Issue or non issue? You decide!
According to Dave Smart, the current signed labor contract between the Town of Templeton and local 39, the labor union that Templeton highway members belong to and according to Dave he is the new shop steward. According to Dave, included in this labor contract is an up to $250.00 allowance for work boots, up to $160.00 for safety glasses, a coat allowance and 5 yellow shirts that Dave says the Town mandates. All of this information should be in the written contract that should have been voted on by the board of selectmen in open meeting. Dave posted on this blog that he thinks I read the blog and attempt to make a total non issue an issue when I get a chance. I just happen to think that things like wages, benefits and extras such as those granted to local 39 by the selectmen happen to be an issue, simply because they affect one of the biggest issues of a city or Town each year, that of the budget. Take the time to look one over and pick what is the largest expense or what item which seems to get the most doe, as in $$$, dollars? I believe you will find it is employees, as in wages, insurance, benefits such as paid holidays, paid days off for snow (in New England) along with extras such as those listed above, pensions, etc.
I believe these are issues (or should be) for departments, Town Administrator, Selectmen, Finance Committee, School Committees and especially taxpayers! There is only so much money to be spent and all are jockeying for as big a piece of the pie as they can get. This all gets to be an issue for discussion and more discussion when you consider the places Templeton gets the money. Generally from four places; property taxes, state aid, local receipts and other, as in gifts, grants, etc., and remember the proposition 2 1/2 factor.
What is in that labor contract is an issue because it involves the spending of public funds and it happens to be one of those things that does not see the light too often. You will often see names of people late on taxes in the newspaper but how often do see labor contract benefits published in the paper? People should know what expenses there are in labor contracts because they are paying for them and more importantly, they should know what they are spending their money on at Town meeting.
What you pay for regarding education is important, what you pay for electricity and water is important and so is what you pay for labor! It is important and it is an issue, in my opinion.
Jeff Bennett
In my opinion, the problem in Templeton is not the cost of labor. Templeton has a difficult time attracting qualified candidates for most positions BECAUSE OF LOW PAY compared to other communities.
ReplyDeleteTempleton wil have difficulty attracting a qualified FT town administrator due to salary and other town issues.
For many years, the unions in Town (Not TMLWP because they can raise the rates any time they need to... Not the school system because they can invoke or threaten to invoke 603 CMR 41.05) got ZERO including the police and dispatch.
Templeton has lost many qualified people in many departments BECAUSE of Non-competitive salaries.
The years ZEROs were given, the boot allowance was increased or some small concession was made to settle the contract.
The contract negotiations are conducted in executive session. Once the contract is signed and ratified, then it becomes a public document...that anyone can request. The discussion of any contract is in executive session not open session.
Now that Templeton has a Town Administrator form of government, the town administrator negotiates contracts with the unions. The contract is not ratified until the Board of Selectmen vote on the contract offer and the union ratifies the contract. It is not legal for anyone else to be privy to the contract discussions until it is ratified.
If the contract has a boot allowance, then withholding the boot allowance from employees would breach the contract and be grievable. Grievances cost a lot of money to settle. It is usually wiser to abide by the contract and discuss any changes during the next negotiation cycle.
As far as OPEB costs, employee benefit costs, and salaries, those three items eat up much of any municipal government's operating budget. Templeton is impacted by those cost increases as any other town in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
So in my opinion, I don't begrudge any Town employee any benefits that were negotiated and are part of a contract.