County unions find strength in numbers

Money is top issue for Sullivan workers’ alliance

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — The contracts with Sullivan County union workers ended in December 2007. If the negotiating pattern follows the last one, the workers may not get a new contract until the end of next year. That’s one of several issues that prompted five bargaining units that represent county employees to join forces in an attempt to pressure lawmakers to give them what they call a living wage.

About 20 shop stewards and members of negotiating committees held a press conference on April 16 to highlight the new group called the Sullivan County Public Employee Alliance.

Regarding the lengthy negotiating period, several members said it was a deliberate attempt by lawmakers and management to wear down the workers with no raises for two years, then dangle a large check of retroactive pay in exchange for members accepting less than they otherwise might. Because they are government employees, the workers do not have a legal right to strike.

In response to a question about this, lawmaker Kathy LaBuda issued a statement that said, “By all accounts the negotiations have been fair and respectful thus far, and both sides feel as though they are making progress. The county manager is preparing to present the unions with a package that is fair to both the employees and the county taxpayers within the next month. We remain confident that these contracts will be settled before the summer is over.”

The main complaint about the last contract and the focus of new negotiations, however, is that county workers are paid less than those in the surrounding counties of Orange, Ulster and even Delaware. According to Adrian Huff, the secretary, treasurer and principal officer of Teamsters Local 445, 50 percent of employees in the department of public works have five years’ experience on the job or less, because employees are often lured away to other counties with higher pay scales. This leads to an overworked work force, he said.

According to the negotiators, the same situation applies to nurses, healthcare workers, 911 center dispatchers, sheriff’s deputies and other county workers. As a result, various departments are understaffed and this leads to mandatory overtime in some departments, and, according to Mary Cudjoe of the New York State Nurses Association, this represents a danger to the public. The issue has surfaced repeatedly through the years at the government center.

Adding fuel to the negotiating fire this time around is the matter of non-union workers at the county, who have received attractive “salary enhancements” this year and, according to negotiators, will receive another raise once the contracts are ironed out. One such raise for a legislative aide, who received a raise of 31 percent if additional benefits are included, created headlines in March and resentment among some of the rank and file.

The members of the alliance include Laborers Local 17, the New York State Nurses Association, Sullivan County Patrolman’s Benevolent Association, the Civil Service Employees Association Local 853 and Teamsters Local 445. The five organizations represent about 1,200 county workers.

The unions hope to move public opinion with this alliance, but as a practical matter, it may not have a significant impact at the bargaining table, because the five bargaining units will continue to negotiate separate contracts.