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An arbitrator recently ordered Luzerne County to pay a fired 911 dispatcher $9,551 in lost wages and give him his job back, saying his scooter racing in the call center did not warrant dismissal.
Union head Paula Schnelly said the arbitration is an example of an increasing number of cases where the county’s approach to handling union grievances over the past year is costing the county more money. Though specific data was not available, the arbitration rulings have cost the county tens of thousands in the past year.
She agreed to discuss the arbitration after it was provided along with others to the Times Leader by a confidential source.
The county and union proceed to arbitration if they can’t resolve a grievance alleging a union contract violation. Each side takes turns eliminating arbitrators from a list until they are left with one to conduct a hearing and issue a binding ruling, she said.
“The county has the opportunity to try to settle these cases before they go all the way to arbitration, which could have saved much money, not just for the award but also the cost of conducting an arbitration,” said Schnelly, of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union.
When contacted Friday, county Manager Robert Lawton said: “I’m disappointed this was brought to the press before me, but I will certainly review the matter.” He declined further comment.
The county fired the 911 worker and his supervisor in March 2014 because they raced motorized scooters down an aisle, creating the potential to disrupt other workers and hurt themselves or expensive equipment, according to a copy of the arbitration award.
Routine practice
The union’s argument: the worker was on break and was uncomfortable declining a directive from the supervisor to race him. There was no damage or injury, and the scooters were routinely driven around the office as a stress reliever until the current director — Fred Rosencrans — put a stop to the practice.
The disabled supervisor who owned the scooters left them there to recharge for her shift, had encouraged employees to use them and allowed her young children to drive them on the center floor during shift changes, the union said.
Arbitrator William W. Lowe, who will be paid an estimated $3,125 in fees by the county for handling the case, concluded in December the circumstances warranted a five-day suspension for the worker, saying termination was “too severe a penalty” for someone who had no prior disciplinary problems during his more than four years on the job.
Seniority issue
Seniority was the basis of another arbitration award.
Arbitrator Walter Glogowski ordered the county in November to pay a furloughed community development worker $16,314 in lost wages and put her back to work, according to his award.
The union contract says the newest union employees in the department must be furloughed first if layoffs are necessary for any reason.
Glogowski said the 20-year employee was “clearly” not the least senior union worker in that office because several others had been hired after her. The worker must be reinstated and, if her old job is no longer available, be assigned to another union position in the office with proper training, he wrote.
Another arbitration involved the county’s refusal to allow a district attorney’s office worker to use time from the union’s “sick day bank,” the documents say.
The bank is a pool of unused sick days donated by union employees to cover fellow workers who are ill but have exhausted their time off.
A panel of union administrators and a county human resources office representative must approve sick bank requests. Up to 120 sick bank days may be granted to covered employees, though the panel must re-evaluate each request every 30 days.
Employees are supposed to have eight days of accumulated time — which can include vacation and personal days — prior to the illness/disability, though the union contract allows them to present acceptable evidence justifying the lack of qualifying time.
The 14-year district attorney’s employee requested seven days of sick leave in March 2014. Due to her need for emergency surgery, the sick bank committee — including the human resources representative — granted the request, even though she did not have the eight days of accumulated time.
The woman said she had only 1.5 unused vacation days and a half a sick day left primarily because of her prior illnesses, some requiring surgery, and her children’s illnesses.
Another request
She submitted another request later that month seeking 23 more sick bank days due to complications associated with the initial emergency surgery.
A majority of the committee granted her 19 days, but the county human resources office directed payroll not to honor the award.
The county maintained the eight-day requirement was not met. The union said the county did not object to the first award when she didn’t have eight days left and noted the contract allows exceptions. The contract has no language allowing the county to reject a sick bank committee ruling, it said.
Arbitrator Thomas M. Krapsho ordered the county in November to pay the worker $1,538 for the 19 days of sick leave.
He charged the county and union $893 each for his expenses: $88 for mileage, $99 for a hotel and $1,600 for two days to conduct a hearing, review records and prepare the award.
Schnelly said the county administration is blatantly disregarding contracts that it negotiated and approved.
“If the county had just followed and abided by its own contracts, this would not have cost the county and taxpayers as much money as it did,” Schnelly said.
The documents also cite several other recent cases:
• An arbitrator issued a ruling in January awarding back pay, including sick and vacation time, to an election worker who was furloughed. The amount to be paid by the county is in dispute, with the union seeking $33,822 and the county claiming it will pay $23,403.
• After the ruling involving the community development worker’s furlough, the county agreed to settle another case involving the furlough of a budget/finance worker for $6,000 so it would not advance to arbitration. The employee did not want to return to work.
• Two other settlements are pending over the termination of a public defender’s office employee and the furlough of a district judge employee.
• Five other grievances are awaiting arbitration, including one involving the county’s rejection of another sick day award granted by the sick bank committee.
• The union also filed two unfair labor complaints against the county. One is scheduled for a hearing before the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board in October, and a hearing date hasn’t been set for the other one.
“An unfair labor charge results from a complete disregard to deal with and bargain with a union,” Schnelly said. “There isn’t even a line of communication anymore.”
Max Blaskiewicz, who has worked as county collective bargaining officer since May 2004, had become less involved in union relations in recent months and retired in February, union officials say.
Donna Davis Javitz, an attorney, was hired as human resources director in August at a salary of $55,000. Her predecessor, Andrew Check, left to accept another position outside county government last May.
Lawton has praised Davis Javitz and described her as an “outstanding” employee. He said Friday he will seek her feedback on the issues raised by Schnelly.