A dispute between the city of Duluth and its largest union over whether the city could lay off full-time workers last year before cutting temporary employees appears close to being resolved.
During a court hearing Thursday, Greg Corwin, an attorney for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 66, told a judge that a grievance between the two sides has been solved.
"We have negotiated a settlement as to who's been laid off and when," Corwin said.
Asked about the settlement, Jennifer Mundt, a spokeswoman for AFSCME, said one hasn't been reached yet.
"Nothing's been signed," she said. "We're hopeful."
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Duluth Mayor Don Ness said he didn't know enough about the situation to comment.
The hearing was an extension of a lawsuit filed last year by AFSCME asking for a restraining order to prevent the city from laying off its employees. Though the order was denied, Corwin still disputes how the city laid off its employees and wants a judge to decide if that was legal. The union argues that laying off the employees was a violation of the contract with the city and a 1990s court order.
Corwin also said the city's management transfer of the Lake Superior Zoo to a nonprofit and subsequent elimination of jobs was also a violation of the contract. He wanted the judge to order Ness and Chief Administrative Officer Lisa Potswald to testify in the lawsuit, saying they are the ones who made the decisions about the layoffs and zoo transfer. He wants the judge to decide if the city's method of layoffs was legal.
"We believe there will be further attempts to lay off employees," Corwin said.
Assistant City Attorney Lisa Wilson argued against forcing Ness and Potswald to testify, saying the union should pursue its concerns through a grievance process and not the courts.
Asked after the hearing if he had a problem with testifying, Ness said he would follow the legal advice of his attorneys.
"They have a strategy that they're taking, and I'll follow their lead," he said.
