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City employees urge council to resolve contract impasse; union alleges retaliation by director
Summary
AFSCME Local 21M members told council they have rejected the city's last offer and urged elected officials to press bargaining teams for a contract to retain staff; a union leader also read an email alleging that a public-works director berated a union official and implied retaliation.
More than two dozen city employees, represented by AFSCME Council 2 Local 21M, addressed the council during the public-comment period on March 3 to press for movement on stalled contract talks and to document alleged management misconduct.
"Our members don't serve this. Our members serve this community, but they don't live in this community," Chuck Spece, the union's staff representative, told council. Spece said members overwhelmingly rejected the city's last, best and final contract proposal and urged the council to empower bargaining teams to reach an agreement that would improve morale, retention and recruitment.
Scott Heath, a 10-year public-works foreman and the union local president, said the union is at an impasse and read a contemporaneous email alleging unprofessional conduct by a public-works director. "These actions by the director were not only unprofessional, but they were also illegal," Heath said, adding that the union may pursue legal remedies if retaliation occurs.
City Manager Jesse Bond raised a point of order when Heath read material the union had asked to be kept confidential, but the mayor allowed the remarks to continue and Bond said the city had been treating related complaints as confidential.
What's next: the union said it filed for mediation and asked the council to encourage a settlement to avoid prolonged labor disruption and costs tied to turnover and litigation.
Sources: Chuck Spece, AFSCME Council 2 Local 21M; Scott Heath, AFSCME Local 21M; City Manager Jesse Bond.
