Ortonville- Teamsters Local 214 has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the village after local officials refused to ratify an agreement with the Department of Public Works.
At the Aug. 14 village meeting in executive session, council members rejected by a 4-3 vote a final draft of a tentative agreement accepted and ratified by the union on July 17. Council members Marcy Hanes, Larry Hayden, Mary Kassuba and Kay Green voted to reject the contract. Village President Sue Bess, along with councilmen Bob Flath and Harold Batten voted to accept the contract.
Council member Hayden would not comment on his no vote. Village President Sue Bess voted to support the contract and the deliberations with union officials.
‘I believe it was negotiated in good faith,? said Bess. ‘I believe others (voting no) were questioning increases on optical and dental.?
An outline of the charges filed on behalf of the village DPW were obtained by The Citizen last week. The one-page document charged the village with an intentionally designed plan to avoid its bargaining obligation under the act and the agreed upon collective bargaining agreement. In addition the union charges the village with eroding the collective bargaining agreement as well as the party’s bargaining representative status.
Village manager Ed Coy called the charges just part of ‘the game.?
‘No one said we’re not going to do this agreement,? said Coy. ‘The process is not complete, village officials are always concerned about cost and we need to look at this more. The union feels the council has taken too long to look at the contract. Well, it’s going to be at least a few more weeks.?
Les Barrett, a trustee with Local 214 and representing the employees of the village DPW, said this situation is very unusual.
‘Management has voted its own proposal down,? said Barrett. ‘They agreed to the contract, but after six months of negotiation which ended in January, they are stalling. An administrative law judge has been assigned’and will soon set dates for a hearing.?
‘This is very uncommon’the vote should have been a formality. You should be able to rely on what they said.?
The process of contract ratification started almost three years ago, following a hearing before an administrative law judge for the Michigan Employment Relations Commission in December 2003. The commission ruled in favor of all village DPW, which included a supervisor and two employees in the bargaining unit.
An election followed in September 2004, and by a vote of 2-1, the bargaining rights were awarded to the employees. The village was notified about a month later in a letter from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth Employment Relations Commission regarding the outcome of the vote.
Barrett said a series of 47 proposals, ranging from non-economic to disability to wages and hours, will be discussed at several closed session meetings. Attorney Richard W. Fanning, Jr., from Detroit-based Keller-Thomas, has represented the village since negotiations started.
Local 214 has a membership of more than 9,000 and is the largest Teamsters local union in the state. The local currently represents three bargaining units at the Brandon School District: food service, custodial and maintenance; as well as bus drivers and mechanic employees.