Vacation Leave Accrual Cap Extended

It has proved to be a difficult year. The impact that the COVID-19 has had on our communities and our families has been devastating. For many of you, it also affected your ability to enjoy your earned vacation leave during the summer months. Early in the pandemic, I had received inquiries as to whether management would consider allowing an extension of personal and vacation leave accruals. In May, the response was that employees should use their personal time. Local 698 and management agreed to revisit the issue of vacation accrual roll-over in the fall months.

With an increasing outreach to me by members, I again reached out to management regarding the extension of the cap on vacation leave accruals. Today, management issued a statement that they would be extending the vacation leave accrual cap to December 31, 2021. What does this mean? It means that if you have over 300 hours/40 days of vacation leave, you would not forfeit those days on December 31, 2020. Rather, you can carry the overage into 2021. This is a huge relief for many as you will be able to enjoy those hard-earned days!

These are no easy feats. I was happy to remind management that Local 698 members, and DASNY employees, had made great sacrifices for DASNY during the pandemic. Your hard work and dedication have improved efficiencies these past months. In fact, there has been an overall increase in productivity throughout the organization. I thank you for that as you make my job easier to do.

I can’t tell you how lucky I am to serve you. 

Union Strong!

Liz Moran, President Local 698