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Public works employees, labor leaders press Bangor City Council over vacation, comp time and staffing
Summary
Public works employees, union leaders and residents urged the Bangor City Council to address staffing shortages, a new week of vacation for nonunion staff and proposed changes to comp time that union members say would reduce benefits and harm recruitment and safety.
Dozens of public works employees, union representatives and residents told the Bangor City Council on Jan. 27 that recent personnel decisions are hurting recruitment, retention and public safety.
Speakers said the city gave a week of vacation to nonunion employees while telling unionized public works staff they must negotiate for the same week and possibly surrender comp time. They urged the council to intervene and to preserve comp time — a benefit speakers said helps with recruitment, retains experienced operators and offsets tax burdens on overtime pay.
The concerns began with Scott Hardy, a Bangor resident, who said the city is "burying our waste" and pressed the council to prioritize vulnerable residents, then moved to labor issues. Adam Good, legislative and political director for the Maine AFL-CIO, described the city's approach as "a classic divide and conquer tactic, designed to limit the power of workers who take collective action to form a union and to negotiate and enforce collective bargaining agreements." Good said public works employees…
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