Fanwood Approves Agreement with Labor Union

Tuesday night's Borough Council meeting saw heated discussion over a resolution to hire unemployed union members for public works projects. 

The resolution would eventually pass, but not before Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr and a former Republican nominee for county freeholder argued rat-tat-tat over the resolution's feasibility and over concerns that the council did not really understand what it was agreeing to.

The resolution, presented by Council President Russell Huegel during the Public Works council report, calls for Fanwood to enter into a non-binding agreement with Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), a union hall in Elizabeth composed of many Fanwood residents.

Rather than hire a full-time employee to fill a vacancy in the borough's Department of Public Works, Fanwood would hire workers on a case-by-case, as-needed basis for small public works projects. The union, in return, will give members who are Fanwood residents priority for borough jobs.

Borough Council members greeted the proposal with enthusiasm. Residents present at the meeting, however, voiced concerns about the agreement.

John Piccola, a member of the Fanwood Public Works Department, said he worried that hiring outside workers could lead to the replacement of current Fanwood Public Works Department employees, effectively eliminating any potential job creation.

Mahr, in response, said that the resolution would cause no Fanwood Public Works employee to lose a job, and that union employees could only be used to supplement labor needs at the department. She also explained that these workers, if used at all, would only be hired for small capital projects such as sidewalk replacements and leaf cleanup, leaving the remainder of town maintenance to the department of public works staff. 

Bruce Patterson, a borough resident, union contractor, and formerly a GOP nominee for both county freeholder and Garwood mayor, spoke after Piccola. He insisted that he did not see the resolution's practical value. "You're opening up a big can of worms here," Patterson said.

He asked the council what would happen if the department of public works requested a worker for a job the worker lacked skills for. Mahr rejected said Fanwood would contact the union and provide information regarding the job, and the union would supply workers based on the skills necessary, effectively eliminating the problem

Patterson continued in great detail, asking about specific pre-existing union agreements, like extra compensation for work performed for an extended time in a poor weather. He accused the council of not discussing these matters and other similar contractual issues before the resolution's drafting.

But Mahr's reply was emphatic.  "I'm going to stop you right there," she said. "Your assumption is incorrect." She explained that these issues had been discussed in detail during previous meetings and private sessions. 

As the public hearing session of the council meeting approached its close, Patterson warned that the union's power was being underestimated. He called it the "Big dog." Mahr disagreed, citing the unemployment rate unions nationwide are suffering.

In the end, Mahr's arguments proved victorious, and the council passed the resolution unanimously. 

According to Mahr, the extra manpower will allow the Borough to finish already proposed civic city projects and construction—like a retaining wall replacement project on King Street.  Moreover, it will provide the wherewithal for skilled laborers to be at-the-ready in the event of a town emergency, like a major snowstorm, she said.

"If we're lucky enough to have a Fanwood resident who has a skill and needs a job and we have a job for him, then that's great," Mahr said.