Since the early 1980’s, our local union has represented part-time administrative employees employed by the Town of Greece between 15-32 hours per week. Historically, they have had a good working relationship with the town.
New Management Dramatically Shifts Employee Benefits
In October 2013, negotiations began to replace an old agreement that was set to expire in December of 2013. A newly elected Town Supervisor and a change in management personnel prompted a dramatic turn of events in 2014. The employer began seeking concessions, which eliminated many benefits, including health insurance, cost of living raises, and grievance procedures from the employees. The town was looking to have a workforce model similar to Wal-Mart, one that had no benefits, flexible hourly schedules, and no raises.
Union Members Seek State Mediator Assistance
In the spring of 2014, negotiations broke down. CWA 1170 continued to bargain with the town with no success. In February of 2017, the union then sent for the assistance of the State Mediator from the New York State Public Employee Relations Board. In April 2017, the union and the town had a joint mediation session and reached a tentative agreement that preserved all existing benefits and a $500 bonus check for the year of 2017. The town signed the agreement in April.
CWA 1170 took the contract back to the employee board where it was approved by membership, only to have the agreement rejected and undermined by the Town Supervisor, despite it being signed by his representative.
A Request for Fact-Finding
The union then decided to attempt mediation once again with the State Mediator in June 2017 and was unable to reach an agreement with a non-conciliatory town. Now, CWA 1170 has written the Director of the New York State Public Employee Relations Board to request fact-finding, which is the next step after mediation, where an independent party will listen to both sides and make a recommendation based on the terms and conditions of the contract. The union is waiting for a date to be set.
This negotiation is ongoing, and CWA will continue to fight for the rights of the workers until a final agreement is reached.
For more information on what our local union representatives are doing to improve working conditions for employees, please visit our blog.