FICANO APPOINTEES FEAST, WORKERS FACE FAMINE

AFSCME County local presidents and members celebrating filing lawsuit against Ficano Oct. 21 at AFSCME HQ

DETROIT – Shortly before Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano announced plans for a new $700 million jail complex,  union presidents representing county workers from four locals  unions announced they had filed suit against him in Wayne County Circuit Court Oct. 21.

 They said that in violation of state and county law,  Ficano has furloughed the lowest-paid county employees one day a week and eliminated their health insurance, while paying exorbitant salaries to hundreds of appointees and recently giving them hefty raises, in addition to top-of-the-line furniture for their offices.(See chart at end of story for list of appointees.)

 The county workers’ contract expired Sept. 30, 2008. Attorney Eric Frankie contends in the locals’ lawsuit that they “have sought without success to negotiate in good faith a successor agreement that is fair to the Plaintiffs and recognizes the financial situation of the County of Wayne.”

Despite repeated rulings against Ficano by state fact-finders, Frankie said, Ficano forced weekly furlough days on union members beginning in February, and has eliminated their health insurance.

“You can’t change the employees’ conditions while fact-finding is going on, “ Frankie said. “ But Ficano has disrupted our workers’ health insurance, forcing them to make medical choices regarding whether they can continue dialysis, treatment for sickle cell, and other chronic illnesses.”

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The lawsuit says, “The Fact Finder’s report did not adopt the Defendants’ proposal for draconian concessions, including a 10 percent wage cut not shared by Defendant’s appointees. Rather the Fact Finder recommended that an aggregate five percent wage reduction across each bargaining unit was warranted, as well as other proposals fairer to plaintiffs.”

It also says that the Fact Finder ordered negotiations to continue through November 18.

“We are asking the judge to force the county to make our employees whole for everything they have lost,” Frankie said.

Joyce Ivory, President of AFSCME Local 1659, said Ficano cut the workers’ health insurance off the day after they voted down his most recent contract demands, even though they had agreed to make some concessions.

“He backdated lay-offs to the first of the month to do this,” Ivory said. “Ficano has no regard for the citizens, workers, and taxpayers of this County. Our members are losing their homes, their cars as well as their health insurance even if they have continuing disabilities. Sixty percent of my members are single mothers who rank among the lowest-paid workers.”

AFSCME Local 1659 is the largest county union local, with nearly 1,000 members, Ivory said. It represents workers from the departments of the Medical Examiner, County Clerk, Third Circuit Court, mental health, the Register of Deeds, the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the library, among others.

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“The Personnel Director submitted a false affidavit to justify Friday furlough days,” Ivory continued.  “Our members have suffered pay daily losses for 17 weeks, some of them for as many as 34 days, but they still have private contractors working during the furloughs.”

Local 1659 Steward Denise Hearns, who works as an accounting clerk in the management and budget division, said supervisors are subjecting union representatives to terrific harassment to prevent them from representing the workers.

“I’ve been denied the right to have time to meet with the members to discuss their concerns, which include the fact that they can’t get dialysis because their health insurance is cut off,” Hearns said. “Management forces us to sign affidavits giving a written scenario explaining exactly what we are doing if released, and makes us write down what workload we’ll be responsible for when we come back. They won’t let us go to the union hall to process grievances.”

Alicia Branch, president of Local 409, represents workers in the Juvenile Detention Facility.

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“The children, including those with special needs and mental health problems,  are being harmed because they are being denied contact with their social workers and their families,” said Branch. “ While their workers are furloughed, they are being replaced by contractors who are not licensed in violation of state law. Our maintenance people are not able to complete their work to keep the facility clean.”

Wendy Lugianoff, president of Local 25, represents workers in the Health and Environmental Services departments. She said that while management in her department is fully staffed, they have lost 13 pest control workers,  and seniors in the Meals on Wheels program are not getting their meals as a result of the lay-offs.

“It’s the most incredible thing,” said Thomas Richards, president of Local 101, which represents county road workers. “We’re not in a deficit in our department, but they’re still laying us off. How can Ficano put more people out of their homes? What about their kids?”

Appointees, salaries and raises

* Appointees who received raises since 2008; others maintained same salary, no cuts