Public Employee Press

Permanent status for 105 HPPTs

By JANE LaTOUR

Over 100 provisional High Pressure Plant Tenders are becoming permanent employees beginning this month under a settlement reached by DC 37, Motor Vehicle Operators Local 983 and the Dept. of Citywide Administrative Services.

DC 37 lawyer Audrey Browne, Local 983 Vice President John Daprile and Local President Mark Rosenthal turned up the pressure on DCAS to offer two exams for HPPTs and Plant Maintainers.

After two years and a lawsuit under Article 78 of the state Civil Service Law, their efforts paid off when DCAS conceded on the courthouse steps.

The agreement gave provisional workers, some with 15 years on the job, their first chance in a decade to become permanent HPPTs.

“This is real job security,” Mr. Daprile said. “These members are relieved to have permanent civil service status and the rights and protections that go with it.”

With the DC 37 Education Fund, Local 983 offered members an 11-week course in boiler operations to prepare for the test. Ed Fund Coordinator Fred Lewis developed the program, with Nick Placco, a retired Sr. Supervising Stationary Engineer from the Dept. of Sanitation, as the instructor. About 50 members attended each session.

“These are good workers, but as provisionals, they face the burden of possible layoffs, lack of seniority or status for vacation picks and sick leave,” Mr. Daprile said. That’s no longer a concern for at least 30 who have been called from the list so far.

“I needed job security and stability for my family,” said Staten Island College HPPT Joseph Esposito, a homeowner and father of two young children. “The union classes made the difference,” he said. After five years as a provisional HPPT, Mr. Esposito will become permanent after his one-year probation.

“It’s been over 10 years since DCAS offered this test,” said President Rosen-thal. “Now every title represented by this local has had a test. In the last six years, Local 983 has gone from 50 percent permanent to 90 percent. We truly are a civil service union.”