Council 4 Files Labor Complaint against Fairfield Housing Authority; Alleges Workers Were Fired Due to Union Organizing

New Britain, CT, May 23, 2012 — Council 4 AFSCME, a union which represents public housing authority employees throughout Connecticut, filed a labor board complaint against the Fairfield Housing Authority, alleging that three employees were terminated for union organizing.

Council 4 filed the complaint with the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations (CSBLR), which held an informal hearing into the matter on May 21 in Fairfield. According to the complaint, FHA Executive Director Carol Martin “discharged the Deputy Director and two maintenance workers after she was notified by the CSBLR that a petition had been filed by AFSCME Council 4 to represent FHA employees.”

Michael Gurge, former Deputy Director for the Housing Authority, was among the workers fired May 4, 2012.  Prior to his termination, Gurge successfully worked to prevent local families from losing their rental subsidy, which would have increased the homeless rate in Fairfield. He called the termination of FHA employees “a real disservice to program participants and landlords.”

At the CSBLR’s informal hearing, Council 4 Field Representative David Testa argued that FHA management unlawfully terminated workers who wanted to have a voice on the job to protect their services. “We will await the State Labor Board’s decision,” Testa said, “and we believe justice will be served.”

In the complaint, Council 4 is demanding the Fairfield Housing Authority return the three employees to their original jobs and make them whole for any losses suffered.