Babylon Village CSEA workers picket for raises
by Carolyn James

Members of the CSEA picket in front of Village Hall.

Approximately 40 Babylon Village employees, members of the CSEA, attended a recent Village Board meeting in a show of unity. The employees are seeking a new labor contract with the Village but said their efforts to negotiate have fallen on deaf ears.

"We had several meetings with the Mayor, but they just did not want to hear what we had to say," said Jack Christ, unit president. "The Mayor even set up a meeting but failed to show."

Christ said that the only offer the Village has made is for a 7 percent increase in salary, but that the increase would apply to starting salaries only. A salary increase of 3 percent across the board was offered, but that is far below what the union is looking for, he said.

"The problem here is that a lot of employees are making less than other employees in Suffolk County based on time of service," said Christ. "Our salaries are just not competitive."

Most of the members fall into two categories, between 10 and 18 years of service and over 20 years of service. Those in the first category earn between $20,000 and $24,000 a year, while those with more senority earn between $30,000 ad $35,000 a year.

"How can you be expected to pay a mortgage or rent and other bills on those salaries," said Christ. "The Village complains that most of us rush to get our jobs done and leave, but most of us have to have other jobs to support our families."

In addition to their salaries, the members have full medical coverage including health, dental, and prescription coverage. Those hired after 1992 pay 20 percent of the cost of that coverage. The Village picks up the cost for all others at 100 percent. The employees also receive vacation time and sick days.

One employee who has worked for the Village for two years, said that the escalating cost of his health care contribution has eaten up more than any increases he has received. "I am actually taking home less now than when I was first hired," he told the Village Board.

Babylon Village Mayor Ralph Scordino told the employees that the Village has negotiated in good faith and has offered a fair package, including pay raises.

"We are in mediation trying to reach a fair and equitable contract," he said.

A comparative look shows that in the Village of Lindenhurst, laborers earn $8 an hour for a 40-week. Automobile equipment operators earn $14 an hour for a 40-hour week and heavy equipment operators earn $18 an hour for a 40-hour week. All employees receive full health-care coverage and do not contribute to that program.

But that does not tell the entire story, said the employees, who point out that in Babylon Village, highway workers provide back door pick up. That, they said, requires that they lift and carry the garbage pails much further than communities, like Lindenhurst in which the homeowner puts its pails at the curb. "You just can't compare the two," said one employee.

In addition to the salary issues, the Babylon CSEA employees want to clean up the language in the contract. "Right now it is confusing and contradictory," said Christ. "Almost everyone is classified a laborer, even those do the work of Machine Equipment Operators and Heavy Equipment Operators. The result is that people are working out of title, which isn't fair."

In other business, the Village announced that

+registration for the Junior Golf Clinic is May 1 for residents of the Village and May 8 for non residents;

+Saturday, April 14 was Little League Day;

+Robert Wilson was placed on permanent full-time employment in the Village and was to receive a $1,000 pay increase.

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