President's Report

Brother and Sisters:

      Welcome to Local 154. We are proud to introduce you to this Web Page, which will allow you and other members of Local 154 to stay informed on our most current activities and events. One of the goals of this Union is to keep you well informed. This web page will make every effort to deliver the right information at the right time to you and to all of our brothers and sisters throughout the City.

      We have a lot to share with you. Our big vision is to make Local 154 a stronger Union. Our goals include expanding civil service protections, improving salaries and working conditions, better contracts in place, better retirement benefits, improve member's participation and provide better services to all of you. Our record shows it all. We have fought and lobbied for Civil Service Protections; we developed Salary Review proposals for thirteen of our titles and occupational groups; we have protected our members' jobs; we have lobbied the US Congress, the State Legislation and City Council in your behalf; we have pushed for health equity legislation for our members; and, for the first time ever, Local 154 introduced a bill in the State Legislation. Internally, our finances have never been better. We have made Local 154 a standard of transparency and good government. We have made many inroads; we are a team at work for you.

• We stood for Civil Service rights for our members. We worked hard to make sure that City agencies would appoint Research Assistants from the test list. President Fernández testified in front of City Council's Civil Service Committee denouncing City agencies that had resisted certifying Research Assistants; we talked to many agencies and reach out to DCAS. By the closing of 2007, over 170 Research Assistant have been certified from the list.
  
  At the same time, President Fernández's testimony at the Civil Service Committee called for repeal of the one-in-three rule, which allows City agencies to pass over legitimate applicants who are in the civil service test list. In the last five years, five Civil Service test have been put the City's calendar thanks to the efforts of Local 154. Today, we can proudly say that we are among the Locals with the highest proportion of Civil Service workers at DC 37. That's an accomplishment!!
   
• We reached out to City Council, NY State Legislature and the US Congress to further our members' concerns. In Albany, we re-introduced legislation to provide health benefits after retirement in the same conditions as in the rest of the City for our Claim Specialists at Transit Authority. At City Council, we participated in the budget process to advocate for moneys that would protect our members at Human Rights and NYCHA. In Washington, as part of a concerted effort with DC 37, we lobbied Senators and House Representatives to save jobs at NYCHA and, in New York President Fernández personally spoke with State Senators for the same purpose. In March, NYCHA had announced that five hundred jobs would be lost by October if new funding wasn't available. The massive lobbying effort helped NYCHA to obtain new funds and layoffs were averted. In addition, we joined efforts with everybody at DC 37 for the fight to pass Intro 452 at City Council. Intro 452 would lift some of the Residency Requirements restrictions for nearly 46,000 workers in DC 37.
   
• We presented your concerns at the Salary Review Panel. We demanded better salaries, career ladders, new levels and promotional opportunities for our members. We demanded recognition of education and experience. We prepared six proposals presenting the needs of thirteen titles in Local 154, covering the Special Consultant, Claim Specialist, Title Examiners, Public Records, Research Assistant and Human Rights Specialist occupational groups. The preparation of the proposals required the concerted effort and help from many members of Local 154. We succeeded in setting up team efforts that culminated in excellent presentations in front of the Salary Review panel. The panel is in the process of reviewing proposals covering over 130 titles from many DC 37 Locals. We expect a response from the panel in the next couple of months.
   
• We continued our series of lunchtime meetings with our members. We held meetings with hundreds of members at dozens of locations. This outreach effort allows us to stay in contact with you and your concerns. Also we continued to deliver a stream of information to our members; prompt information about new salaries, contracts and updates about movement of the list. Also, many members received prompt assistance and many e-mails were answered on a timely fashion. Members are aware that Local 154 is ready to help them!
   
• We organized our 4th consecutive yearly Local 154 Leadership Training. We believe in developing union leadership from within our rank and file. Our officers and activists are given the tools to understand contracts, provide proper information, and intervene in on-the-job disputes. Through these sessions, Local 154 is helping to build the new generations of activist and leaders for our growing union power.
   
• We continued to uphold the highest standards of financial transparency and accountability. The financial conditions of the Local have never been better. Regular audits of our financial practices by Local 154 Trustees and an independent Auditor have given us continuous bills of good financial health; their review underscored the quality of our record keeping. Complete and detailed records of the Local's financial activity are available for the member's review at every meeting.
  

This is the Union we are building. We are sharing with you our concerns and visions. New challenges exist on the road. We are not blind to the fact that we need to improve working conditions and our members' mobilization and participation. We want members involved in the workplace, in the political arena and their communities. We want you to be part of this team effort that will create a better place for all workers.