Union’s frosty relationship with mayor thaws slightly
Labor leaders say meeting face to face was step toward improving relations
Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber and leaders of the union that represents a majority of city employees met face to face this week to reaffirm their commitment to work together and mend what has become an increasingly rocky relationship over furloughs imposed on workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meeting came days after a state labor board’s ruling on the issue that left both sides claiming victory.
But as city officials and leaders of Local 3999 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees embark on negotiations for a contract, tensions remain high.
“I just think the city shouldn’t be bragging about not having to pay us money that they took away from us by breaking our contract, and that’s the truth,” Gil Martinez, vice president
of Local 3999, said Tuesday, referring to Friday’s ruling by the state Public Employees Labor Relations Board.
The board found the city had “breached its obligation to bargain in good faith by unilaterally implementing a furlough plan.” It also found the city failed to provide the union with requested information necessary for bargaining.
But it did not issue a monetary award.
“They lost the case, and now they’re saying it’s a win for them because they didn’t have to pay money, but that’s not the truth,” Martinez said. “They needed to honor our contract. They didn’t.”
Webber proposed the furloughs for hundreds of workers and the City Council approved them in late April to deal with the economic uncertainty of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Among other concerns, the union had argued the city failed to provide a required 28-day notice about the furloughs.
The city didn’t dispute giving only a 14-day notice before implementing its furlough plan but argued it was necessary to avoid paying about $175,000 in COVID-19 administrative leave for employees to stay at home and not work. The city’s human resources director, Bernadette Salazar, testified that for two pay periods in April, the city paid $350,000 to employees “for which the city received no work,” the labor board’s ruling states.
The ruling, which Martinez called a “slap on the hand,” ordered the city to bargain in good faith with the union on furloughs and “cease and desist from the above-found prohibited practices now and in the future.” It also ordered the city to post at City Hall “and at any of the facilities where bargaining unit members are assigned” a notice that the city had violated the Public Employee Bargaining Act.
“The bad thing about that punishment is they have to post that for 60 days in the city buildings,” Martinez said. “Every city building is closed until the end of the year, so the public’s not going to see. Two-thirds of the employees are working from home, so they’re not going to see it, so the punishment meant nothing — nothing at all.”
Either party may request a review of the ruling within 10 workdays after it is issued. Union leaders said the decision is under review, and the city said it has no plans to request a review.
Martinez said the union is beginning negotiations with the city for a new collective bargaining agreement. Negotiations were put on hold because of the pandemic, he said.
Initial talks didn’t get off to a good start, he said, adding the union was told there was “no money” to negotiate in a proposed contract.
“They’ve got so much power that they’re getting away with — what they shouldn’t be getting away with,” he said.
But Monday’s private meeting between the mayor and leaders of Local 3999 was productive and an example of a relationship that is improving, said Connie Derr, executive director of the statewide AFSCME umbrella organization.
“With a social-distanced setting, we just discussed a couple of outstanding issues and kind of reaffirmed our commitment that jointly we will work together for the betterment of the employees and the citizens of Santa Fe,” she said.
Asked about the meeting, the city said in a statement it “will continue to work with AFSCME to help provide the best service to our community.”
“In collaboration with AFSCME, we will identify ways to improve communication and look forward to strengthening our partnership with them to support our amazing team of city employees,” the city said.
Derr said the relationship between the mayor and the union, which recently cast a no-confidence vote in Webber, may have been “a little rocky,” in part because of a lack of communication. But she said it’s improving.
“The relationship is getting stronger,” she said. “Any time you have better communication, that only improves it.”