When it comes to city workers there has always been a fight with city hall. Last week city employees received the short end of the stick from all sides: state law, its union leaders, and the city.
The city council has approved a two-year contract between the city and its employee’s union that gives a 10 percent raise ($1) to most union members and a five percent raise to others.
On the surface, it sounds like a win for the city workers, but many of the same complaints from years past have resurfaced.
The city’s contract, negotiated in part by its National Union negotiators and local leaders, was voted on by 44 people, many of whom were not dues-paying members of the union. There are 88 dues-paying members of the union, but Louisiana law allows those who don’t pay union dues to vote.
Of the dues-paying members, only a handful actually participated in the contract decision.
Historically, the city contracts with the employees union, but union members are usually shafted by tricky language that many members don’t understand. The city moves swiftly to get the contract approved before the members read the fine print line by line.
One example is how the city promises $11 an hour minimum pay for city workers. However, the trick is in the terminology; only applies to full-time employees. What’s not said is that their contract defines some workers as “seasonal” even though they work full shifts year-round.
“Seasonal workers” is a term utilized by the Mayo Administration to describe “day laborers” who are hired through a temp agency. These workers won’t get $11 an hour; they will only get the Federal minimum wage of $7.25. The city hires them through temporary labor services that tack on fees for supplying the workers. This way, the city avoids providing benefits.
Amazingly, the city’s union won’t speak up for these employees. It drinks the cool-aid and leaves these workers to fend for themselves.
In his election campaign Mayor Oliver Friday Ellis, spoke against the practice. In his first week in office, many of the “seasonal workers” were put back on the city payroll; but not all of them.
The title “seasonal” workers usually implies that employees don’t work year-round, but at certain seasons of the year. However, some of the city’s seasonal workers work 52 weeks a year without benefits. At last week’s council meeting it was even noted that some of the public works supervisors are “seasonal workers.”
Louisiana is a right-to-work state. Right-to-work is a tricky Republican-sponsored state law designed to weaken unions, by allowing anyone covered by the union contract to vote without being dues-paying members of the union. It’s a union-busting tactic of the Louisiana Legislature.
In Monroe, the city employees contract covers hundreds of employees, but none of them, by state law, have to pay union dues. These non-dues paying members don’t ride garbage trucks or dig ditches, but they showed up to vote for this contract that is being hammered out for them by the sweat and dues of others. They should pay their fair share if they want to vote.
The city’s union leaders distributed a flier that stipulated several items that are not written in the contract which prompted an exchange last week that made it obvious that many of the union members who voted for contract never actually saw the contract itself but only the misleading flier distributed by union leaders.
Among those promises listed on the flier was that union members will not be demoted for disciplinary reasons; it sounded good, but that promise is not in the contract, a fact which was confirmed by the city attorney last week.
Promises that the union will have influence in the selection of uniforms and have representation on the insurance committee both sounded good, but they are not in the contract.
Most importantly, the specific positions and pay scales for each position are not detailed in the contract.
That’s why the union’s former president Robert “Truck” Johnson wanted the city to table the contract for two weeks to be sure that what was promised on the flier that union members voted on, is actually included in the contract.
Only one council member listened to his appeal, Juanita Woods, the others applauded themselves for throwing a $1 bone to the city’s lowest-paid workers.
Before the council or the city applauds themselves too loudly, they should check around: even part-time workers at fast-food restaurants earn $14 and 15 an hour, with signing bonuses.
The union should be ashamed for jumping at the $1 bait without speaking up for the “seasonal” workers who won’t get a dime more.
The late former mayor Robert “Bob” Powell infamously said public works employees are a “dime a dozen.” He’s been dead a long time, but apparently, his sentiment is still shared by many in the city government
