Editorial - Union President Speaks Out
This letter is in response to Mayor Kasprzaks statement in the Press Republican on 12/22/07 regarding “Mayor will seek concessions the City Unions.”
Mr. Lotemplio says I did not return any phone calls from the Press. Hello-I was having surgery on 12/21. Again, Mr. Lotemplio lacks the professionalism for presenting facts. For the Mayor to go to the Press with these statements when there was no way I could have responded shows exactly what kind a Mayor and Press Reporter we are dealing with. They both stroke each other. In his article, Mayor Kasprzak attempts to place political “spin” on some very serious issues. He refuses to sit down with me or any other union heads to discuss Health Insurance alternatives, grievances or any other problem. This totally violates the campaign he ran on, which states “Strive to work with city employees to promote cost-saving measures to benefit taxpayers.” He has not discussed anything with unions since February. That meeting was to “threaten” us with going to the paper with all grievances and problems. What’s costing the City is in fact that the Mayor keeps acting in disregard of the Union contracts, refusing to settle when offered compromises and then pushing the matter to PERB, arbitration or litigation to get his own way. Regarding the janitor (custodial worker) in City Hall, I went to the Mayor with an agreement. He absolutely refused to sign it. I advised him that AFSCME represents Maintenance and Clerical in the Recognition Clause of our Agreement. I advised him that PERB would put that position and the Senior Building Maintenance Worker(a new position which retiree Kevin Murphy got) in the AFSCME bargaining unit and this was a waste the taxpayers money to fight this. But no - he again refused saying he would let PERB decide. He coaxed the Council into hiring the Kremer and Golberg attorneys out of Albany to fight this. Why? This is an absolute waste of our tax dollars. Two PERB administrative law judges said the same thing, that these cases were “no brainers” and these 2 positions belonged to AFSCME.
His threat to reduce the already depleted work force will not sell. If the last council would have thought the job abolishment’s through, spoken with the Fire and AFSCME Unions and asked for help, grievances would not have been filed and certainly there would not have been any lawsuits filed for Discrimination. I do believe the 3 AFSCME jobs and Fire Dept. positions that were abolished were targeted for the wrong reasons.
Mayor Kasprzak has done nothing but point the finger at everyone else but what has he done to bring in new revenue. Nothing. He has not been to Albany to bring in State and Federal dollars, as did the previous Mayor. I have emailed the Mayor several times to re-establish the Medical Task Force Committee. This Task Force consisted of the 4 Union Presidents, one Councilor and a representative from First Niagara. The emails go unanswered and ignored. The 5.1 Million-dollar price tag for Health Insurance is misleading. That total represents retirees, their spouses, councilors, the Mayor, everyone. What has the City done to reduce that dollar amount? Did they barter with Blue Shield for lower rates or just accept what Blue Shield quoted? Mayor Kasprzak was made aware of illegal situations with Civil Service and did nothing. These “frivolous grievances” came from him ignoring contracts and the civil service law. Instead, he hired the Stafford, Owens law firm to fight these issues and spend more of the taxpayers dollars. He’s spending the money, not us. And its Christmas. To make these statements at holiday time is unspeakable.
Denise Nephew
President AFSCME Local 788 - Plattsburgh New York
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