What reforms the NYC Board Of Elections
needs from the worker’s perspective
By Donna Ellaby
With the November general
election just two months
away, many New Yorkers may
be wondering whether the New
York City Board of Elections can
administer a smooth and effective
process. Voters need to have
faith in the outcomes of our
elections if we want to increase
the number of people participating
in our democracy.
But to do so, we need to make
significant changes to the way
the BOE is structured and how
it operates. I have been with
BoE since 2012 as a full time
employee but prior to that I was
a monitor and a trainer on a
seasonal basis for over 10 years.
I am currently a senior administrator
assigned to Early Voting. I
have also served as the president
of CWA Local 1183 since 2015.
I know first-hand the resources
and support we need to do our
jobs effectively.
The fact is that working conditions
for the 900 rank and file
employees at the NYC BOE are
unacceptable. Many of our offices
are old, extremely cramped
and pose hazardous conditions,
including poor ventilation and
lighting, inadequate heating and
cooling systems. Most of our
office equipment should have
been replaced decades ago.
This challenging environment
was significantly compounded
by COVID. Our workspaces were
perfect vectors for the spread of
the virus, which was incredibly
stressful for everyone to manage.
The protections that we
New York City Board of Election staff members, background, show a ballot to a campaign observers as they count absentee
ballots in the primary election, Friday, July 2, 2021, in New York.
were provided were simply not
enough, with four workers tragically
dying from the virus, and
more than 40 testing positive.
Underfunding has also led to
an inadequate amount of staff,
which means workers are often
stretched far too thin leading up
to and after the election. Many
of us end up working as many
as 12-14 straight hours for weeks
on end, which leads to chronic
mental and physical health challenges,
workplace injuries and
errors in job performance. And
during the pandemic, there was
little opportunity and an absence
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of technological tools to conduct
appropriate, in-person training
needed to effectively manage the
increase of activity around the
elections. Yet despite continuously
working in this dangerous
environment, there was no hazard
pay provided.
All of these problems can and
must be addressed through a new
collective bargaining agreement.
Our current contract expired in
January, and our union stands
ready to negotiate with the BOE,
city and Office of Labor Relations
on these issues.
Beyond the day-to-day issues
we face, there are larger systemic
issues that lawmakers must
address in order to fully transform
the BOE into a modern
organization.
Since we are not protected
by civil service law, we lack any
opportunity to advance based
on seniority, competitive exams,
skills or evaluations. Promotions
are often based on personal
relationships the county leaders
have with individual employees.
Individual commissioners preside
over and approve all disciplinary
actions regarding employees,
which is often just a reflection
of the employees’ standing
with their party leaders. This
also means that salary rates are
often not based on any clearly
defined system based on merit or
experience. As a result, workers
experience unequal treatment,
pervasive mismanagement and
poor working conditions. This
makes it extremely difficult for
anyone to do their jobs effectively,
and has led to extremely
low morale.
Furthermore, the current
structure of the BOE contributes
to an unacceptable lack of
accountability at the top level
of the agency. Lawmakers must
explore alternative structures
guaranteeing that both workers
and the public know exactly
who is ultimately responsible for
the organization’s performance.
If it takes a state constitutional
amendment to achieve this, then
let’s get to work.
I am proud of my hard-working
colleagues at the Board of
Elections, but we all know that
this is not how the organization
responsible for the functioning
of our democracy should operate.
In addition to the Mayoral
election in November, we now
have what will likely be a competitive
gubernatorial race in
2022.
We cannot go through another
election cycle where the integrity
of our elections is questioned.
But the only way we can
address the underlying problems
at the BOE is by finally listening
and acting on the on-the-ground
experiences and stories of workers
that have been ignored for far
too long.
It is time for a 21st century
election administration.
Donna Ellaby is an administrator
at the Board of Elections
and President of CWA Local
1183.
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