RCSD staff union presses board over delayed raises and retroactive pay; district cites systems issue

Members of Bente Local 2419 told the Rochester City School District Board of Education on Dec. 19 that the district delayed raises and retroactive pay tied to a collective bargaining agreement, leaving many school employees short ahead of the holidays.

The union’s president, Angelo Palmarini, said Bente represents more than 1,200 district employees and that members did not receive their contractual rate increases until the Nov. 15 paycheck even though the board approved the contract on Aug. 22. "We didn't see our rate increases until our November 15th paycheck, almost 3 months after this board approved the contract,” Palmarini said. He told the board that retroactive pay had still not been distributed and that an email from Human Capital said "most of our members will be receiving retro in their December 27th paycheck."

Laura (last name redacted), secretary-treasurer of Bente Local 2419, said the pattern of delayed payments and weak communication has "damaged the relationship between our members and the district." She said the delay forces many members—some of whom work as few as 20 hours a week—to take second jobs or struggle to cover basic needs. "All we are asking is that Bente be treated like other bargaining units in this district," she said.

Jessica Reinhold, the union vice president, told the board that members have been told for months that the problem is a payroll "systems issue" and that members have little patience for repeated assurances. "The retro pay is a symptom of a bigger problem," Reinhold said, citing instances this year when staff were underpaid because of input errors and saying Human Capital did not adequately follow up on correction requests.

Superintendent Demario Strickland acknowledged the delays and apologized to members, saying multiple departments and antiquated systems contributed to the problem. "You deserve better," Strickland told members present and listening. He said the district has committed to upgrading systems and that he personally had worked to resolve prior payroll errors for school safety officers. "We must and continue to do better and you definitely will have that commitment from me and this administration," he said.

Board President Cynthia Elliott and other board members listened during the public-comment portion and during the superintendent's remarks. No formal motion or board vote on the Bente pay schedule was recorded in the meeting minutes; the board accepted other financial and personnel resolutions during the session.

The union requested that the district provide timelines and follow-through; the district pointed to a Dec. 27 payroll date for most retro payments in an email to members but did not provide a line-by-line retro schedule in the meeting.