News Release, May 21, 2003: DC 37 says the Department of Health and the Department for the Aging hired, promoted and gave raises to managers while laying off union members.

DC 37 says the Dept. of Health and the Dept. for the Aging hired, promoted and gave raises to managers while laying off union members

The Laid Off:
DC 37 Members Who Help Seniors, School Children, and the Community —	239
Managers —	2

Lillian Roberts, Executive Director of District Council 37, the city's largest municipal employee union, today accused the Department of Health and the Department for the Aging of hiring, promoting, and giving raises to higher ups while laying off lower-paid union members who work in programs serving the elderly, school children, and the community. (see fact sheet attached)

"The city is trying to balance the budget on the backs of the least compensated workers while loading up and rewarding the managerial ranks," said Ms. Roberts. "The Mayor said he would act responsibly to address the budget deficit, but he and the city agencies have done the opposite. Instead, the layoffs are being used to exert greater management control by decreasing union workers while increasing and rewarding the bureaucracy in the higher-salaried upper ranks."

Public documents show that the Department of Health laid off 236 DC 37 members while only two managers were laid off. At the Department for the Aging not one manager has been laid off while three Nutrition Consultants, who analyze nutritional needs and food sources for senior citizens, are being let go. One of these consultants has been with the city for 15 years.

Lay offs at DOH include 155 out of 300 Public Health Assistants. "How will our school children receive hearing and vision tests? These are the workers who perform those tests and are part of the very successful School Health Screening Team program," said Ms. Roberts.

Other DOH lay offs include cutting the City Pest Control Aide staff by approximately 25%. "At a time when city garbage pick-ups this summer will be cut, they have laid off 36 pest control aides, 1 crew chief, 5 supervisors of pest control, and 1 supervisor of exterminators," Ms. Roberts said. "The rat, mouse and roach populations will grow leading to increased infestations and health hazards. Furthermore, each Pest Control Aide brings in about $25 per hour per day in fines. The City will lose over $1 million in potential fines and revenues by eliminating this workforce.

"It is outrageous and fiscally irresponsible that these two agencies prepared layoff lists of badly needed workers while at the same time hiring and giving raises to higher-ups. This shows a pattern throughout the city of disproportionately laying off union members while protecting and promoting more highly compensated managers. Our members should never have been laid off in the first place. They deserve to be immediately reinstated while the city takes a closer look at its bloated and costly managerial ranks."

FACT SHEET
Managerial Salaries and Appointments at the Dept. of Health and the Dept. for the Aging for the past three months
All of the following information is public and available in The City Record.
Department of Health The agency hired and gave raises to managers within the last three months, while they were preparing layoff lists. Here are some examples: March 20 - Admin. Purchase Inspector, salary raised to $95,000. March 16 - 1 provisional Administrative Architect appointed at $82,000. March 30 - a new Medical Director was appointed at $120,000. April 1 - a Health Service manager was given an increase to $90,000. That's a total of over $532,000 in personnel cost increases. The agency is significantly over budget on Administrative Staff Analysts:
DOH Bureau	Actives:	# budgeted:
Administration	5	budgeted for 2
Health Related Services	29	budgeted for 26
Community Health	11	budgeted for 7
Mental Hygiene	26	budgeted for 12
Health Access (federal $)		10 same, budgeted for 10
OCME	5	budgeted for 1
Environmental Health	20	budgeted for 9
Total:	106	budgeted for 67
They are also over budget on Administrative Managers. They are budgeted for 5 and have 18 actives.
Department for the Aging The agency is not laying off any managers. Instead, the agency hired and gave raises to managers within the last three months, while they were preparing layoff lists. Here are some examples: Feb. 2 - 1 provisional Admin. Staff Analyst appointed at $90,000, a provisional Dir. Of Research was given an increase to $102,840, and 1 provisional Administrative Program Officer was given an increase to $90,000. Feb. 9 - 2 provisional Administrative Program Officer were given increases to $80,000 each. Feb. 18 - 1 provisional Administrative Public Information Specialist was given an increase to $68,000. March 30 - 1 provisional Administrative Program Officer was given an increase to $90,000. This is worth $690,000 in personnel cost increases.