Labor Stalemate Brews Protest
By Gus Herrera
Labor disputes between the City of Pasadena and the city’s workers, who are represented by the local 858 branch of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), have recently escalated.
Fed up with the fact that negotiations have been at a standstill for quite some time, there was a public rally slated for Monday evening, June 20, for protesters to demand fair and equal treatment for blue-collar city workers in front of city hall. Unfortunately, maybe as a result of the sweltering triple digit heat, the rally did not take place. Instead, the AFSCME took its plight within the air-conditioned council chambers, during council’s regular meeting.
The AFSCME, which is the largest and fastest-growing trade union of public employees in the United States, was formed to fight for “fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services, and prosperity and opportunity for all working families,” according to the Union’s website (www.afscme.org). AFSCME Local 858 claims to represent 300 Pasadena city workers, 16 percent of the workforce.
These workers, whose daily labor is commonly taken for granted, are the men and women who help maintain the city we call home. They constitute some of the city’s most critical departments: water and power, parks and recreation, etc.
According to a statement posted by the AFSCME, city workers have been “singled out by management and asked to accept inferior pay and benefits compared with most other city employees.”
Lee Wax, an AFSCME Local 858 representative who spoke on behalf of the city workers during the public comment portion of council’s regular meeting, revealed that the AFSCME and the city, “have been in negotiation for quite some time.”
The AFSCME claims that despite the workers’ flexible disposition in the past, which allowed the city to postpone a pay increase they promised back in 2006 (an act which saved Pasadena over $800,000), the city continues to low-ball its workers by pushing “for an agreement that would hurt AFSCME members by cutting healthcare and reducing retirement benefits by eight percent …” In return, the city offered the workers two, measly, one percent pay increases.
According to Wax, the city cites a lack of finances, saying that they “cannot project far enough into the future to give a decent pay raise.”
The frustrations which plague the AFSCME and the workers they represent are furthered by the fact that the city recently doubled their General Fund balance, a notion which they claim places the city in a “solid financial state.” Moreover, they cite that the city’s General Fund has “been producing surpluses in the millions since 2013.”
Wax claims that AFSCME has done its research, “we know that reserves and finances have exceeded expectations … management received a three percent raise … Why is it that the lowest paid have to put up the biggest fight to get a measly pay raise?”
He continued to say that the issue has more to do with the city’s mindset, as it does with its finances, “It would be different if you didn’t have the money, but that’s not the case, you don’t have the will … the city has to show responsibility for its employees … it’s not just about the money, it’s a morale problem.”
Wax’s speech was received with a standing ovation from the scores of city workers seated in the council chambers.
“These workers have always been the ones to step up and sacrifice when budget times were tough,” says Wax, “but it is not ok that management gives themselves raises and negotiates fair deals with everyone else but them. All they are asking for is an honest discussion at the bargaining table and equal treatment in the workforce.”
The matter at hand was added to Monday’s city council agenda late last week. A recent article by Pasadena Now revealed that an informal “strike” on Friday, June 17, might have had something to do with the addendum, which was posted later that same day, citing a union representative who “claimed that 260 out 300 union members working for the City of Pasadena stayed home from their jobs in a ‘spontaneous’ action.”
Representatives from the AFSCME met in a closed session with the city council, along with Interim City Manager Steve Mermell and Jennifer Curtis, director of the city’s human resources department. At the beginning of the evening’s regular council meeting, Mayor Terry Tornek revealed that no reportable action was taken on the item. Thus, negotiations will continue.
