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