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Contract dispute between CSEA workers and Babylon Village heats up Babylon Village and its CSEA highway department employees are still at odds over a new contract. Village officials said they have made an offer that they believe provides for a fair increase in pay- and one that residents can afford. The employees counter that they are among the lowest paid in the county, need a more significant increase in pay and better working conditions. Both sides have declined to discuss the details of the proposals. But the employees are more than willing to plead their case before the public, and have appeared at almost every Village Board meeting, picketing outside and peppering the board with questions during the public portion of the meetings. At times, Mayor Ralph Scordino said he would not negotiate in public. At other times, the verbal sparring got heated. At one point several weeks ago, Scordino asked CSEA officials to explain how they arrived at the conclusion that he had taken a 200 percent increase in pay- a statement the union made in letters to residents and on placards they held as they marched in front of Village Hall. "We will answer that when you give us the information we have requested," said Bill Walsh, president of the Suffolk Municipal Local #852. The Mayor persisted that he wanted to know how the union members had arrived at that number. Walsh declined to respond at that meeting, and later to a reporter with the same question. Village records show that Scordino earned $5,000 while a trustee. His salary increased to $10,000 when he was tapped for the Mayor's spot after the death of Mayor E. Donald Conroy in 2002. Those salaries were in place since 1987. This year, the salaries for the Mayor and the Trustees were increased to $15,000 and $7,500 respectively. "The salary increases for the two different positions I held do not come anywhere near a 200 percent increase," said Scordino. "Yet they (the union) continue to perpetuate this lie." Richard Impagliazzo, a spokesman for the CSEA, Long Island Region said that the Village has failed to respond to requests for information under the New York State Freedom of Information law, and, as a result, the membership has been unable to formulate a comprehensive position with regard to contract negotiations. With both sides preparing to enter into arbitration, that puts the union at a disadvantage, said Walsh. Joel Sikowitz, the Village's attorney, said that simply is not true and the Village has complied with New York State Freedom of Information law. Sikowitz said that the request for employee salaries and other documents was filed by Village employee Jack Christ and that he has both written and phoned Christ to advise him that the information he requested is available. CSEA officials made a point of advising the Village Board recently that they should no longer discuss any employee or contractual issues with the workers, nor meet personally with them, though under long-standing Village tradition, all employees have had an "open door" policy with the Mayor, said Scordino. Sikowitz added that since Christ is the one who filed the request for the information, he is the one who has to come into the treasurer's office and look at it. "He has never responded to our calls or our letter," said the attorney. One source said that the Village has offered a 7- percent increase in salary for starting employees only, and a 3 percent increase across the board. That is far below what the union is seeking, said the source. Most of the CSEA 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 seniority earn between $30,000 and $35,000 a year. All employees also receive full health-care benefits, and while they have full-time positions, it is an unwritten policy in the Village that they can leave their posts when their routes are completed, usually within four to five hours. Comparatively, laborers in Lindenhurst earn $8 an hour for a 40-hour week and heavy equipment operators earn $18 an hour for a 40-hour week. Babylon's employees point out, however, that unlike in other areas, they are responsible for picking up trash cans from behind residents' homes. "We do a lot more lifting and lugging and provide more services to our residents than other workers in other towns," said one employee.
The dispute is slated to go to fact finding within the next few weeks. Both sides will have the opportunity to present their positions to an impartial hearing officer who will then make a recommendation for a resolution. That decision then goes before the Village Board, which has the right to accept or reject the proposal.
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