By Saul Fishman
President, Civil Service Bar Association (CSBA)

Let’s start with the good news, beyond the warmer temperatures and longer sunlight hours after work:

1. Our final raise under the current collective bargaining agreement will be paid to us on Friday May 9th as 3.25% salary, recurring increment payment (“RIP”) and longevity differential increases.
   
2. Remote work is expected to continue at least until the next round of Citywide bargaining late next year, and in all likelihood, well into the foreseeable future.
   
3. Our employer, the City of New York, has very substantial reserves, enabling it to withstand almost any short-term financial crisis.

That said, you don’t need to be an expert in economics, political science or meteorology to forecast very strong headwinds battering New York and other so-called “blue states” later this year and over the next couple of years. CSBA members and indeed the whole world can see that the President of the United States is acting in totally unprecedented fashion, tearing down entire Federal agencies, slashing staffing, funding and protections for workers, consumers, seniors, veterans, hospitals and nursing homes. Monies paid to state and local governments are in many cases either threatened with cutoff or actively being clawed back. Prime example: The $80 million that the prior President reimbursed NYC for temporary migrant housing has been summarily recouped without either warning or a valid rationale.

Unfathomable too, is the change in our nation’s relations with our closest international neighbors and allies. Suddenly even Canada is our adversary? I remember when “Blame Canada!” was an absurd parody of a song by comic actor Robin Williams.

The point is that uncertainty is no friend of the economy and of Wall Street, which affects tax revenues here in New York City, complete with a big ripple effect on our agencies and potentially on collective bargaining.

Yes, NYC has very significant financial reserves. Given these crazy times, how much is enough? Both the NYC and NYS Comptrollers have publicly expressed concerns. The truth is nobody knows for sure how this is all going to shake out for our city, region and nation. Inflation is very likely to increase from steep reciprocal tariffs, which act essentially as a sales tax to the consumer from the goods now made more expensive at our border. And suddenly there is also talk about a possible recession.

All that is certain is that there will be a lot of pain and displacement. Overall good news? Probably not in the near term. Take heart, buckle down, get involved and know that over time, the pendulum swings and some semblance of normalcy and/or progress returns.

By Saul Fishman
President, Civil Service Bar Association (CSBA)
From Newline, Fall 2024

It’s Autumn 2024. A bunch of us recently participated in the Labor Day Parade (see photos in this Newsline edition as well as on our CSBA (Attorney’s Facebook page). It’s now prime time for apple-picking, apple cinnamon donuts (sorry dieters) and pumpkin spice coffee. The leaves will be turning brilliant orange, red and yellow, and soon will be under foot. Maybe deep postseason baseball will return to New York (let’s hope).

What remains the same is the dedication of the CSBA staff to assist you however and whenever we can. We are here for consultation and advice on your contractual rights, and collectively have a lot of experience and a fair amount of contacts. Members can always email us at csbainfo@local237.org or call us at (212) 675-0519, and we will gladly respond quickly (reliably within one business day, usually sooner).

The benefit of an email to csbainfo@local237.org is that there are only four of us, all of whom are knowledgeable and discrete. Lee Gordon is our \Grievance Advocate/ Business Agent, and was a CSBA officer and member from ACS for many years. Aldona Vaiciunas has been the CSBA Grievance Coordinator and Office Administrator for well over twenty years, and is at least as knowledgeable as anyone here. Devin Rohena, our Receptionist/ Secretary, is our latest addition. He’s very polite, efficient, a quick learner and has a great attitude. Whatever he doesn’t know, he’ll find out and get back to you, or alternatively have the best available person contact you as soon as possible. And I’m Saul Fishman, trying to earn your trust each day for the past dozen years as CSBA President (and as CSBA Business Agent and Officer for a bunch of years before that).

Regardless of day of the week, time of day or night, grievance or arbitration schedule, vacation, illness, etc., one of us will read your message relatively soon and make sure that you are responded to courteously and professionally. Yes, the volume of emails, calls, consultations and grievances picks up from mid-September forward. Fear not. We are here for you!

P.S. Kindly advise us if there is an issue of concern in your shop. With approximately 40 agencies and 60 locations, we need your timely input. In addition to grievance and contract-related matters (referred to above), we take Health & Safety concerns very seriously.

Reserve the Date: the next CSBA General Membership Meeting will be held on Wednesday October 30th at 6PM. Kindly contact us a few days to a week ahead of time for member log-in information.

Time to Cross the Finish Line!
By Saul Fishman
CSBA President

From Local 237 Newswire, Spring 2023

CSBA members want and deserve the ability to perform a significant part of our work remotely. We have been consistently, strenuously advocating for this important work-life balance measure from even before the pandemic struck. During and shortly after the peak of the pandemic, we successfully performed our tasks remotely for eighteen months (approximately one and a half years). If anything, our productivity increased!

After hearing for the longest time from Mayor Adams that “people can’t work from home in their pajamas”, reality has finally set in. Certain titles, including Agency Attorneys, can perform most (or almost all) of their work from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. And if you don’t allow at least some degree of telework (i.e.- two to three days per week), skilled professionals will leave for employers who allow this option. Indeed, so many of our colleagues have left (more than 20 percent of Agency Attorneys and Attorneys-at-Law) that much of the work either isn’t getting done or is significantly delayed to the detriment of New Yorkers needing their time-sensitive cases and applications reviewed.

Part of the recognition of us being a hard-to-retain, as well as a hard-to-recruit title, began with the waiving of our residency requirement this past November. Needless to say that didn’t happen by accident. We pushed hard in both bargaining and in the media for both telework and the end of our residency requirement.

Enter DC 37, the largest municipal union, which joined us in the push for telework. Belatedly, the mayor has recognized that the world has changed and that many of the city’s best employees are being poached by companies (and non-profits and other levels of government) that have realistic telework policies.

Long story short – As DC 37’s tentative agreement with the city is moving toward ratification (membership vote pending, results expected by early April), details of telework are supposed to be worked out on or about June 1st as per the City – DC 37 joint press conference and press release. Assuming ratification, not only will the economic pattern be set, but we should also be able to work out a suitable plan which works for our members and agencies.

We will let you, our hard-working members, know when there’s an update. Our next two collective bargaining sessions are scheduled for March 22 and April 18. Our Facebook page (CSBA Attorneys) and our website (www.csbanyc.org) are good pages to check for such updates.

Happy Spring and thank you as always for your patience and support!

P.S. – FYI: City employees, including us, will continue receiving high-quality, premium-free health insurance, an extremely rare benefit these days. Almost all private sector employees, as well as NYS employees, pay thousands of dollars in premiums per year.remiums per year. Thank you, Municipal Labor Committee.

Attorney-at-law title is excluded for now

BY CRYSTAL LEWIS

The head of the union that represents agency lawyers applauded the city’s decision to officially lift residency requirements for city attorneys, but questioned why the attorney-at-law title was not included and called once again for a remote-work policy.

Accomplishments and the Year Ahead for CSBA
By Saul Fishman
CSBA President

From Local 237 Newsline, Winter 2022

As 2022 gives way to 2023, we pause to reflect on where we have been, to acknowledge and give thanks for what we have accomplished, and to rededicate ourselves to achieving the important and often difficult tasks which remain on our agenda.

Let’s start with the positive. Our fight to abolish any residency requirement for our titles, the Agency Attorneys and Agency Attorney Interns, has finally been won! We refused to back down at the bargaining table, persisted in the media, and common-sense prevailed. No longer will we have to hear on the one hand that they are so desperate to bring in attorneys to do our work that they are reaching out for (a handful) of big law firm “pro bono” attorneys, and yet that we were somehow not a difficult to recruit title. So effective immediately, you can live anywhere, including New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, so long as you can get to work on time. A word of caution: We suggest that you fully explore the tax ramifications before moving to another jurisdiction.

Annexed is Saul’s testimony from Friday, September 9 before a hearing on maintaining the municipal workforce, conducted jointly by the NYC Council Committee on Oversight & Investigation, and the Council Committee on Civil Service & Labor. Saul’s testimony starts at approximately 2:09:25.

Video
Transcript

Video of President Fishman’s testimony is now online. The testimony can be found approximately 1 hour and nine minutes into the session.

Morning Schedule | Video | Transcript

Guidance for City Agencies Regarding the 2022 Outbreak of Orthopoxyvirus/Monkeypox, eff. August 9, 2022

Good morning Distinguished Judges, Jurists, concerned panelists on the Future of the Courts and the Pandemic Practices Working Group:

I thank you on behalf of the members of the Civil Service Bar Association, the nearly 900 non-managerial Agency Attorneys employed by the City of New York in approximately 40 city agencies, people who themselves have generally risen from working class families and are dedicated to giving back and helping less fortunate New Yorkers. It is an honor to speak with you about their collective needs and experiences. I’m Saul Fishman, their President, with the privilege of serving for the past decade.

Read the full testimony

Updated leave guidance 
Annexed are three DCAS documents and one NYCHA document for your reference:

• The first is “Managing the Office in the Age of COVID-19”, effective September 13, 2021.
• The second document is the Updated Leave Guidance Applicable to Employees During Outbreak, effective March 30, 2022.
• The third document is the Updated Guidance on NYCHA’s Leave Policy applicable to COVID-19, effective January 26, 2022.
• The fourth document is the Temporary Policy for Vaccination of City Employees During the COVID-19 Emergency.

CSBA continues to advocate for the ability of our members to telecommute whenever possible. Even when the pandemic finally ends (and we’re most definitely not there yet), we want the option to work from home at least part-time. So much of what we do can be performed at least as effectively and efficiently away from the noise and distractions of the office, as demonstrated by the results over the past year.