Union Employees Want to End Stalled Negotiation on New Contract

Union municipal employees made an appearance at last week's Town Board meeting, August 3, and showed their desire to settle the ongoing contract negotiations.

The union's contract with the town expired on January 1, 2009 and negotiations have been ongoing since August 2008, while former town supervisor Don Peters was still in office.

Keith Kuttruff, president of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), spoke on behalf of the union and requested that the board ends stalled contract negotiations.

"I think it's time we move forward with this," Kuttruf said.

Town Supervisor Susan Siegel told Kutruff that she needed a few months after taking office in January 2010 before she tackles on the contract issues. Kuttruf said everything has remained the same.

He said the benefits in the existing contract are in effect, but without a new contract, they cannot get additional benefits. Town employees have not received raises because the only adjustment they could receive is contractually. Their last contractual increase was on January 1, 2008.

Kuttruf  would not comment on the negotiation's details.

Siegel said the union and the town started meeting in March 2010 and when the CSEA union asked for the town's financial records, they were given to them. She told Kuttruf that the town does not have money, so he wanted to review the reports.

Siegel said the union's review of the town's financial reports have halted the process.

"We've been waiting for them," she said. 

Siegel said the town's fund balance has shrunk. The fund is used for two purposes -- for rainy days and for when taxes are collected, she said. If for some reason someone does not pay their taxes – Trump Park owes more than $700,000 in taxes—the town has to pay for it. She said the town needed to make sure there is a balance in the fund, because otherwise they would have to borrow money from somewhere else at a high interest.

"You have to be cautious," she said.

The union has about 160 employees that work in a number of different town departments, Kuttruf said.

He said that town employees have not been enjoying benefits as some might think. Each union member, hired after October 1, 1979, pays 25 percent of his or her health-care benefits. About five out of all currently have free medical benefits because they were hired before 1979. In addition employees don't assign their own over time pay, rather it is assigned by the management, Kuttruff said.

Members of the CSEA union work as police dispatchers, in records, the court, highway, environment, conservation, parks and recreation, finance, building, sewer, and planning departments. Some are librarians, and others work in the nutrition center.

Some of the benefits of being in the union are protection and being able to collectively bargain agreement.

Civil servants are not the highest paid employees and they go into that work for the security and benefits, Kuttruf said. He added his intent was to bring attention to who they are, the work they do and the fact that they are a vital part of Yorktown.

"We are doing more work with less," he said referring to the town losing employees. "We're making up the difference."

Between 2008 and 2010 the town has lost 11 positions, some due to resignation, retirement, positions were budgeted but never filled and one death, Siegel said.

"We want to maintain services and we don't want to lay people off," she said.

Of the argument that union employees are working more, Siegel said one could make the argument there they were overstaffed.

"It's unfair to expect to have the CSEA to share the burden of the economic times," Kuttruf said.

Siegel said she hoped to meet with the union, and understands that with any negotiation there is a give and take.

"Our goal is we want to settle," she said. "We understand their concern."