[Vision2020] Mayor Cuts Workers' Pay to Minimum Wage

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal at:

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Mayor Cuts Workers' Pay to Minimum Wage

Unions representing city workers in Scranton, Pa., plan to ask a county judge to hold the mayor in contempt of court after he cut the pay of almost 400 municipal employees—including himself—to the state's minimum wage, saying the city can't pay the full salaries.

Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty temporarily cut the wages of police, firefighters and others to $7.25 an hour Friday, hours after a judge issued an injunction requested by three unions that represent most of the workers. A lawsuit filed July 2 in Lackawanna County Court on behalf of the unions argued that cutting the salaries unilaterally would violate the workers' contracts under state laws governing public employees as well as federal law.

Meanwhile, Scranton's business administrator said the city had just $5,000 in the bank last week after transferring enough money to cover the city's payroll at $7.25 an hour, the state's—and the nation's—minimum wage. Mayor Doherty has said that once the immediate crisis is over, workers will be paid their deferred pay.

Mr. Doherty didn't respond to requests for comment Monday. The city's solicitor and business administrator also didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

Thomas Jennings, a Philadelphia attorney representing the unions, said Monday he planned to file a motion Tuesday with the Lackawanna County Court asking the court to hold the mayor and city in contempt. Mr. Jennings said he also is preparing to file a lawsuit against the city in federal court, arguing that the city has violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying full wages or overtime.

The labor dispute is the latest turn in Scranton's protracted fiscal crisis. Like other municipalities, the blue-collar city of 75,000 in northeastern Pennsylvania has been hit by a shrinking tax base and rising costs for city workers' pay and benefits. In recent years, Scranton gained notoriety as the home of the fictional paper company in the TV show "The Office."

Scranton is one of about 20 cities across Pennsylvania operating under a state law for fiscally distressed municipalities, known as Act 47. Others include Harrisburg, the state capital, and Pittsburgh.

The city's unions say they are caught in a political fight between the mayor and the city council over how to cover a $16.8 million gap in the city's 2012 budget. Mr. Doherty proposed a 78% property-tax increase over three years, and an increase in garbage-collection fees. The city council rejected that plan and wanted the mayor to consider other revenue sources. Robert McGoff, Jr., a city council member who has been supportive of the mayor, said the council has yet to offer any firm alternatives to the mayor's budget proposals. He said he would support trying to institute a 1% county-wide sales-tax increase, which would need state approval.

Mr. McGoff said he thought cutting workers' pay was a "desperate measure" that was made to have funds to help maintain health and other benefits. "In the absence of any other solution, this seemed to be the best alternative," he said.

Most city council members opposed the wage cut, said Pat Rogan, another council member. "Obviously it's a violation of all the (labor) contracts that the city has," he said. Mr. Rogan said he supports privatizing the city's garbage collection and sewer authority to raise revenue.

Sam Vitris, 51, a city employee for 32 years, is a truck driver with the Scranton Department of Public Works. He had his pay cut 62% to $7.25 from $19.39 an hour. "Basically we're caught in the middle of it all," said Mr. Vitris, who is president of Local Lodge 2305 of the International Association of Machinists, which represents maintenance and other non-uniform workers. "We're hoping that this gets resolved quickly so people don't start losing their homes and get their credit ruined," he said.

Others, however, trace some of Scranton's woes to a state law that says cities must follow contract terms set by an arbitrator regardless of the city's financial situation. The state Supreme Court ruled in the fall that Scranton had to pay $30 million in additional labor costs granted through arbitration. Negotiations between the city and the three unions in June cut that increase roughly $15 million.

Rick Schuettler, deputy executive director of the Pennsylvania League of Cities, said he believes the state needs to cap the amount of labor cost increases granted through arbitration. "We're not suggesting that anybody's collective bargaining rights be taken away," he said, "but they need to have reasonable caps on them."

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Scranton City Council members Frank Joyce, left, and Jack Loscombe at a July 5 hearing on the city's finances.


 
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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"If not us, who?
If not now, when?"

- Unknown


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