Written on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 9:29am by Alan Bedenko | 9 Comments

Litigation Stew at a Roiling Boil

This reminds me of dealing with Santaland the first in 2005.

We were given very specific parameters in terms of what we could and couldn’t do, lest we make the laid off workers and their union very angry. I made numerous calls to AFSCME, and not one of my calls was ever returned. Frankly, that in and of itself made me want to say, “screw them”. I mean, if you have a beef about it, why do I have to hear it second or third-hand. At least have the decency to tell me over the phone or to my face that you oppose volunteers bringing Santa to Chestnut Ridge.

Mentholatum Corporation wants to donate a playground to the County’s Chestnut Ridge Park at a cost of $23,000. Setting up a playground (and doing cleanup) takes labor, and the problem is that any such labor is supposed to be peformed by union workers, and cannot (under the Taylor Law) be done by volunteers.

AFSCME’s John Orlando has threatened to sue the county if it permits volunteers to do cleanup work at Chestnut Ridge Park. On Hardline with Hardwick yesterday, Collins said, “sue me”.

This is a blockbuster PR opportunity all around.

Mentholatum wins for being a good corporate citizen.

The Collins Administration wins among a large swath of the population because it’s willing to go into combat with the union representing most county workers; a union with which Collins is going to have to negotiate a new contract shortly.

AFSCME will win among the large labor community in WNY, but I suspect that its stance – albeit legally justified – will render it a laughingstock among the community at-large, and will hand Collins a huge PR victory, and a lot of clout going into labor negotiations.

Of course, AFSCME will probably argue that Collins’ violation of the Taylor Law frees it from that same law’s prohibition against striking.

Looks like it’ll be an interesting year, indeed. I just hope Chestnut Ridge Park gets that new playground. Some of the play equipment there contains heiroglyphics, I think.

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9 Comments

  1. Chris Smith says:
    March 31, 2008 at 11:07 am

    Actually, I suspect this will only submarine Collins’ bargaining position when it comes time for contract talks. He’s not gonna get concessions out of the group now that he has publicly humiliated them. I think he needs to take a softer tone if he intends to get real cost savings out of the union. I say bad play here by Collins.

  2. Jaquandor says:
    March 31, 2008 at 11:35 am

    Yeah, those are hieroglyphics, all right. Funny thing is, they spell out an ancient blog:

    “June 6, 42 AD: You can see the future site of the HSBC Tower from up here!”

  3. hank says:
    March 31, 2008 at 11:59 am

    another reason why unions have outlived their usefulness.
    They’re not trying to protect workers health and safety, or to prevent the employer from exploiting them. They’re just watching out for themselves (the union officals)

  4. rocky says:
    March 31, 2008 at 6:12 pm

    Actually, AFSCME’s stance on this situation is a stance that protects the workers from being exploited. If AFSCME allowed this to happen without challenging it, they would surrender the exclusive right to this type of work. Meaning that the County could then subcontract all of their work, layoff all of AFSCME’s members who do this type of work, and AFSCME would have nothing to say about it. If the union allows the employer to subcontract their work out once unchallenged, they surrender their right to thte work forever. Agree with the union or not, they have an absolute obligation to protect their members’ work.

    On the other hand, if Collins was willing to enter into an agreement that stipulates that allowing the County to contract out this work one time would not affect the union’s exclusive right to the work in the future, it would probably settle the matter. Win for the County residents and win for the union.

    However, knowing the County and politics in general, Collins probably scores more points with the voters by grandstading on a case he will lose.

  5. FoxyLady says:
    March 31, 2008 at 6:45 pm

    Collins is a major jerk.

  6. it's all about the pin says:
    March 31, 2008 at 7:49 pm

    all I want to know is: does collins wear a lapel pin?
    no pin = jerk
    pin = patriot
    That’s all you need to know

  7. Eisenbart says:
    March 31, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    AFSCME should just you know…volunteer to install the playground and avoid looking like assholes.

    AFSCME are major jerks.

  8. hank says:
    April 1, 2008 at 8:19 am

    I’m so sorry
    The Unions are never wrong, and always right.
    Meanwhile, in no/few union Charlotte—Construction cranes abound, workers scurring around like bees…..

    In Buffalo, the laborers wanted Issa to pay them 23.00 an hour,
    And the Statler project stalls.
    The construction crane is on the endangered species list,
    and the city and region continue to circle the bowl.

    Good on the unions!!! Keep it up and they’ll finally sink you all.

    Must be what you want.

  9. Bill Dogg says:
    April 1, 2008 at 10:28 am

    The public sector unions have a strangle hold on this area. They resent the volunteers for trying to make the place better. Many more people would volunteer if they did not have to battle the union thugs. The union members are fighting over the few crumbs that are left. This area is poor and depressed and will remain so as it continues to lose jobs and population. The private sector is chased away as the politicans and their friends continue to feed at the trough. To all the hacks and the thugs, choke on it.

 

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