James Bruggers

@jbruggers

Union%2C MSD at odds over how to settle disputes between management and union members

MSD Chairman James Craig says his departure has nothing to do with dispute over how to resolve labor fight.

MSD executive director says MSD could stop recognizing the union.

Angry union workers at Metropolitan Sewer District threatened a strike when they appeared before the agency's board Monday to vent their frustration over contract negotiations that have remained unresolved for more than two years.

At the end of the same board meeting, MSD chairman James Craig, who had broken from management on a key provision in the contract negotiations, announced his resignation, effective Nov. 7.

In an interview after the meeting, Craig said his departure had been in the works for several months and was unrelated to the union battle. Instead, he said it had to do with completing work on formalizing closer ties between MSD and the Louisville Water Co., a task that's now almost complete.

Chris Galloway, a member of Laborers International Union of North America Local 576, told the board that the union had already taken a strike vote last year — a vote that MSD Executive Director Greg Heitzman said he knew nothing about.

The union represents about 160 employees who work in the field on sewer lines and flood control and drainage. They are the MSD employees the public sees working on pipes and in drainage ditches.

"They notified the board they are willing to strike, if they can't come to terms," said Lawrence Winburn Jr., an organizer for the Kentucky Laborer's District Council, in an interview. Another vote to strike and an actual strike could come as early as next week, Winburn said.

He said the union doesn't want to hurt the community. It only wants a fair contract.

"When you wake up in the morning, you flush your toilet," union member Darius Calloway told the board. "When it stops up, who is out there fixing it? When it's flooding, who do you call? You call the MSD."

"I love my job," Calloway said. "We just want a fair contract."

After the union members spoke to the board, the board deferred a proposal to pay Heitzman a performance bonus of $32,760, based on goals that had been set the previous year, and other proposals for raises and salary adjustments for senior managers.

Craig said the deferral was requested by another board member on Monday, shortly before the board meeting. He declined to identify the board member.

The key unresolved issue is over how to handle grievances, both sides said. Union members have asked for binding arbitration, where management would be obligated to follow the finding of an arbitrator following grievances. MSD management's position is that state law does not allow MSD's board to grant that authority to someone outside the agency.

After the meeting, Heitzman said MSD is willing to allow what he called advisory arbitration, where an arbitrator could hear grievance cases and make a recommendation to the board, which would have final say.

While the water company has binding arbitration, unions working for government agencies generally do not, Heitzman said. Giving that authority to a "third party" could jeopardize public safety or public health, he said.

Galloway said the union has agreed to "voluntary" arbitration in its latest proposal. But that proposal would require three-fourths of the board to overturn an arbitrator's decision on a grievance, according a document union members provided to The Courier-Journal.

Heitzman said MSD does not believe the unions can strike, based on case law, but acknowledged there's no ban written into state statutes. If there were a strike or a work slow-down, he said MSD is prepared to handle the union work with management employees or contractors.

MSD management could also decide to stop recognizing the union, Heitzman said. Though he said management has not made that threat, "We have to begin to ask ourselves, if we cannot get an agreement, what would be the next step?"

Union members said Mayor Greg Fischer promised to support their push for binding arbitration at MSD. But the mayor's spokesman, Chris Poynter, denied that.

"The mayor has never committed to binding arbitration," Poynter said. "He has consistently said he supports the same arbitration that city government has – advisory arbitration."

As for Craig, he said he originally agreed with the MSD management position on arbitration, but as the fight wore on, he said he changed his mind. "It's important to get these employees into a contract," he said.

But Craig has not been involved in the union dispute since August, when he said he agreed to recuse himself at the request of other board members. Craig has a new law firm that represents unions, though not the one negotiating with MSD, but Craig said there were concerns about appearances of conflicts of interest.

"I would prefer to stay to see the union discussion to a conclusion," he said.

Craig was appointed to the board in May 2011 by Fischer, during an ethics and management crisis at MSD.

He helped guide the agency through a scathing state audit, compliance with that audit, and the mayor's drive to consolidate MSD and Louisville Water as much as possible.

MSD's board and the water company's board plan to meet Nov. 7 to solidify their plans, which for now stop short of a full merger.

"It's not been boring," Craig said of his time on the board.

Reach reporter James Bruggers at (502) 582-4645 or on Twitter @jbruggers.