Knowing our contract is in an important way to be strong and informed members. As a union we have fought hard for our contracts, and we should make sure that we know the details so that we can enforce the contract fully and help our fellow members when they have questions. One group of new members did just that recently, when they wondered why their paychecks hadn’t changed in more than a year.
When the City came to Local 21 to work with us on the Tech Hire Pilot Program, aimed at addressing the problems with IT recruitment and hiring, Local 21 negotiated the creation of a new classification: 9976 Technology Expert. While part of a pilot program, the new Technology Experts are already working on many of the city’s biggest challenges, including the Epic rollout at DPH, scheduled to go live August of 2019.
Informed Local 21 9976 members raised the alarm in in mid-July after several Technology Experts didn’t receive the 3% general wage increase they were expecting, per our contract. Local 21 representatives reached out to DHR, and made sure that the department’s payroll staff were instructed to fix the problem and adhere to the contract. Retroactive payment should be made to all affected members in the near future.
Do you know what’s in our contract? As we get closer to our 2019 contract negotiations, knowing our contract is not just important for enforcement, it’s important for contributing to the bargaining process.
Check it out here!