Feb. 2, 2010
Picketing Resumes at City Hall
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Informational pickets returned to Huntington City Hall Monday afternoon Feb 1, 2010. Representatives from Local 598 of AFSCME have demanded an “immediate” contract.
Earlier reports indicated that Jim Porter, president of Local 598, sent a letter to Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe. Since it was received late in the afternoon, the Mayor told a reporter he had not yet seen the letter.
Brandi Jacobs-Jones, director of Finance and Administration, acknowledged receipt of the letter to HNN on Monday. Ms. Jacobs-Jones said a statement would be forthcoming on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
Mayor Wolfe has previously explained that until the state legislature approved the fix for the city’s pension funds, the city could not negotiate with the municipality facing receivership. AFSCME workers, as well as police and firefighters, have been working without contracts for at least a year.
Once the legislature voted to approve the re-amortization of the pension funds, the administration hired Michael Estep, a labor attorney, to negotiate contracts. AFSCME is the first city union to publically express their dissatisfaction in the form of informational picketing since the pension approvals.
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Picketing Resumes at City Hall
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Informational pickets returned to Huntington City Hall Monday afternoon Feb 1, 2010. Representatives from Local 598 of AFSCME have demanded an “immediate” contract.
Earlier reports indicated that Jim Porter, president of Local 598, sent a letter to Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe. Since it was received late in the afternoon, the Mayor told a reporter he had not yet seen the letter.
Brandi Jacobs-Jones, director of Finance and Administration, acknowledged receipt of the letter to HNN on Monday. Ms. Jacobs-Jones said a statement would be forthcoming on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
Mayor Wolfe has previously explained that until the state legislature approved the fix for the city’s pension funds, the city could not negotiate with the municipality facing receivership. AFSCME workers, as well as police and firefighters, have been working without contracts for at least a year.
Once the legislature voted to approve the re-amortization of the pension funds, the administration hired Michael Estep, a labor attorney, to negotiate contracts. AFSCME is the first city union to publically express their dissatisfaction in the form of informational picketing since the pension approvals.
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