City workers here have set an April 15 strike deadline in search of their first contract.

The workers filed the legally required 10-day notice to strike on April 5, said Tom Burke, a business representative for AFSCME Council 14, which represents the workers.

Negotiators are scheduled to meet April 10 with state mediators in an attempt to settle the contract dispute. In addition, a court hearing will take place April 12 in Ramsey County District Court on an unfair labor practice charge the union has filed against the city.

The charge alleges that Mounds View unilaterally cut wage rates and benefits for some employees rather than negotiating the changes with the union, as is required under Minnesota public employee labor law.

The city workers first unionized in August 2001 and don't even have a local number assigned to them yet. Nonetheless, they voted March 25 to give negotiators strike authorization, and have since begun strike training, Burke said.

Anti-union attitude
Burke said the attitude of city administrator Kathleen Miller; her assistant, Givonna Reed; and other city officials is the biggest obstacle.

'They refuse to acknowledge there's a bargaining unit here,' Burke said. 'They continue to believe that they get to make all the decisions.'

He said the city's tactics mimic patterns used by private employers trying to bust unions.

'One of the frustrating things is that the City Council is abandoning all responsibility,' Burke said. 'Union members who live in Mounds View need to call their council members and tell them to stop what's going on.'

Workers held a rally Monday, before the City Council meeting.

At odds over insurance
The union in Mounds View represents 30 employees; half of them are seasonal employees at the municipal Bridges of Mounds View golf course, Burke said. The city has begun hiring golf course employees for this season, he said, but at pay scales below last year.

That cut in pay is part of the unfair labor practice charge.

In addition, Burke said, in January the city stopped reimbursing 72-year-old employee Marge Norquist for her Medicare Supplemental Insurance, which she was receiving in lieu of city insurance. The union believes removing that benefit also violates state law. 'We've told them we can't settle until we have that issue resolved satisfactorily,' Burke said.

Insurance is a major hang-up overall. Burke said the city refuses to continue paying 80 percent of family coverage, and instead insists on paying only a flat amount. Health insurance premiums are scheduled to increase on May 1.

Because only about 15 employees are eligible for health insurance - and only half of those actually take coverage for dependents - maintaining the current 80 percent split would cost Mounds View only $2,200 a year, Burke said. 'They've spent more than that on labor lawyers and consultants,' he said.

On the other hand, individual employees would have to pay 72 percent more if the city is successful in shifting costs. 'To the city, it's a minimal cost. To individuals, it's huge,' he said.

This article is updated from one written for the April 10, 2002, issue of The Union Advocate newspaper. Used by permission.The Union Advocate is the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org