Feb. 4, 2010
Local 598 President Explains ‘Without a Contract’ City Not Bound Either Way
Wants Serious Negotiations Restarted
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Members of Huntington’s four unions have been working without a contract. “People need a contract; they need some control over part of their life,” explained Jim Porter, President of Local 598 AFSCME during a phone interview. “The way it is now, we never know what is going on.” Technically (and legally) AFSCME could still be working under a contract that Mayor David Felinton extended. “We still believe our contract is in force. That’s going to come down to a court battle sooner or later.” As for the stipulation agreement, the administration inserted a “we are not bound in any way” clause and one that leaves them “free to change at any time.”
No contract means no wage increases, but their health insurance premiums have been increased. For AFSCME workers, the policy terms and provisions offset acceptance of lower salaries.
Disputing the term “Cadillac insurance policy,” Porter said “that’s what it is for to pay the expenses. [Our workers] can’t afford to pay for the insurance policy, then, pay for their medical expenses. Now, they want to put us with [the other unions], but yet we got insurance in lieu of raises.”
Porter stressed that administrative positions had been given “the biggest raises in history” , yet for AFSCME workers, health insurance premiums and higher co-pay percentages was a burden to employees. As a for instance, the union president cited his wife’s knee replacement.
“I [only] made $39,000 last year and spent $10,000 on medical expenses, then, paid $2,000 for the insurance,” Porter explained. After knee replacement co-pays, “they still told my wife she would have to pay 50% [of the ] therapy [costs]. She was disabled; her knees were so bad she could no longer work. That did not leave me much to live on, and, I’m one of the better paid --- matter of fact I’m at the top rate --- AFSCME employees.”
Only a few employees qualify for the top rate, as for the others, “I don’t see how they make it,” he said, adding that “we made it on the money she saved when she worked.”
Currently, the police and fire unions have asked for additional changes to their insurance, which Porter fears will mean higher premiums. “Some of my people only make $22,000 a year,” he said. “$2,000 comes out of your pocket [for insurance] already, so [any increase] will price more of my people from having any insurance at all.”
During the interview, Porter explained the lack of a written grievance procedures has left several workers in a rubric pertaining to what their attorneys call a grievance process to be followed prior to the initiation of a formal legal complaint.
MOST PEOPLE FIRE THEMSELVES
Referring to consequences of worker conduct as “hit or miss,” he compared an AFSCME worker receiving three days off for an accident, yet, police officers have much more serious accidents that injure others and are not pulled off work.
Instead of arbitrating the three days suspension, Porter said the request has been “ignored.”
He indicated that the administration and council have stated a grievance procedure exists, but Ms. Jacobs-Jones response indicated there was not one. “When it suits them, we have a grievance procedure.”
The union leader spoke of a man fired in July on the verge of losing his house and truck.
“In most cases when somebody gets fire, they usually fire themselves,” but in one situation “during a rainstorm where the whole city was underwater”, someone called that “they had a back hoe smoking. A couple of mechanics were told to go. It was nonsense. If the back hoe was on fire, what good is a mechanic, you need a fire truck. Once the fire is out, you send a mechanic to fix it. You don’t send a mechanic to fight fires.”
LABOR ATTORNEY NEGOTIATOR
Porter feels that bringing in an outsider for negotiations puts another hurdle to a contract agreement on a table.
“If the Mayor is part of contract negotiations , he can state, ‘we’ll sign off on that’ or ‘on this section,’ before the outside attorney can sign anything, he has to go back to the Mayor and ask ‘do you agree with this?,’ but we’re still not home, you have to take it to city council.
“After we negotiated a contract, council turned it down,” Porter stressed. However, a second contract was actually negotiated, but it did not come before council. Instead, Porter asked that Ms. Jacobs-Jones inquire to council about the second proposal.
“For some reason Brandi never took that [one] to council,” Porter said, although he speculated that it may have been privately circulated. “They could have voted up or down, or said what’s wrong with it.”
WANT NEGOTIATIONS RESTARTED
Porter stressed that the union local knew they could not receive an immediate contract when the information picketing started. “We wanted to get the negotiations going immediately,” then, added that he could “picture” the negotiator having a meeting “once every two months for the next four or five years.”
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Local 598 President Explains ‘Without a Contract’ City Not Bound Either Way
Wants Serious Negotiations Restarted
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Members of Huntington’s four unions have been working without a contract. “People need a contract; they need some control over part of their life,” explained Jim Porter, President of Local 598 AFSCME during a phone interview. “The way it is now, we never know what is going on.” Technically (and legally) AFSCME could still be working under a contract that Mayor David Felinton extended. “We still believe our contract is in force. That’s going to come down to a court battle sooner or later.” As for the stipulation agreement, the administration inserted a “we are not bound in any way” clause and one that leaves them “free to change at any time.”
No contract means no wage increases, but their health insurance premiums have been increased. For AFSCME workers, the policy terms and provisions offset acceptance of lower salaries.
Disputing the term “Cadillac insurance policy,” Porter said “that’s what it is for to pay the expenses. [Our workers] can’t afford to pay for the insurance policy, then, pay for their medical expenses. Now, they want to put us with [the other unions], but yet we got insurance in lieu of raises.”
Porter stressed that administrative positions had been given “the biggest raises in history” , yet for AFSCME workers, health insurance premiums and higher co-pay percentages was a burden to employees. As a for instance, the union president cited his wife’s knee replacement.
“I [only] made $39,000 last year and spent $10,000 on medical expenses, then, paid $2,000 for the insurance,” Porter explained. After knee replacement co-pays, “they still told my wife she would have to pay 50% [of the ] therapy [costs]. She was disabled; her knees were so bad she could no longer work. That did not leave me much to live on, and, I’m one of the better paid --- matter of fact I’m at the top rate --- AFSCME employees.”
Only a few employees qualify for the top rate, as for the others, “I don’t see how they make it,” he said, adding that “we made it on the money she saved when she worked.”
Currently, the police and fire unions have asked for additional changes to their insurance, which Porter fears will mean higher premiums. “Some of my people only make $22,000 a year,” he said. “$2,000 comes out of your pocket [for insurance] already, so [any increase] will price more of my people from having any insurance at all.”
During the interview, Porter explained the lack of a written grievance procedures has left several workers in a rubric pertaining to what their attorneys call a grievance process to be followed prior to the initiation of a formal legal complaint.
MOST PEOPLE FIRE THEMSELVES
Referring to consequences of worker conduct as “hit or miss,” he compared an AFSCME worker receiving three days off for an accident, yet, police officers have much more serious accidents that injure others and are not pulled off work.
Instead of arbitrating the three days suspension, Porter said the request has been “ignored.”
He indicated that the administration and council have stated a grievance procedure exists, but Ms. Jacobs-Jones response indicated there was not one. “When it suits them, we have a grievance procedure.”
The union leader spoke of a man fired in July on the verge of losing his house and truck.
“In most cases when somebody gets fire, they usually fire themselves,” but in one situation “during a rainstorm where the whole city was underwater”, someone called that “they had a back hoe smoking. A couple of mechanics were told to go. It was nonsense. If the back hoe was on fire, what good is a mechanic, you need a fire truck. Once the fire is out, you send a mechanic to fix it. You don’t send a mechanic to fight fires.”
LABOR ATTORNEY NEGOTIATOR
Porter feels that bringing in an outsider for negotiations puts another hurdle to a contract agreement on a table.
“If the Mayor is part of contract negotiations , he can state, ‘we’ll sign off on that’ or ‘on this section,’ before the outside attorney can sign anything, he has to go back to the Mayor and ask ‘do you agree with this?,’ but we’re still not home, you have to take it to city council.
“After we negotiated a contract, council turned it down,” Porter stressed. However, a second contract was actually negotiated, but it did not come before council. Instead, Porter asked that Ms. Jacobs-Jones inquire to council about the second proposal.
“For some reason Brandi never took that [one] to council,” Porter said, although he speculated that it may have been privately circulated. “They could have voted up or down, or said what’s wrong with it.”
WANT NEGOTIATIONS RESTARTED
Porter stressed that the union local knew they could not receive an immediate contract when the information picketing started. “We wanted to get the negotiations going immediately,” then, added that he could “picture” the negotiator having a meeting “once every two months for the next four or five years.”
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