On September 29, 2017, the NYS Court Officers Association and the NYS Supreme Court Officers Association ratified contracts with the Unified Court System. Both contracts include an economic benefit called security law enforcement differential (SLED). This benefit provides for an additional payment of $500 to all NYS court officers and court officers on April 1, 2019 and an additional payment of $750 on April 1, 2020. CSEA and UCS met in the week of April 25 and again in the week of May 10 to continue negotiations on a successor contract. We have made progress in reaching agreement on a number of proposals. We will meet again with UCS next week and will continue to work on an agreement on the terms of a new contract proposal. We will continue to keep you informed throughout the negotiation process. CSEA has reached a preliminary agreement with the New York State Court Administration Office for a new contract for more than 5,500 extrajudicial employees in the state`s unified court system. The preliminary agreement will enter into force retroactively from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2020. Further details on the agreement will soon be posted on the CSEA Judicial Website www.cseajudiciary.org and on the CSEA website www.csealocal1000.org. The agreement will be submitted to the members of the CSEA base for review and ratification in the coming weeks.
It must also be approved by the state legislature and signed by the governor. « This was a very difficult negotiation that shows that a fair deal can be reached if workers and management work in good faith, » said CSEA President Danny Donohue. « The result responds to management`s need for long-term reform of the compensation structure while preserving the rights and benefits of hard-working ASEC members every day. » In short, they plan to turn « growth-free » budgets into a « no-growth » contract. We will have to counter their arguments, especially with regard to the numbers. CSEA will soon be able to go into the details of their ideas, as UCS recently informed us that they will finally submit their written proposals to the team at our next meeting. Once we have these details, we will be able to argue that our members need a fair agreement that meets the needs of both parties, not just management. (As published on CSEA Statewide website 4/11/14, www.cseany.org) UCS stressed at the bargaining table that any increase in the collective agreement requested by the CSEA should be paid for by looking for savings elsewhere in the agreement. (December 12, 2008, Donald Lynskey, President of Local 334) The new Page Rate Agreement and Protocol Agreement form comes into effect on November 18, 2008, when the Court Board of Directors approved the amendment and Part 108 of the Lead Administrator Rules was amended.
The CSEA would have liked a smoother transition to the new tariffs, so our members would not have to face « retroactive » ancillary rate negotiations, but UCS nevertheless gave November 18 as its implementation date. All CSEA members received a copy of the new agreement earlier this year along with the ratification documents included in the ratification process. Journalists represented by the CSEA still have to fill out the new protocol contract forms for transactions with private parties, but journalists now keep the forms themselves for a period of two years. In the event that a notifier requests the submission of a protocol contract form, this request must be made in writing, indicating a valid reason for the request. If a journalist feels that the reason for the request is inappropriate, please contact your union representative, as there is a committee that will review the requests if necessary. UCS called on management reinforcements from the budget and human resources offices to discuss its concerns. While he acknowledges that he now has sufficient cash to meet the payroll for the current fiscal year (which ends March 31, 2014), he is seriously concerned that he will not have sufficient funds as of April 1. Therefore, the UCS`s position is that an agreement should provide for a wage increase in the « cost of living », but should also save money by modifying or eliminating a number of benefits in the expired agreement. On June 3, 2019, the Court Administration Office (« OCA ») and the CSEA signed a preliminary agreement for a one-year contract that can begin on April 1, 2020 and last until March 31, 2021. The CSEA bargaining team met with IBC several times in April and May to reach this agreement. The bargaining team consisted of the following CSA leaders: Donald Lynskey, Chair of the Committee, Chair of Local 334; Scott Gartland, President of Local 333; Nicole Ventresca-Cohen, President of Local 694; Kevin Mahler, President of Local 332; Diane Hansen, President of Local 330; Vincent Martusciello, President of Local 010; and Robert Pazik, Chair of the CSEA State Executive Committee; and staff of the CSEA`s Office of State Operations.
Despite the CSEA executive member`s preliminary agreement with New York State, our negotiations with the unified court system for a new contract have stalled. UCS is finally ready to make our next negotiating meeting the last date for both sides to make new proposals. We are trying to hold that next meeting in January. We hope that the executive agreement will pave the way for an agreement between the CSEA. However, UCS seems determined to insist on restitutions and a cap on members` salaries (the latter is linked to the absence of a salary increase for judges). It can take a long time for significant progress to be made. Please check back regularly to learn more about developments. The judicial power of the CSEA is under the health insurance benefits negotiated by the executive power of the CSEA. With the ratification yesterday of the contract of the executive power of the CSEA, the negotiated changes in health insurance will enter into force on 1.1.19. The links below contain both a highlight sheet and a more detailed list of changes.
The « detailed » document shows columns with what the previous contract reflected for the declared benefit, the next column shows what NYS has proposed to change it, and finally the last column shows what the new agreement concluded/ratified from 1/19 will give. When analyzing changes, be sure to refer to the last column (not the changes proposed by the state). Please note that the percentage of the state`s contribution to employees` biweekly health insurance premiums remains the same. Despite some progress, UCS remains unreasonable and declared the impasse at CSEA on April 16 after just 15 hours of negotiations. On that day, UCS shockingly told CSEA that UCS would declare an impasse with PERB if we did not reach an agreement before the morning of April 17. CSEA is by far the largest of ucS`s 11 bargaining units. CSEA finds it ironic that the UCS, which blocked and avoided negotiations for a year, demanded an immediate agreement. The three-year agreement, which runs back to April 1, 2017, includes salary increases each year of the agreement, salary improvements at sites in the Downstate and Mid-Hudson Valley, improved payments to the Employee Benefits Fund and a new social assistance fund program.
CIRA`s court system employees should be aware of and coordinate the facts about the preliminary agreement with the Office of Court Administration. Ignore the lies and interference of external groups. Remember, these are selfish people who would not band together in solidarity with CSEA members to avoid layoffs! These other unions have had three years to negotiate their own contract – most have not had a single bargaining meeting with the courts, but now want to tell you how to think and act by spreading lies about the deal. Link to the investigation: cseany.org/ucs-negotiations After long and difficult negotiations, the CSEA – New York`s largest union – and the New York State Court Administration Office have agreed to a contract for 5,700 employees of the unified justice system. The leadership of the CSEA and the unified judicial system met on 15 September. April in Albany for negotiations after the union spent months trying to force UCS to negotiate a good faith settlement for court employees represented by CSEA. (25 June 2008) CSEA members overwhelmingly ratified a provisional agreement with the unified judiciary in a 25:1 ratio. Members approved the agreement by 2,876 votes to 114.
You will need your CSEA ID number to access the survey. You can search for your CSEA ID number on the CSEA homepage www.cseany.org. CSEA went on to say that if UCS really appreciates out-of-court employees as much as they say, they would show it by negotiating a fair deal. If there is to be pain, then everyone should participate – judicial and extrajudicial employees. .
