Vernon Supervisors Leave Union Over Dues And Self-Negotiated Deal

VERNON, CT — Eight municipal supervisors in Vernon have broken away from a union in a dispute over a self-negotiated contract that includes no dues withholding, one department head and the town manager said Friday.

Both said the contract is unique because of how it was negotiated and that it is the first to address payroll dues withholding since a landmark Supreme Court decision a year ago.

"I'm not sure I even want to call it a negotiation," said Vernon Parks and Recreation Director Marty Sitler, who represented the eight department heads in the initial contract talks. "We sat down, realized we were already 98 percent in agreement, worked out the other details and had new contract terms."

Eliminated in the new deal was paycheck withholding for dues to the American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees, of which the department heads were members. Town Manager Michael Purcaro cited the 2018 Supreme Court "Janus vs. AFSCME" decision.

In a nutshell, Wikipedia summerizes the decision as saying, "No public sector employee, having refused membership in a trade union, may be compelled to pay union dues to said union because of the benefits he or she may receive from their collective bargaining."

Purcaro said one goal since the decision has been to "get the town out of the business of withholding union dues." He added the Janus decision paves the way.

He said the contract considered, "the best interests of employee rights under the law."

Sitler and Purcaro said the contract terms were worked out in a premilinary meeting with no town lawyers or union officials present. It calls for a 1.95 percent raise per year for the next three years with no union dues taken out of paychecks.

Sitler said when asking the union for an endorsement, he offered to collect the dues himself, place them in an special account and "write one check."

"We were excited about the contract," he said. "We even offered to send in dues six months in advance."

Sitler said he was first told the agreement was unacceptible and added the department heads were then sent a letter — dated June 30 — saying they could be removed from the union if they don't return to the table with representatives.

"We determined that was not serving the interestst of members, so we sort of said, 'go ahead,' said Sitler, who had formed a union during a previous job in another town. "We're now considering ourselves an independent group."

Purcaro said the contract might be the first of its kind in the country.

An AFSCME official was out of the office and could not be reached for immediate comment Friday.

See the complete Janus decision here.

In other personnel news, Vernon's acting fire marshal has been suspended for conduct. See the story here.