Attacks on Bargaining Rights Seen in MontCo
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)“First they change the
rules, then they ignore the arbitrators, now the Council is trying to hack away
at collective bargaining once again,” reports UFCW/MCGEO Local 1994. The local
is planning to show their opposition at a public hearing today by the Montgomery
County Council on their proposed changes to collective bargaining rules.
“Late last year the County Council amended the Collective Bargaining Law to
make it more difficult for unions to prevail in arbitration,” reports 1994
President Gino Renne. “Despite changing the rules and raising the bar, all
three unions -- MCGEO, the FOP and the IAFF -- still won.” Noting that the
Executive and the Council “simply ignored the arbitrators’ awards” and are
now trying to implement their changes, Local 1994 urges area activists to join
them in “standing against these attacks on the bargaining process.”
The hearing is at
1:30p in the 3rd-floor hearing room of the County Office Building.
- Chris Garlock; photo of March 24 Local 1994 rally/demo by Bill
Burke