June 26, 2024 — Respect Us, Protect Us, Pay Us! That was the demand of PEF Social Workers as they advocated for better pay, increased staffing, and improved working conditions over the years.
Following a decision by the Division of Budget based on a recommendation from the Department of Civil Service, some changes are coming to the Social Worker title series.
During a Telephone Town Hall held on June 13, President Wayne Spence and Vice President Randi DiAntonio told PEF Social Workers while it was not everything they advocated for, it is an improvement, and something to build upon.
RELATED: Town Hall audio and key time codes
At the start of the call, President Spence introduced New York State Civil Service Commissioner Timothy R. Hogues, who spoke about his agency’s transparent approach to reallocation.
“We have a very open-door policy, and we want individuals to be educated and understand how we do things,” Commissioner Hogues told PEF members who were listening. “I am always open to coming to speak and having conversations so that individuals can ask questions and make suggestions. I truly believe people are our greatest resource.”
President Spence also introduced VP DiAntonio. She has worked for 28 years as a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) at the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and said that this fight has been “very near and dear” to her. DiAntonio thanked everyone who took part in the advocacy that led to the reallocation – from filling out surveys to recording testimonials to lobbying in Albany.
“We really did our best to be methodical and strategic, and our goal was to lift everyone up,” DiAntonio said. “We collected data in our surveys, we wrote a whitepaper that really highlighted all the information you gave us — around complex duties, increased caseloads, many leaving the field — we worked with legislators, we met with the National Association of Social Workers, we engaged in discussions with OMH, we engaged in letter-writing campaigns. You guys did a lot of work.”
DiAntonio admitted that there are shortcomings in the new reallocation. Specifically, the union proposed an across-the-board salary upgrade for every Social Worker title. The proposal PEF submitted included Social Work Assistants, LMSWs, and the creation of new titles if needed.
During the Town Hall, PEF Director of Contract Administration Debra Greenberg went over the four major changes of the reallocation: Title structure changes, creating new titles, upward reallocations and geographic pay differentials.
RELATED: FAQ on the restructuring
There were several title structure changes across the spectrum of Social Worker titles. None of them, said Greenberg, impact seniority, probation, or transfer opportunities.
Social Worker Assistant 1 and 2 were previously at salary grades 12 and 14, respectively. Both titles were consolidated into one Social Worker Assistant 1 title and made salary grade 14, Social Worker Assistant 3 titles will become Social Worker Assistant 2 but there is no salary grade change.
“This is not a demotion,” said Greenberg. “In fact, for grade 12, this is an upward reallocation of two grades. It is just that the positions are being consolidated and the names are changed.”
Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) 1 (previously SG 18) and 2 (previously SG 20) have been changed and consolidated to a single LMSW title and both titles are now at salary grade 20. Social Work Supervisor 1 (LCSW) (previously SG 23) has no title change but has a salary grade change to grade 25. Social Work Supervisor 2 (LCSW), previously at salary grade 27, is now called Director of Social Work and reallocated to salary grade 29.
PEF successfully fought off the state’s initial plan to move incumbents reallocated to the Director of Social Work position to management/confidential. As a result, incumbents in the new Director of Social Work title will remain in the union.
Three new titles were created as part of the reallocation. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) position has been created at SG 23, a Social Worker Assistant Trainee is an entry-level position at SG 12, and a social worker at SG 18 which seeks to employee recent graduates who may not yet have obtained licensure.
All the title changes took effect May 23, 2024, though it will take the Office of the State Comptroller a few pay cycles to catch up everyone’s pay checks.
Finally, salary differentials were introduced to certain titles based on shift and location — a 7% shift differential for evening and weekend day shifts, and 10% for night shifts for all licensed Social Worker titles across all agencies. A geographic pay differential of $18,000 was introduced in Westchester, Putnam, Ulster, Orange, Sullivan, New York, Suffolk, Nassau, Rockland, Richmond, Kings, Queens, Dutchess counties and the Bronx for Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Director of Social Work, and Social Worker Supervisor 1 titles.
These differentials went into effect May 23 and May 30, 2024, for members on the administrative and institution payrolls, respectively.
Many members had questions about the reallocations and the process Civil Service employs to create new titles and the standards they must now set for the hiring process.
Department of Civil Service Director of Classification and Compensation Abner JeanPierre explained that assigning salary grades focuses on duties, responsibilities, and minimum requirements for the job. This includes looking at whether the title will require a worker to supervise others, the level of education and experience, and how much the work requires the employee to communicate in and out of the agency.
“We also look at the comparison of titles at the grade that we’re looking at, below the grade that we’re looking at and above the grade that we’re looking at,” JeanPierre said.
Differentials are determined based on two criteria, according to law. DCS looks at the comparison of state salaries to private sector salaries and if the state is having trouble retaining workers. In both cases, JeanPierre said, DCS looks at trusted sources to decide.
DCS Manager of Classification and Compensation KelliAnn Sardella took part in the call as well, answering members’ questions submitted in advance.
Sardella said that many of the changes came after several months of work with agencies to review and establish changes to titles in order to improve retention.
“We found that the old title structure included unnecessary levels which made recruitment and retention more difficult,” said Sardella. “We also sought to establish a structure for social work titles that was more in line with that of other professional titles that require a master’s degree.”
According to Sardella, creation of the new titles, like the Social Worker Assistant Trainee, are intended to allow a flexible entry-level position and streamline workers who complete a year of service at the SG 12 position into the Social Worker Assistant 1 position at SG 14.
Additionally, the creation of the LCSW title seeks to recognize the assessment-based treatment, diagnosis, and other factors those employees perform.
For those worried about their longevity payments, Greenberg said that these reallocations could result in some changes depending on where members fall on the salary schedule.
“What we’ve negotiated in our collective bargaining agreement requires that both promotions and reallocations be treated the same way,” said Greenberg. “There’s a 3% increase in salary for a one salary grade promotion or reallocation, a 4.5% increase for two salary grades, and 6% for three salary grades.”
What many don’t realize is that the PEF/State Collective Bargaining Agreement has a longevity “portability” provision (Article 7.9) which requires that the amount of any longevity payment received in the last year also be added to the employee’s base salary before the promotion/reallocation calculation is done. While each calculation may be different, generally, if the employee was receiving a longevity payment and the new salary calculation puts the employee at top of the new salary grade, they would continue to receive longevity payments.
PEF is already focused on the next steps. DiAntonio advised any LMSWs who may be looking to transition to the new LCSW title to investigate funds available through Article 15 of the PEF contract to prepare for the exam to obtain their clinical designation.
PEF will continue advocating for members who did not receive any reallocations and called on the membership to help where they can. Members who feel they are still doing the same or similar work but are not getting paid appropriately should talk to their field representatives and their regional coordinators.
“If you are someone who lives in various parts of the state and you believe that there are private employers that are paying more, we need your help,” said DiAntonio. “We also are going to be advocating that every agency looks at these additional titles and broaden when and where they will use them.”
DiAntonio promised that the fight is not over, despite the recent gains, and that social workers should support one another as much as possible.
“We believe in fair pay, promotional opportunities and above all respect and dignity,” she said.