July 8, 2010
Reduced Huntington Work Week in Force While Attorneys Prepare Arguments
No Temporary Injunction Issued
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – The compressed Huntington City Hall work schedule will continue, according to a Wednesday afternoon ruling by Cabell County Circuit Judge Jane Hustead. Specifying that the denial of a preliminary injunction did not express a “decision on the merits,” attorneys for both the AFSCME Local and City of Huntington must now prepare for arguments leading to a Declaratory Judgment hearing.
She looked at City Attorney Scott McClure and stated, “I’m not dismissing this case.”
Normally, the granting (or non-granting) of the injunction serves as an indicator of which side likely will prevail on the merits. However, Judge Hustead’s disclaimer of not expressing a “decision on the merits” leaves ambiguity.
An order forcing the continuance of a full five day, 40 hour work week likely would have meant layoffs as the city’s revenues cannot fund a normal schedule. McClure blamed Huntington City Council as not inclined to raise revenue.
Councilwoman Frances Jackson, defensively, told HNN, a more accurate statement would be that council had not yet decided upon potential new revenue streams.
“We’re not inclined to think the city does not need more money. We don’t know how to do it, yet,” Jackson said. “It stands to reason that you cannot stay with the same amount of money. Even in households gas and groceries go up. You have to get a raise in your pay or social security. The city’s going to have to raise something eventually, I don’t know what yet.”
After the court denied the preliminary injunction, Wolfe told the media that the compressed and reduced work weeks seek to prevent layoffs. Stating that “we want to continue to provide the best services to the city,” Wolfe explained that the new schedules which reduce pay by ten percent through cutting four hours from the work week are actually a tactic to prevent layoffs.
The current compressed work week that has City Hall closed on Friday impacts approximately one-third of the union’s members.
The case is reminiscent of one filed by the Fraternal Order of Police in 2008 after then Mayor David Felinton slashed health insurance coverage and increased the cost for current workers and retirees. Judge David Pancake allowed the plan to proceed for current workers, but froze retiree health premiums and benefits at the then current rates and levels.
NOT YET DETERMINED…
On July 1, 2009, Mayor Wolfe issued a statement that the City of Huntington “has not yet determined if it is in the best interest of citizens to have collective bargaining agreements.” The administration has “offered to sign a memorandum of understanding with the bargaining units related to the working conditions for city employees – in particular, job security and benefits. The City is prepared to discuss the wage and benefit package received by every employee and compare it to the average wage earned by the citizens of Huntington.”
In response to the statement by the Wolfe Administration, Danny Plybon, Local 598 president said on July 1, 2009:
“I think the police and fire are in the same position we are in,” Plybon said, adding, “they’ve been offered just parts of their contract, the same as we were. We view it that our contracts are in full force and should remain in full force until we sit down and complete contract negotiations… We’ve been trying to contact Mayor Wolfe since he was elected to get some dates set up for negotiations. We wanted to give him ample time to get his feet on the ground. [Wolfe] wrote us a letter in May [2009] that he did not recognize our contract. [The notice] was supposed to be 60 days before the contract ran out. The contract ran out in 2008.”
You can read the full July 2, 2009 story by clicking: http://archives.huntingtonnews.net/local/090702-rutherford-localexpiredcontracts.html
AFSCME membership approved a contract prior to Felinton leaving office, but Huntington City Council voted 7-2 not to ratify it. The agreement would have raised worker wages $6,240 over five years.
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Reduced Huntington Work Week in Force While Attorneys Prepare Arguments
No Temporary Injunction Issued
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – The compressed Huntington City Hall work schedule will continue, according to a Wednesday afternoon ruling by Cabell County Circuit Judge Jane Hustead. Specifying that the denial of a preliminary injunction did not express a “decision on the merits,” attorneys for both the AFSCME Local and City of Huntington must now prepare for arguments leading to a Declaratory Judgment hearing.
She looked at City Attorney Scott McClure and stated, “I’m not dismissing this case.”
Normally, the granting (or non-granting) of the injunction serves as an indicator of which side likely will prevail on the merits. However, Judge Hustead’s disclaimer of not expressing a “decision on the merits” leaves ambiguity.
An order forcing the continuance of a full five day, 40 hour work week likely would have meant layoffs as the city’s revenues cannot fund a normal schedule. McClure blamed Huntington City Council as not inclined to raise revenue.
Councilwoman Frances Jackson, defensively, told HNN, a more accurate statement would be that council had not yet decided upon potential new revenue streams.
“We’re not inclined to think the city does not need more money. We don’t know how to do it, yet,” Jackson said. “It stands to reason that you cannot stay with the same amount of money. Even in households gas and groceries go up. You have to get a raise in your pay or social security. The city’s going to have to raise something eventually, I don’t know what yet.”
After the court denied the preliminary injunction, Wolfe told the media that the compressed and reduced work weeks seek to prevent layoffs. Stating that “we want to continue to provide the best services to the city,” Wolfe explained that the new schedules which reduce pay by ten percent through cutting four hours from the work week are actually a tactic to prevent layoffs.
The current compressed work week that has City Hall closed on Friday impacts approximately one-third of the union’s members.
The case is reminiscent of one filed by the Fraternal Order of Police in 2008 after then Mayor David Felinton slashed health insurance coverage and increased the cost for current workers and retirees. Judge David Pancake allowed the plan to proceed for current workers, but froze retiree health premiums and benefits at the then current rates and levels.
NOT YET DETERMINED…
On July 1, 2009, Mayor Wolfe issued a statement that the City of Huntington “has not yet determined if it is in the best interest of citizens to have collective bargaining agreements.” The administration has “offered to sign a memorandum of understanding with the bargaining units related to the working conditions for city employees – in particular, job security and benefits. The City is prepared to discuss the wage and benefit package received by every employee and compare it to the average wage earned by the citizens of Huntington.”
In response to the statement by the Wolfe Administration, Danny Plybon, Local 598 president said on July 1, 2009:
“I think the police and fire are in the same position we are in,” Plybon said, adding, “they’ve been offered just parts of their contract, the same as we were. We view it that our contracts are in full force and should remain in full force until we sit down and complete contract negotiations… We’ve been trying to contact Mayor Wolfe since he was elected to get some dates set up for negotiations. We wanted to give him ample time to get his feet on the ground. [Wolfe] wrote us a letter in May [2009] that he did not recognize our contract. [The notice] was supposed to be 60 days before the contract ran out. The contract ran out in 2008.”
You can read the full July 2, 2009 story by clicking: http://archives.huntingtonnews.net/local/090702-rutherford-localexpiredcontracts.html
AFSCME membership approved a contract prior to Felinton leaving office, but Huntington City Council voted 7-2 not to ratify it. The agreement would have raised worker wages $6,240 over five years.
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Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
