Record-Journal
12-21-2007, 10:48 PM
MERIDEN — City offices will be closed Christmas Eve, but members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union, Local 595 of Council 4, plan to show up on the front steps of City Hall bright and early with community supporters to rally for saving public services.
Local 595 said the rally is a response to a lockout imposed on its members.
The lockout, covering the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, was initiated by City Manager Lawrence Kendzior to save money.
Local 595 posted a message on the AFL-CIO Web site announcing the rally.
“Despite our best efforts to resolve this issue, we have run into a stone wall of hard heartedness on the part of the city manager,” the message reads.
Local 595 has filed a municipal prohibited practice complaint with the state Board of Labor Relations and members “fully expect to be vindicated in their belief that the contract has been violated and that state labor law has been ignored,” according to the Web site.
The complaint seeks an immediate order for the city to stop the practice of lockouts when a furlough proposal is rejected. The State Board of Labor Relations reported the complaint is still pending.
Personnel Director Caroline Beitman informed department heads and supervisors on Nov. 4 that union members should not be on the premises unless in their role as citizens in public areas.
The memo instructs supervisors to call the Police Department if an employee refuses to leave the work area.
Diana Naimo, Local 595 president, said in a press release the union has always been willing to do its share to help save city services that have been cut to the bone.
“More cuts in the services our members provide will only result in a dysfunctional city,” she said.
Local 595 represents 113 city employees and is affiliated with Council 4, which represents 35,000 employees throughout the state.
In a memo to Mayor Mark D. Benigni, Kendzior defended the three-day layoff as an alternative to permanent job cuts to offset increases in residential property taxes.
He explained that in his budget message to the City Council in March, he detailed the implications of the state-mandated property revaluation, noting that residential property values measured by actual sales increased significantly.
Kendzior’s proposal to eliminate more than 30 staff positions, saving $1 million, was approved by the City Council.
Kendzior additionally proposed that management employees and members of the clerical, public works and supervisor bargaining units be furloughed for three days.
“The rationale was to achieve savings without having to eliminate further employee positions permanently,” he wrote.
The management employees and employees in the supervisors bargaining unit accepted the furlough, but two bargaining units, Local 595 and Local 740 of the AFL-CIO, did not agree to the furlough proposal.
Members of Local 740 were laid off for three days during the summer, which resulted in loss of pay. That bargaining unit also filed a grievance against the city.
Kendzior said in the memo that he met with Local 595 on Dec. 7 to reiterate the city’s willingness to work out alternatives to deduct the payroll savings on a weekly basis so employees would not lose an entire day’s pay before Christmas.
“Their response was to reject our offers and representatives refused to discuss any other alternatives,” Kendzior wrote. Kendzior could not be reached for comment Friday.
Andrew Romagialli, Council 4 staff representative, sent a response to Kendzior’s letter to Benigni on Dec. 21 to clarify the “wonton and willful misrepresentations of the facts.”
Romagialli said Local 595 members have made several financial concessions over the past 15 years, including furlough days, wage concessions and elimination of top salary steps, which have saved taxpayers at least $500,000.
Romagialli added that during a May meeting to discuss furloughs, Beitman presented two proposals: to combine three furlough days with an early retirement incentive, or to only offer the early retirement option.
Local 595 accepted the early retirement option but refused the furloughs.
“At that point Beitman could have followed the rule of law and pursued interest arbitration on the issue of furloughs,” Romagialli said.
“Instead, Beitman and her superior (Kendzior) exercised willful disregard for the law by failing to bargain in good faith and imposed a lockout of city workers.”
Romagialli said the attitude of Kendzior and Beitman during a Dec. 7 meeting was “inappropriate, rude and dismissive.”
“Kendzior smirked throughout the meeting and indicated that he had no interest in seeking concessions from any other union,” he said.
“We find such behavior disrespectful and unprofessional on the part of someone who is supposed to be a public servant.”
Beitman said Kendzior reduced the budget to include those three days for every department except public safety, which was approved by the City Council, and made an effort choose those days carefully.
“It was done in the least painful way,” she said. “Those days were chosen because they are most likely to be days people would want to have off.”
The “Save our Public Services” rally is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday.
Local 595 said the rally is a response to a lockout imposed on its members.
The lockout, covering the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, was initiated by City Manager Lawrence Kendzior to save money.
Local 595 posted a message on the AFL-CIO Web site announcing the rally.
“Despite our best efforts to resolve this issue, we have run into a stone wall of hard heartedness on the part of the city manager,” the message reads.
Local 595 has filed a municipal prohibited practice complaint with the state Board of Labor Relations and members “fully expect to be vindicated in their belief that the contract has been violated and that state labor law has been ignored,” according to the Web site.
The complaint seeks an immediate order for the city to stop the practice of lockouts when a furlough proposal is rejected. The State Board of Labor Relations reported the complaint is still pending.
Personnel Director Caroline Beitman informed department heads and supervisors on Nov. 4 that union members should not be on the premises unless in their role as citizens in public areas.
The memo instructs supervisors to call the Police Department if an employee refuses to leave the work area.
Diana Naimo, Local 595 president, said in a press release the union has always been willing to do its share to help save city services that have been cut to the bone.
“More cuts in the services our members provide will only result in a dysfunctional city,” she said.
Local 595 represents 113 city employees and is affiliated with Council 4, which represents 35,000 employees throughout the state.
In a memo to Mayor Mark D. Benigni, Kendzior defended the three-day layoff as an alternative to permanent job cuts to offset increases in residential property taxes.
He explained that in his budget message to the City Council in March, he detailed the implications of the state-mandated property revaluation, noting that residential property values measured by actual sales increased significantly.
Kendzior’s proposal to eliminate more than 30 staff positions, saving $1 million, was approved by the City Council.
Kendzior additionally proposed that management employees and members of the clerical, public works and supervisor bargaining units be furloughed for three days.
“The rationale was to achieve savings without having to eliminate further employee positions permanently,” he wrote.
The management employees and employees in the supervisors bargaining unit accepted the furlough, but two bargaining units, Local 595 and Local 740 of the AFL-CIO, did not agree to the furlough proposal.
Members of Local 740 were laid off for three days during the summer, which resulted in loss of pay. That bargaining unit also filed a grievance against the city.
Kendzior said in the memo that he met with Local 595 on Dec. 7 to reiterate the city’s willingness to work out alternatives to deduct the payroll savings on a weekly basis so employees would not lose an entire day’s pay before Christmas.
“Their response was to reject our offers and representatives refused to discuss any other alternatives,” Kendzior wrote. Kendzior could not be reached for comment Friday.
Andrew Romagialli, Council 4 staff representative, sent a response to Kendzior’s letter to Benigni on Dec. 21 to clarify the “wonton and willful misrepresentations of the facts.”
Romagialli said Local 595 members have made several financial concessions over the past 15 years, including furlough days, wage concessions and elimination of top salary steps, which have saved taxpayers at least $500,000.
Romagialli added that during a May meeting to discuss furloughs, Beitman presented two proposals: to combine three furlough days with an early retirement incentive, or to only offer the early retirement option.
Local 595 accepted the early retirement option but refused the furloughs.
“At that point Beitman could have followed the rule of law and pursued interest arbitration on the issue of furloughs,” Romagialli said.
“Instead, Beitman and her superior (Kendzior) exercised willful disregard for the law by failing to bargain in good faith and imposed a lockout of city workers.”
Romagialli said the attitude of Kendzior and Beitman during a Dec. 7 meeting was “inappropriate, rude and dismissive.”
“Kendzior smirked throughout the meeting and indicated that he had no interest in seeking concessions from any other union,” he said.
“We find such behavior disrespectful and unprofessional on the part of someone who is supposed to be a public servant.”
Beitman said Kendzior reduced the budget to include those three days for every department except public safety, which was approved by the City Council, and made an effort choose those days carefully.
“It was done in the least painful way,” she said. “Those days were chosen because they are most likely to be days people would want to have off.”
The “Save our Public Services” rally is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday.