Ranger union claims unfair distribution of hours and experience
By Gwendolyn Craig
The union representing forest rangers has filed a grievance against the state Department of Environmental Conservation over alleged unfair overtime distribution, which it said especially impacts Adirondacks and Catskills rangers. The matter is headed to arbitration early next year.
Ranger union representatives said dozens of grievances, mostly regarding overtime, are filed annually but it is rare for one to make it to arbitration. Some estimated it had been a decade since such a proceeding.
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Under the ranger contract, the DEC provides overtime based on seniority and a rotating roster that supervisors are supposed to update. But union representatives said John Solan, the recently retired director of the Division of Forest Protection, issued a memo about two years ago that uses a ranger’s proximity to an incident to award overtime.
For training and out-of-state responses, they said, it’s more unclear how overtime recipients are chosen. DEC management see-saws between using the contract’s stipulations and a seemingly random selection process, representatives said. The rotating list is often outdated or incorrect, they added.
“We feel we’re being robbed of experience because management chooses what they want,” said Hannah O’Connor, vice president for the forest rangers with the New York State Police Benevolent Association. She also patrols the Adirondack Park’s High Peaks region. “(There’s) a lot of favoritism, nepotism and discrimination of how overtime and experience is offered.”
The DEC said it is working with the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, which manages grievance arbitrations.
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The department “is engaging in good faith discussions with the Police Benevolent Association of New York State (PBANYS) related to Division of Forest Protection overtime distribution matters,” it added.
The state pays rangers more than $1.6 million in overtime annually, with nearly half going to those who patrol the Adirondack Park. The U.S. Forest Service reimburses the DEC for out-of-state deployments for fighting wildfires. New York dispatched a crew, including Adirondack rangers, to North Carolina to help with emergency responses following deadly Hurricane Helene. Those overtime accruals will be reimbursed to the state.
But to qualify for fighting wildfires out of state, rangers must annually pass an arduous fitness test that includes carrying 45 pounds over three miles in under 45 minutes.
Some rangers are foregoing training to avoid the test because they never get picked for deployment, said Forest Ranger Union Director Rob Praczkajlo.
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Lake George-area ranger Art Perryman, a union delegate and former director of the rangers, said he and his colleagues often rely on overtime for experiences and to boost their salaries. In contract negotiations, Perryman said, the union was able to secure a 3% raise for rangers, but most hope to earn at least a quarter of their pay in overtime to make their living. Ranger starting pay in 2023 was about $61,000
“You’re talking a big assignment, a 200-hour assignment, could be $10,000 and that makes a big difference in your whole life,” Perryman said. “It’s a real morale factor, and it’s just kind of handed to somebody else on a who-knows-why basis.”
Praczkajlo, one of the top ranger overtime earners based in the High Peaks, said the state’s use of proximity mostly impacts the Adirondacks and Catskills where rangers live relatively close to each other.
Rangers must live within 10 miles of their patrol area, which means their home address could be closer to another ranger’s territory.
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Praczkajlo said 99% of the time, incident calls are not time-sensitive or emergencies. He wants to see the DEC stick to the contract and use a rotating list based on seniority.
“That’s the best service to the public,” Praczkajlo said.
Top photo: In February 2024, DEC Forest Rangers move an ice climber rescued from the North Face of Pitchoff off the Jackrabbit trail to a waiting ambulance at the end of Old Mountain Road in Lake Placid. Photo by Eric Teed
Rob Praczkajlo, a forest ranger in the Adirondacks, earned over $234,000 in overtime pay over five years. $46k/year average. “Praczkajlo said 99% of the time, incident calls are not time-sensitive or emergencies”. Then why is the tax payer footing this much overtime pay when it’s not an emergency or time- sensitive?