By DIANE WILLIAMS

Serious illness almost cost Harlem Hospital Patient Care Associate Daniel Brewington his job. With help from his union, the Local 420 member is back at work — and receiving approximately $2,550 in retroactive longevity pay that a management snafu had denied him.

After 22 years on the job, Brewington left Harlem Hospital on a medical leave that extended beyond one year. In accordance with NYC Health+Hospitals policy, the length of leave triggered termination of his employment.

Brewington recovered and the hospital reinstated him in September 2015, after DC 37 attorneys brought his case before the NYC H+H Personnel Review Board (PERB).

“The outcome of that hearing was favorable for Mr. Brewington and he got his job back, but NYC H+H managers failed to restore his longevity pay for years of service,” said union Council Rep Joel Viera Vera.

So Viera Vera filed a longevity grievance in March 2016 on Brewington’s behalf dating back to his reinstatement date. Longevity pay is $800 annually (prorated for part-timers) for public hospital workers with 15 years of service covered by the DC 37 contract.

“The union persisted until management agreed to make this member whole after his reinstatement  by PERB,” said Local 420 President Carmen Charles.

This story appeared previously in the June issue of Public Employee Press.

The DC 37 Blog is an online publication of District Council 37, AFSCME, which represents 126,000 municipal employees in New York City