Page 8 - Work_Force_April_2018

Justice served: Union’s
legal services help
member to gain promotion
LOWVILLE — Denyse Hastwell recently got justice on her job, thanks to our union’s in-house legal services.
When a full-
time position
at the Lewis
County
Sheriff’s office
opened up in December 2015, CSEA member Denyse Hastwell, a 911 dispatcher/corrections officer, was eager to move up from her part-time job in the department.
That is, until management passed her over for the promotion, choosing a worker with less seniority for the full-time position.
“I was very upset. I felt like the years I put in were for nothing. It was basically like I had nothing to work toward,” Hastwell said. “Based on the way it had always been done, I should have been placed in that position.”
Union rights ‘stripped’
CSEA argued that Hastwell had earned the position. The county’s past practice was always to award promotions by seniority, but county officials argued that the position was not a promotion.
We disagreed and filed a grievance against the county to protect Hastwell’s rights.
That’s when the case took an unusual turn. After the county denied Hastwell’s grievance, our union attempted to move the issue to arbitration. County officials went to a state Supreme Court judge seeking and winning a permanent stay against arbitration.
Lewis County Unit and Local President Kip Turck said county
officials had never done that before. “The county didn’t even want us
to utilize the grievance process in the contract,” Turck said. “To me, that was the ultimate stripping of our union rights. It pissed me off. This was the first time, to my knowledge, that they ever fought the grounds of us filing for arbitration.”
Standing up for our rights
While some unions might have ended the case there, when appropriate, CSEA provides legal representation to members at no cost to them.
As such, CSEA Associate Counsel Jeremy Ginsburg wasn’t ready to throw in the towel.
Believing the judge’s decision was flawed, Ginsburg, on behalf of our union, brought Hastwell’s case to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department to seek justice.
“We weren’t deterred by our loss at the Supreme Court level,” Ginsburg said.
He noted that
the court in this
case is limited
to determining
whether the
parties had agreed
to arbitrate the
dispute, but that
the decision
incorrectly ruled
on the merits of
the case itself. The
Appellate Division
unanimously agreed with CSEA and reversed the stay, which allowed the case to proceed to arbitration.
“That opened the door for us to negotiate a favorable settlement for Ms. Hastwell,” Ginsburg said.
That settlement included getting her the full-time position she should have received two years earlier, a back pay award of $7,500, additional sick and vacation leave days added
8 The Work Force
April 2018
Hastwell
“It was nice to
know that I had the support of my union. I thank everyone involved for their hard work and support of me during this whole time.”
Lewis County Local President Kip Turck, right, goes over legal paperwork with 911 Dispatcher/Corrections Officer Denyse Hastwell, who works
for the County Sheriff’s Department, and recently got the promotion she should have gotten two years ago, thanks to our union’s Legal Department.
as if she had been working full-time and full-time seniority status for that period.
‘Justice was served’
Hastwell said she was relieved when she learned our union got her the position — and justice.
“It’s been a long journey. To finally get here, I’m at peace,” she said. “I feel like justice was served, and our union did everything they could to make that happen.”
Turck and Ginsburg both commended Hastwell for her patience and persistence during
the drawn-out legal battle.
“I’m proud of Denyse,” Turck said.
“Through this whole ordeal, it was a slow process, with a good outcome. She kept her chin up and let us do what we are here to do, and the system worked.”
Hastwell said that sometimes she felt like giving up.
“There were a lot of times in the past two years that I wanted to
leave,” she said. “I’m glad I didn’t and stuck with it.”
Hastwell also credited CSEA Labor Relations Specialist Brenda Harwood for keeping her informed and involved as the case moved through the process.
“Over the two years, [Harwood] was constantly keeping me up to date,” Hastwell said. “I was never left in the dark.”
“It was nice to know that I had the support of my union,” Hastwell said. “I thank everyone involved for their hard work and support of me during this whole time.”
County officials also agreed to keep in a full-time position the employee who had originally been promoted.
Now, even though she never expected to need our union’s legal services, Hastwell is glad she was encouraged to join our union when she was hired.
“I’m glad that Alice [Morgan], our union steward, pushes us to join the union,” Hastwell said. “Even though we might not have to use it, knowing that our union will be there for us is worth the dues we pay to have the security of our union.”
— Mark M. Kotzin