April 1, 2016
We have just learned some significant news — the middle managers at LSNYC have decided to unionize. Until this point, middle managers had been at-will employees with no job protections.
Esther Peterson, Unit Director in LSNYC’s Randall Island’s benefits unit, said “For too long, middle managers have had no real power to effect change. We see how our staff are struggling to meet numbers and serve clients, yet we can’t get the approval we need to hire more support staff or do other common sense things to make our program stronger. Now we’ll be able to have a real voice to help our staff.”
Lucy Parsons, housing supervisor in the Cambria Heights TRC office, said “I’m trying to train 25 new staff attorneys without any training myself. Now with a union we can make sure that new supervisors get the trainings that we need.”
Another supervisor, Mary Harris Jones, told us “We managers have long benefited from the pay increases and improvements to our benefits that the staff union has fought for. We want to do our part to improve pay and benefits for us all.”
The middle managers’ ability to speak with a unified voice, backed by union power, makes them a much more powerful force for change.
*April Fools!!*