City workers began a strike outside City Hall this morning at 7AM. "Union busting city officials including the mayor and the city council continue to squander thousands of taxpayer dollars on fees for attorneys that could be used to settle the contract," said Kurt Errickson of AFSCME Council 14.

City workers in this northern suburb rallied on Monday, April 22 outside City Hall in a last-ditch effort to avert the strike. An earlier strike deadline of April 22 was changed to April 24. According to AFSCME Council 14, the city continues to refuse to make adequate health insurance contributions, reinstate payments for Marge Norquist's health insurance (see below), and to rehire Union members who worked at the golf course over the last several years.

The workers are still seeking their first union contract. 'Employees had hoped they had resolved negotiations issues in mediation on Wednesday, April 17, but on Thursday possibilities for a settlement evaporated,' the union said in a news release. 'The city would not relent in its campaign to take away Marge Norquist's Medicare supplemental health insurance.'

Norquist's health care has been a flashpoint in the negotiations. The 72-year-old employee carried Medicare Supplemental Insurance, rather than city health insurance. The city routinely reimbursed Norquist for her monthly premium - until January. It abruptly canceled the reimbursement after the union tried to include the payment in contract language.

The elimination of Norquist's health benefit is also being fought in court. It is among unfair labor practice charges the union has filed against Mounds View, claiming violations of the Minnesota Public Employee Labor Relations Act for unilaterally changing terms of employment without negotiating them with the union. A hearing in Ramsey County Court on April 12 was carried over until May 3.

Staffing is issue
Another major issue is staffing at the golf course. Most of the golf-course employees are retirees working during the summer to supplement their pensions, union representative Tom Burke said. They are among the 28 workers who voted last August to join the union.

Golf-course employees are classified as seasonal, so must reapply for their jobs each summer. As of April 18, the city had yet to rehire any workers from last year. The union believes that smacks of retaliation for their union support, Burke said.

The AFSCME workers, who work in various City Hall jobs as well as at the golf course, apparently are not alone in their disdain for city administrators. Workers in the public works and police departments voting overwhelmingly to express 'no confidence' in city administrator Kathleen Miller and her assistant, Givonna Reed.

Sixty ballots were distributed amoung city employees without union involvement. The city employees then voted 48-4 against Miller and Reed. Among criticisms raised in the 'no confidence' vote: unethical behavior; gross misuse of city tax revenues for attorneys and other consultants; an unwillingness to communicate with city staff; demeaning attitudes towards staff; and a need to control and manipulate employees.

This article includes information from The Union Advocate newspaper.

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