On February 17, 2017, a decision was issued in a binding arbitration case for the Wallington Water Department. It was a contract dispute over one item,"Did the Town have the right to impose a rule that if anyone exceeded the weight safety limits on any equipment and did not lose the weight in a given time period, then the Town could fire them."
UPSEU would not give in to the town's demands during negotiations even though two other unions in town (AFSCME and IBEW) gave in to this rule during the course of their negotiations. The town made the argument to the arbitration panel that since unions had already agreed, it was now a prevailing practice and it should be applied to the water department as well. UPSEU argued that termination was a very strong consequence if someone had a medical or stress problem that caused them to gain weight. It was also argued that this would mean that future employees over a certain weight would be excluded from applying for a job in the water department. The town also had no history of anyone being hurt on the job or equipment being damaged over this issue. The panel ruled in favor of the union. Not only is this a victory for the members of the Wallingford Water Department, but a win for all workers, since it now becomes case law.
Once again, it shows that UPSEU is willing to go the extra mile for its members, even though other unions have given up the fight on the same issue!
|