VIRGINIA — The city's public works, parks and recreation, and City Hall administrative employees might go on strike if a contract settlement is not reached. According to a news release, the city has been notified of a unit vote of the AFSCME Local 454 to authorize a strike if a contract can't be agreed upon.
"The earliest a strike could occur is ten days following the service of a formal Notice of Intent to Strike. The city has not received this notice to date," the city said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
Members of the union, along with area labor partners, attended a Virginia City Council meeting on Jan. 23 and read a statement regarding the ongoing negotiations.
According a letter read by Local 454 president Scott DaRonco, the city has made proposals that would include "reduced benefits such as insurance premium contributions, elimination of basic scheduling protections, and the elimination of long-standing seniority rights and protections, offering only a 1% increase in exchange for these takebacks."
DaRonco added that a proposal made by the city included a reduction in overtime pay and eliminated overtime pay if the worker is asked or mandated to work additional hours if sick leave, vacation days or holiday pay is paid out in the same week.
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"When the city needs and offers additional work preparing for or staffing an event in our parks, working at our arena or events center, or even completing scheduled overtime work for our streets department, the city has proposed that they should be allowed to pay those workers less. That they should be allowed to pay workers the bare minimum required under the law," DaRonco said. "We know that the way to attract and retain quality employees is not to do the bare minimum, and we are here today to state our objection to all of these proposals and to ensure that the entire council and the Virginia community are aware of the consequences of these changes — to both staffing and services."
Mayor Larry Cuffe Jr. stated that the city's "intent has been and will continue to be to negotiate in good faith with AFSCME."
"We recognize the dedicated service our staff provides to the community and will maintain our resolve to advocate for a contract that recognizes the commitment of our staff while balancing the needs of city taxpayers," stated Cuffe Jr. in the release.
The city is making contingency plans to maintain services should the strike be authorized. Once the city receives an official strike notice, that will institute a 10-day period before the strike can occur.
The city plans to continue to meet with the Bureau of Mediation Services and AFSCME Local 454 to reach an agreement and remains "hopeful that a strike can be averted and a contract agreement can be reached that is both fair to our employees and our citizens" according to the news release.
The next mediation session is set for Feb. 21
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