Human Rights Victory

      On January 18, 2008 the City's Human Rights Agency and Local 154 settled a grievance presented by Local 154 after the failure of the Agency to post one of its vacancies. The Agency agreed to follow the contractual agreement and to post the announcement for the position of Executive Director in the Community Relations Bureau, and its job description.

      In October 2006, the Human Rights Agency had openly contravened the spirit and the letter of the Citywide Agreement by not posting this position which traditionally has been filled by an Associate Human Rights Specialist (AHRS) worker. Although, in this case the Agency had appointed an AHRS II worker to the position, the lack of posting prevented other workers from applying for the position. The position is regarded as the top civil service promotional opportunity for workers in the Human Rights Specialist series.

      The settlement obtained by Local 154, assures that the Agency would respect the contractual Agreement, and therefore preserves the integrity of the contract. At the same time, it keeps the post available as a potential promotional opportunity in the career path of Human Rights Specialists.