City, union accord at last

For years, one-third of the city of Albuquerque’s workforce has had its paychecks held hostage by contract wrangling between their union and the city — even as fellow city unions struck smart compromises that benefit both employees and the public that pays their salaries.

First the management, then the firefighter, then the police union crafted agreements with the city that recognized their members’ hard work with raises and taxpayers’ hard work with a provision that ensured union work would be done on union members’ time and dime.

Yet the 2,100 blue-collar clerical, transit and security employees — 1,275 of them who are not dues-paying union members — were stuck without such a deal, year after year, as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees refused to give up so-called union time, in which the public pays union officials to do union business rather than work for the taxpayers.

So it is good news that court-ordered mediation has brought AFSCME and the city not only back to the table, but also to an agreement that gives workers 2.86 percent raises (with the balance of the city’s 3 percent offer, about $130k annually, going into a kitty to fund union work).

Casey Padilla, a driver for the city’s Department of Solid Waste Management and president of the union that includes blue collar workers, says the five years of unsuccessful negotiations weren’t good for anyone and “we’re hopeful … that we can actually move forward.”

That’s a sentiment we can all share in. Councilors should approve the contracts and finally end the fiveyear union-time fight.