1
raises,” says Maria Delus, Deputy Agency percent a year effective September 2011,
Chief Contracting Officer for the Office of 2012 and 2013; 1.5 percent in 2014; 2.5
the Mayor's Fiscal Operations, one of the percent in 2015; 3.0 percent in 2016 and
attendees at a packed meeting of the 0.47 percent for the partial year ending in
general membership of the New York City July 2017.
Managerial Employees Association (MEA), The managers will also receive a lump sum
payment of $1,000. The retroactive raises
held March 5, 2015.
Managers are getting the same salary mean the City owes these managers back
increases as the raises won by unionized pay. The money, including the lump sum
employees in a contract ratified by District payment, should begin appearing in the
managers’ March 27 paychecks.
Council 37 last August, including both a
NON-MAYORAL AGENCIES
lump-sum payment to employees and
ON BOARD
salary increases totaling 10.47 percent
from September 2011 to July 2017. The Comptroller Scott Stringer’s managerial
wage increase reaches all the way back to employees will also begin receiving the
September 2011 – that means these three payments on March 27.
workers will receive substantial back pay.
“We applaud Comptroller Stringer for
NOT LAST IN LINE
issuing across the board raises, unlike
CWA Local 1180 has ratified an agreement Comptroller Thompson in 2009, when he
with the same percentage increases as refused to give raises to managers earning
MEA and DC 37. The Organization of Staff over $90,000,” said President Eber.
Analysts is still in negotiations with the “Those managers had to wait until June of
City. “Our members will be receiving their 2010, when Comptroller Liu corrected the
raises before many of their subordinates”, inequity after meeting with Linda Barnes
said MEA President Stu Eber. “We are not and me.”
last in line this time. The de Blasio Managers and confidential employees at
Administration deserves praise for the School Construction Authority received
recognizing the importance of managers.” the same deal. They already received the
So far, while no managers have been left $1,000 bonus on February 27 and will get
out, some managers are waiting for an the retroactive pay on March 27, according
to a memo from Lorraine Grillo, President
official announcement.
and CEO of SCA.
“We are awaiting confirmation from all
agencies regarding their payroll actions,” The Department of Education plans to
says Stu Eber. “We will continue to update begin issuing the same three payments in
all our members when we have definite April. The Health and Hospitals
Corporation is also making these
information.”
payments this Spring.
The first wave of raises for city managers
GOOD NEWS FOR NYCHA
came in two personnel orders signed by
Mayor de Blasio and announced Jan. 30 Managers at the New York City Housing
b y M E A . T h e o r d e r s c o v e r 1 0 , 4 0 0 Authority (NYCHA) are getting the raises
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City Managers react to the good news at
the MEA March meeting.
– including retroactive raises and a lump
sum payment, according to a March 11
memo sent by Kenya Salaudeen,
NYCHA’s Director of Human Resources.
That’s especially good news. In 2009,
NYCHA gave its managers zero percent a
year for 2008 and 2009. After President
Eber and Executive Director Linda Barnes
met with the new NYCHA Chairman, John
Rhea, in 2010, the NYCHA managers
received raises of two percent a year over
those two years. That’s still less than the
two raises of four percent a year that the
managers at mayoral agencies received in
2009.
“The NYCHA managers will be receiving
their raises sometime in April 2015,” says
Mr. Eber. “What a difference from the
zeroes of 2008 and 2009. CEO Shola
Olatoye really came through for her
managers!”
Bits
& Pieces
By Linda A. Barnes, NYC MEA Executive Director
2014: IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR
Each year, we take steps within the New York City Managerial Employees Association (NYC MEA) to focus
upon achieving goals within our strategic plan and improving the core areas of our business. In 2014, the
MEA developed the slogan “We’ve Got Your Back”. This means ensuring that our members understood our
support and advocacy tactics related to their concerns; seeking organizational strength through new
members and retention of our current members; continuing our efforts toward improving visibility; and
continuing to enhance and improve our ability to communicate with our members. We are proud to cite the
following achievements for 2014.
record-breaking achievement of 530
new members. In 2013, we enrolled
343 new members. The 550 new
Finally, raises were approved for
members’ applications are reflected in
managerial employees! On January
a 38% increase in member enrollment
20, 2015, Mayor de Blasio signed off
since December 2009.
on Mayor’s Personnel Orders 2015/1
and 2015/2 approving salary increases Executive Vice President Shelly
of 10.42% from September 2011 – Shulman, in accordance with our
July 1, 2017 for approximately 10,400 bylaws, conducted Chapter Elections
City managers in the Mayoral for all 24 MEA chapters. We
agencies. These are across-the- conducted a total 61 visits to chapter
board raises for all managers and locations and other City agencies
Original Jurisdiction employees on during 2014.
payroll. Additionally, the approval
MEMBER SERVICES
also included an unprecedented
$1,000
lump
sum
payment. In 2014, we responded to 426 member
President Stu Eber advocated for services requests. This represents a
these
provisions
and
the 48% increase over the 2013 totals
administration listened! These are (203 requests). Members reached out
significant achievements for all non- to us for help regarding EEO hearings,
union employees.
agency internal operational conflicts,
We cannot forget how NYCHA Management Benefits Fund questions,
managers received no raises 2009 and pension or legal services referrals.
and only 2% and 2% after our Director-at-Large Joel Fishelson and
advocacy in 2010. DOE and SCA his Organization Committee continue
managers did not receive 4% and 4% to find ways to improve our member
either. They received reduced raises benefits, both as City managers and
in 2010. Comptroller Bill Thompson did as MEA members
not give his managers earning
“I NEVER HEARD OF
$90,000 or more raises in 2009.
THE MEA BEFORE”
Comptroller John Liu did so after our
advocacy in 2010. HHC waited five
“I never heard of the MEA before”.
months before processing the raises
in 2009. What a difference for This is a statement we hear less often
as we travel throughout the city to
thousands of managers!
various locations. This is a clear
RECRUITMENT: COMMITTING TO indicator that our interaction with our
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS (SIN) members is yielding a positive effect.
For Calendar Year 2014, we ended the President Stu Eber, Executive Vice
year by enrolling 550 new members. President Shelly Shulman, Treasurer
This is better than our Year 2010 Warren Lewis, Director-at-Large Joel
ADVOCACY:
SHOW ME THE MONEY !
Fishelson and I completed a total of
143 activities in City agency offices.
This includes the 61 on-site
recruitmenteeffortsementioned
previously,eplusethreeeGeneral
Membership meetings held for
members, 42 meet and greet sessions
with city or agency officials, 20
employee motivational events, plus
other activities. We have been asked
by agency executive leadership to
return and continue our collaborative
discussions. Members are now
contacting the MEA office and
requesting our presence for Lunch and
Learn sessions or other special
events.
This is an incredible
achievement that has not occurred in
prior years.
CONCLUSION
We are very proud of our
accomplishments for the MEA during
Calendar Year 2014. My sincere
appreciation is extended to President
Stu Eber for his on-going leadership,
Executive Vice President Shelly
Shulman, Treasurer Warren Lewis,
Recording
Secretary
Michelle
Centeno, Director–At-Large Joel
Fishelson, Former Director-At-Large
Cynthia Vail, Executive Board
Members/Chapter Directors and most
of all my staff. It would be impossible
to accomplish any goals for the
organization without our total team
effort With the ongoing support of the
MEA Officers, staff and the members,
we are confident that we will achieve
significant goals in 2015.
New Director-At-Large for MEA
By Bendix Anderson
Carol David may soon visit your agency
as part of her new role as MEA DirectorAt-Large.
“My goals are to really promote the
benefits of MEA – and to meet the
members where they are,” says Ms.
David.
In February, Carol David was elected
unanimously by the Executive Board as
one of MEA’s two Directors-At-Large.
She and Joel Fishelson, MEA’s other
Director-At-Large, help MEA members
make connections across city agencies
and help solve problems that affect MEA
members in multiple agencies.
“Being Director-At-Large is like being an
ombudsman,” says Ms. David. “We help
members with issues with benefits, or
personal situations or with other
problems that filter across the borders
between agencies.”
She has already served for years as the
Department of Homeless Services
Chapter Director, representing her
agency and working together with the
officers and staff to help colleagues
access the benefits of MEA
membership and handle the challenges
of working in City government. She has
been an MEA member since 1999.
Ms. David is taking over her new role
from the outgoing Director-At-Large
Cynthia Vail, another long-time MEA
member. Ms. Vail has acted as an
advocate for diversity at all managerial
levels and for the civil service merit
system. She also organized a series of
events that brought MEA members
together, including the recent Holiday
Scholarship Party.
Ms. David serves as the Assistant
Commissioner in the Office of Client
Accountability and Compliance of the
New York City Department
Homeless Services.
of
MEA Director-At-Large Carol David will
help members make connections and
solve problems across agencies.
“We ensure that clients have what they
need,” says Carol David.
MEMBER PROFILE:
Iris Rodriguez
By Vanessa DeSantis
in the case who had some serious
issues.”
Recently someone mentioned a name
and Ms. Rodriguez instantly recognized
the same woman she had helped -over eighteen years ago.
Ms. Rodriguez has been an MEA
member for many years and
appreciates the support that MEA
provides. “It’s good to know there’s
someone out there looking out for us as
managers,” she said.
Associate Commissioner Iris Rodriguez
Iris Rodriguez has a good memory.
After years as a case manager at the
Department of Homeless Services, she
still remembers names and faces from
her first days on the job.
“I remember starting off as a fraud
investigator. There was this one woman
Currently promoted to the position of
Associate Commissioner for Shelter
Operations, Ms. Rodriguez now
manages over a hundred cases, a
sharp increase from the smaller
portfolio of 20 cases in her last job
where she dealt with adult families and
veterans in 25 facilities.
“It’s interesting going from 20 to 100.
But I’m a fast-paced person, so I tend
to like it.”
But there are tradeoffs, according to
Rodriguez. For example, before,working
off a smaller portfolio, she was able to
deal with clients more directly. “I don’t
want to lose that personal touch, “she
said.
Ms. Rodriguez still keeps in touch with
some of the people she helped in her
first years at DHS. “I have three clients
that have moved out of the system and
today they still call me.” One such
person had been out of the system for
over five years and recently had issues
with her rent until she stepped in.
“I helped her with that, “said Ms.
Rodriguez, “I’m like their long-extended
aftercare worker. “
Under the de Blasio Administration DHS
has new resources to help its clients get
housing. That includes a link to the NYC
Housing Authority, which now provides
housing vouchers that help families pay
their rent.
“Mayor de Blasio is looking at solutions
for how to deal with our crisis and is
willing to work with us, “she said.
New York City Managerial Employees Association
42 Broadway • Suite 1945
New York, NY 10004
Good News for Managers
and the City from Steve Banks
By Bendix Anderson
Steven Banks, pinch hitting for Deputy
Mayor Lilliam Barrios Paoli as MEA’s
guest speaker, started with the good
news when he addressed a meeting of
the New York City Managerial
Employees Association March 5.
Cooperation between city agencies is
helping the city’s programs work more
effectively – and help more people, he
said.
“For the first time in four years we had
a month of the number of people in
shelter system going down,” said Banks.
“That is because of a lot of teamwork
between DHS, HRA, NYCHA, HPD and
ACS… Everybody is working together.”
Commissioner of the City’s Human
Resources Administration, Mr. Banks
had the latest information on when the
managers at the NYC Health and
Hospitals Corporation would receive Mr. Banks sees his role as being to
their retroactive raises.
empower city managers.
“HHC plans to pay covered employees “I see a major part of my role as
on March 27,” said Mr. Banks to cheers commissioner as undoing all of the
from the managers.
limitations that have been put upon the
He said the de Blasio Administration very creative people who have
wants to, “Allow people that have dedicated their lives to the agency,” he
dedicated their lives to public service to said. “We have people who have known
all along how to make it work right.”
serve the public.”
Commissioner Banks also gave the For example, HRA rules used to require
managers an update of some of the a supervisor to review every application
accomplishments, from the Mayor’s for Food Stamps.
housing plan to the creation of IDNYC.
Human Resources Commissioner
Steven Banks addresses the March
meeting of the MEA with good
news from the Mayor’s Office.
be a bottleneck?” said Commissioner
Banks. “Why not have a waiver and have
something called selective case review?
We implemented that this month…
There are hundreds of things like that
that we are doing.”
He ended by stating that the De Blasio
Administration
is
pro-opportunity
“Isn’t it predictable that there is going to for organizations such as MEA.