County furloughs 90, union files grievance

Schoharie County this week furloughed 90 employees — more than one-fifth of its total workforce — drawing a grievance from a civilservice union that accused the county of not giving its employees a contractually required 30-days’ notice.

The county Board of Supervisors approved the furloughs during an emergency meeting on Monday. The temporary cuts affect workers in several departments, including public works, mental health, probation, social services, emergency services and the county clerk’s office, according to the Civil Service Employees Association.

The measure was passed with eight members voting for the furloughs, and eight against. The results were 1,674 to 1,300 when accounting for the weighted vote of each supervisor.

The employees’ last day was Friday. County officials said during the meeting that savings would amount to about $9,000 per furloughed employee, and the furloughs are intended to end Aug. 1 or sooner. The furloughs, combined with a hiring freeze on open positions, could save the county about $1.2 million.

“This is the worst time for vital services to be cut,” said CSEA Schoharie County Local President Rick Cain said in a statement. “The contract calls for a 30-day notice, but the supervisors decided to broadside workers with the vote.”

The grievance filed by the CSEA is the first in a multistep process, said Therese Assalian, a spokeswoman for the union. The county will be given time to respond. Should both parties not come to an agreeable conclusion, the dispute will be heard in front of a neutral arbitrator.

Reached on Friday, Bill Federice, chairman of the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors, declined to comment on the CSEA complaint. But he said the furloughed workers would keep their health insurance and will continue to accrue vacation and sick time.

He also noted that many workers would be eligible for up to $600 per week in federal unemployment assistance as a part of the coronavirus relief package passed by Congress in March.

“Frankly, that’s sort of contrary to my beliefs,” Federice said.

Federice said several of the employees were already unable to work, or were working from home, because of staffing reductions the county had made in reaction to physical distancing guidelines. The board also polled various department heads to determine which positions could be left unstaffed for about 90 days, he said.

Federice said he wants the county employees to know that their jobs will be waiting for them when the coronavirus crisis is over.

“We’re trying to protect our position as best we can for what appears to be a difficult time ahead,” he said. “It’s not like we separated. We told them that we’re going to see them in 90 days.”

But Assalian, the union spokeswoman, said, “Laidoff employees are finding little solace in being told by the county that it is temporary.”

The Board of Supervisor said the county anticipates cutting about 20 percent of its budget because of the pandemic. The county could raise property taxes to stymie that shortfall, but Federice said that would amount to a significant burden on some of its citizens.

“There are going to be some very difficult, hard decisions that we’ll be facing if these things come to pass,” he said.