26077 COBA_NewsLetter_Oct_2020_v14_FINAL.qxp:Layout 1 11/17/20 9:11 PM Page 1 NOVEMBER 2020 B LDEST VOL. 1 ISSUE 1 NEWS Pictured Above: on SePtember 3, 2020, cobA deLeGAteS, executive boArd memberS And PreSident benny boScio Jr. Joined HundredS of nyc union memberS At A rALLy in Lower mAnHAttAn to ProteSt mAyor de bLASio’S tHreAt of 22,000 LAyoffS A NEW ERA BEgiNs! 9 NEW COBA EXECUTIVE BOARD 9 CONTRACT 9 LEGISLATION 9 CLOSING JAILS 9 JAIL SAFETY 9 COVID819 9 NEW LEGAL TEAM 26077 COBA_NewsLetter_Oct_2020_v14_FINAL.qxp:Layout 1 11/17/20 9:13 PM Page 2 THE BOLDEST UNION CORRECTION OFFICERS’ BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION COBA ExECUTivE Benny Boscio Jr. President BOARD MEMBERS Joseph Bracco glenn Morgan Keisha Williams Michael Maiello 1st Vice President 2nd Vice President 3rd Vice President Treasurer Lionel Cumberbatch Herman Jiminian Antoinette Anderson Angel Castro Financial Secretary Legislative Chairman Corresponding Secretary Recording Secretary Felix sanchez Ashaki Antoine Charles J. Wingate Edward Yates Sergeant-At-Arms First City-Wide Trustee Manhattan Borough Trustee Brooklyn Borough Trustee CORRECTION OFFICERS’ BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION, INC. “PATROLLING THE TOUGHEST PRECINCTS IN NEW YORK” COBA HEADQUARTERS 77-10 21ST AVENUE, EAST ELMHURST, N.Y. 11370 T. 718.545.COBA (2622) F. 718.545.2668 Matthew Romano Neil Renois Bronx Borough Trustee Queens Borough Trustee www.cobanyc.org THE BOLDEsT UNION FOLLOW YOUR UNiON! 2 ||| NEW YORK CITY CORRECTION 26077 COBA_NewsLetter_Oct_2020_v14_FINAL.qxp:Layout 1 11/17/20 9:13 PM Page 3 CORRECTION OFFICERS’ BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION THE BOLDEST UNION Message from COBA PREsiDENT Benny Boscio Jr. dear brother/Sister officer, “Now first and foremost, with all the challenges the next fiscal year, or later, using the we continue to face, i hope this message threat of potential layoffs, as a bargaining more finds you and your family safe and healthy. chip to force us to make an ad hoc decision i wanted to take this opportunity to update that would be detrimental to you and you on our most pressing priorities, as well your families. than as a number of significant achievements we’ve already made on behalf of you and with each conversation i had with the your families. commissioner of Labor relations, i made ever, let's our position unequivocally clear- we will AN UPDATE ON COBA’s LEgAL not willingly agree to any deal that further FigHT TO COMPEL MAYOR DE delays the monies the city owes us, nor will stay BLAsiO TO PAY Us OUR RETRO we divide our membership by agreeing to PAY AND ABiDE BY OUR a provision that prevents layoffs only until CONTRACT June, 2021. the no layoff clause, offered Boldest As i indicated in a letter to you a few weeks by the city, is not unconditional either. it is ago, the city of new york violated their contingent in the short term on no further contractual obligation to our union, by decline in the city’s financial condition. United” failing to payout the retroactive monies Additionally, the city will only agree on a owed to us on october 30, 2020. this longer no layoff clause, until June 2022, on egregious violation of our contract came the condition that the city receives a after a week of numerous attempts by the bailout from the federal Government. city to persuade us to give back or greatly frankly, the city’s short-term and long-term delay the benefits we are entitled to, conditions are too tenuous for cobA including a delay of our final 3% raise into members to rely on. NEW YORK CITY CORRECTION ||| 3 26077 COBA_NewsLetter_Oct_2020_v14_FINAL.qxp:Layout 1 11/17/20 9:13 PM Page 4 THE BOLDEST UNION CORRECTION OFFICERS’ BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION the reality is the city of new york still on their personnel records that can prevent LAWsUiT FiLED WiTH ALL NYC owes us a $9.45 million contribution to them from rising up the ranks and could LAW ENFORCEMENT UNiONs our Active and retired Health and even jeopardize their jobs. As a result, TO PROTECT OUR welfare funds that was supposed to be cobA filed a class Action Grievance on DisCiPLiNARY RECORDs paid on february 1, 2020. these funds September 2, 2020 on behalf of all affected FROM THE PUBLiC pay for your optical, dental, and officers, seeking to get these chronic in September, a three-judge panel of the prescription drug benefits, as well as for absences overturned. Second circuit court of Appeals ruled 2-1 your Legal Services Plan. Given their to reissue a stay that blocks the failure to make this payment and their NEW LEgisLATiON disciplinary records of correction officers, failure to honor our retro payout, how recognizing the injustice of slapping and other law enforcement officers, from could we possibly agree to a no layoff correction officers who quarantined being released to the public. clause with a realistic expectation that because of covid-19, with chronic the city would honor it if present Absences, State Senator diane Savino COBA's PRELiMiNARY circumstances persist or worsen? this is and Assemblyman Peter Abbate- both iNJUNCTiON PREvENTiNg unacceptable! i have instructed our longtime champions of labor unions, THE DOC FROM FORCiNg attorneys to request an expedited introduced legislation that would CORRECTiON OFFiCERs TO arbitration, where we will make our prevent local government workers from WORK TRiPLE TOURs arguments before an Arbitrator and seek being punished for coronavirus-related in July, cobA won a preliminary to compel the city to honor its absences. the bill says government injunction issued by State Supreme contractual commitments, including the employers cannot dismiss or take “other court Judge Pamela Jackman-brown retro payout and our final 3% raise owed adverse disciplinary (or) personnel that prevents the doc from forcing to us on June 1, 2021– while awarding actions against a public employee correction officers to work triple tours us full credit for the delays in all monies related to (covid-19) absences.” moving of duty. Please contact your executive owed to our members. we are forward, cobA will vigorously lobby our board member if you have been forced scheduled to proceed to arbitration state legislators to pass this bill and to work a triple tour so the union can before Arbitrator marty Scheinman on Governor cuomo to sign it into law. address it. november 24, 2020. RETAiNED A NEW LEgAL TEsTiMONY DELivERED we will continue to keep you updated as TEAM TO PROTECT AND BEFORE THE NEW YORK CiTY our expedited arbitration process DEFEND YOUR RigHTs! COUNCiL AND THE NEW YORK develops and we will continue to fight As part of my pledge to you during the sTATE sENATE CONCERNiNg vigorously for our money. we will not campaign to re-shape our legal team THE DEPARTMENT OF relent until we prevail. and improve your legal representation, CORRECTiON’s the executive board and i retained MANAgEMENT OF COviD-19 COBA’s CLAss ACTiON several exceptional law firms who are iN THE CiTY’s JAiLs gRiEvANCE ON BEHALF OF uniquely prepared to meet the legal on September 21, 2020 and September 400 CORRECTiON OFFiCERs needs of cobA members. our new legal 22, 2020, i testified about the doc'S DEsigNATED WiTH CHRONiC team will be led by attorneys who have management of covid-19 in the city's ABsENCEs RELATED TO an exceptional track record in defending jails. in my testimony before both COviD-19 DiAgNOsEs law enforcement officers. more government bodies, i asked city and Hundreds of correction officers who information about our new law firms is state legislators to join me in holding the worked in the jails during the pandemic and included in this edition of boldest news. city of new york fully accountable for missed work after contracting coronavirus protecting the thousands of lives in our jail are now considered chronically absent by facilities, including my members. to start, the city’s correction department — a stain the doc can immediately prepare for the 4 ||| NEW YORK CITY CORRECTION 26077 COBA_NewsLetter_Oct_2020_v14_FINAL.qxp:Layout 1 11/17/20 9:13 PM Page 5 CORRECTION OFFICERS’ BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION THE BOLDEST UNION next wave of covid-19 by taking NEW DigiTAL MARKETiNg MEMBERsHiP ENgAgEMENT advantage of the low inmate population, cobA has retained a new digital the executive board and i continue to which currently hovers around 4,700 marketing firm to influence public make regular visits at various facilities, inmates. instead of consolidating the jails opinion on social media concerning key including on midnight tours, to speak and piling inmates on top of inmates, issues affecting cobA members. with you and your fellow officers and where we are already outnumbered 50-1 answer your work-related questions. we in most housing areas, the doc can ENHANCED visiBiLiTY will continue this effort to stay connected spread the inmates out throughout the iN THE MEDiA with you. jails lowering the officer to inmate ratio to in addition to an oP-ed i published in 15-1. this would allow us to practice better July in the new york daily news titled FORENsiC AUDiT social distancing, while also increasing "Stop Dumping on Correction Officers," we conducted a forensic audit to the safety of officers and inmates alike. As i advanced a new narrative for correction examine areas where the union can cut part of this redistribution of housing areas, officers in over a dozen news stories in costs and streamline operations for the doc should break up the gangs in our media outlets including the ny Post, the greater efficiency. facilities that are housed according to ny daily news, the ny times, the cats their gang affiliation. this practice has round table, city & State magazine, As evidenced above, the executive created little armies within the jails where wPix ch.