BROOKLYN — Faith Browne-Walter believed that our union would fight to restore her lost comp time hours.
She was right; Browne-Walter’s employer, SUNY Downstate, recently restored comp time to employees after CSEA stood strong for justice for the workers.
Earlier this year, hundreds of comp time hours vanished for numerous SUNY Downstate employees.
Our union filed a class action grievance to get those hours back.
“I know our union is fighting hard for us,” said Browne-Walter, a nursing assistant at SUNY Downstate. “That shows unity and strength.”
As reported in the November Work Force, SUNY Downstate Local President Althea Green noted that the addition of a new accounting program and the hiring of new human resources staff may have played a part in the disappearance of these comp hours. Another factor was a little-known 1986 memo that capped comp hours.
Our union fought back and won the case. A memorandum was recently circulated to staff instructing them to use their comp time within the fiscal year or the time will be forfeited. The new policy goes into effect in April 2019.
“This win gives you the incentive to speak up,” said Zakiyyah Dupass, a nursing station clerk. “It’s a benefit to have a union. Not having one would be a disaster.”
Green said this is just one more example of why workers need to stick with our union.
“It builds more confidence,” said Green. “I thank CSEA for giving me the strength and encouragement to do this type of work.”
— David Galarza
