Pay Stubs (Yes, Again)

by Steve Bradshaw, President

You’re probably tired of the ongoing saga of the missing paystubs. You can be sure we are most tired of it here in the Union office.
To recap the history, it all began last November (yes, five months ago) when the City decided that it would cease providing paper paystubs and instead give us access to their payroll software program so we could download the stubs ourselves. It all seemed so simple. But there were (are) multiple problems with that idea.
Many people are not computer savvy enough to be able to navigate the maze of different levels of passwords and usernames. Others are concerned about the lack of privacy. The form is confusing and printing it is difficult or impossible. Some spent hours trying to get it and came up empty-handed. Very frustrating. Most could not properly access their paystubs and simply gave up trying.
The Union initiated a policy grievance and argued that a better way would be to simply provide the paystub as an attachment in an email to each employee. And that’s where we are now. The City agreed to give it a try.
As of our newsletter submission deadline, the City is “99.9% sure” that the emailed paystub will go live for ATU members on April 12 for pay period 7. On April 12, you should be able to open your City Gmail and find a message waiting there for you. That message will contain an attachment that is your paystub. You double-click on it, give it your payroll number and “POOF!” – your paystub should open. You can read it, print it, or just close it. It’ll always be there unless you delete it.
We realize that this is not a perfect solution for everyone. Some will continue to have security concerns no matter how secure the system. Yet others remain unwilling to use the City’s Gmail system. We do urge you to give it a try, though. The City has invested a lot of resources into fixing the problem and if this works, it will make getting your paystub simple and easy.
We’re looking forward to seeing it go live and also to your feedback on how well it works. Please drop us a note if you have any comments.