Other matters at Three Rivers City Hall

My goodness, must have been a slow news day.

We held a closed session to discuss a matter of attorney/client privilege. No one was huddled though the doors were closed. All closed sessions are private so I suppose that also includes "shielded from the public". "So-called client-attorney relationship..."? There was no doubt about it it was client-attorney or attorney client privilege. The last part was accurate; it was not on the agenda.

WLKM is usually pretty good about just reporting the facts and not slanting stuff one way or the other (see the bit on the Wal-Mart thread from this same meeting). Oh well, like I said must have been a slow news day.

Merry Christmas
Daryl

I wonder if it had to do with how to get rid off a certain City employee that works at Scidmore park?

Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for.

Will Rogers

Has anyone else heard about some of Depart. of Public works employees having to work 2:00pm to 12:00am to help save the city money. I'd like to hear some reasonable explaination for this move. It does'nt sound like the employee wellfare had any consideration or their families, childern in particularly who now are without a mother or father in the home just to cut the budget some more????? Or the waste water plant now having to operate with only 2 employees during any holiday again in the name of saving the city money. Another cut back! I understand that city employees are filing more greivances than at any other time ?

Originally posted by vblainev

I understand that city employees are filing more greivances than at any other time?

Blaine,

I don't know the specifics of any city employees but there are many blue and white collar people where I work who prefer to work this type of shift specifically because they have young families and it allows them to avoid daycare. It certainly would not be my preference but please don't assume none would choose to do this. While the commission does not interact directly with employees we are usually fairly aware of major grumblings. Do you have any data to support the understanding of increase greivances?

Just fact finding.
Daryl

Yes I do but again when ever the person speaking of the problem is exposed they come under fire. I know some of the issues are do to unradified contracts.

The person?...Your first post "city employees are filing more greivances than at any other time" leaves the impression that a number of employees were filing grievances on the issue. Blaine, I'm going to be blunt here and I would be saying this whether I was a commissioner or not. I could say so and so told me this or X number of people have called and told me that. Whether true or not, unless I can document who and what, my post is going be read with a good deal of skepticism at best. It really does not come across as credible to raise a major issue such as this and then say sorry the source for all my facts won't discuss it. I've been in that situation and it (my opinion) is best to just hold one's tongue at that point until such time that full facts can be presented.

Just my two cents.
Daryl

Facts are D.P.S. employees are having to work 2pm to 12pm to save the city money. Waste water employees are being resticked to 2 employees per holiday. Waste water plant is runninng without a contract. The Police Department is running without a contract and I beleive D.P.S. is runninng without a contract but on that one on not sure. Now you khow as well as I do that if Names were mentioned, those people could get in trouble so I'm more concerned as to if, the greivance issue is true than who to expose.There are many things I,m holding my tongue about till I have better info. but for the greivance issue My info is creditable enough maybe someone should look into it. Remember in my first post I didn't say it was absolutly fact, but it's enought to be concerned.

Originally posted by vblainev

for the greivance issue My info is creditable enough maybe someone should look into it. Remember in my first post I didn't say it was absolutly fact, but it's enought to be concerned.

The commission only deals with the contract in the final stage to ratify them so I can't speak to their status nor if any such grievances were filed. As for the grievance though, any shop I have ever been in, you could not file these anonymously. I grew up in a union family with both my father and uncle fairly high in the local UAW. There is any number of state and federal laws not to mention union language to protect the filer from recourse. The point is, if an employee has filed, he or she has already publicly announced their particular problem and the grievance system will already have required someone to look into it.

Daryl

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take
your eyes off your goal.", Henry Ford

I can't beleive Joe does'nt know they exist. I'm sure he does but as to all the names of those who have filed these greivances, I don't know all their names but I do know many exist. We have extremely vulnerable employees in our government structure. We have a structure that allows one man to control all information as to the quality of an employee. One person ultimately responsible for disaplinary action. One person able to state the quality of morale as to city employees. What ever he tells the commission they have to buy.The commission has oversite in every other area but none as to our most important resorce. I don't know how we ended up with such a one person in control government but it sure stinks in my book and the employees are the ones vulnerable. Employees are our greatest resorce and have the greatest value but are the most at risk. It just doesn't make any sence to me.

Um... Blaine, outside of a few communal farms in Iowa perhaps; every employer from the biggest corporation down to the smallest mom-n-pop shop in this nation (including municipalities) is set up this way. They all have a chain of command that ends at an individual at the top whether it is the boss, CEO, president, or any other of the various titles used. Typically corporate board of directors just like governmental commissions and councils are not involved and usually prohibited from involvement in the administration of employees, the whole separation of powers among other reasons. There are labor laws that protect the autoworker, grocery stock person, and governmental employee alike. Three Rivers is certainly not unique in this set up.

Daryl

"We are not inheriting the Earth from our ancestors, we are borrowing it from our children.", Unknown

Blaine, it is just like HiJoe said in the seperation of church and city. Something to do with Communism would be better than....

At least the Communist seperate their church and government, and are suppose to take care of their follow man. In theroy that is, reality is China and Cuba. Than again Cuba is run by one man. Anyways the National Labor Board is not always there to protect the labor.

Especially with the current political picture. This is how it goes when you file charges against an employer. You contact the NRLB, they assign you an agent, you hand them over all the notes with dates,times, and eyewitnesses to your charge. The agent then is suppose to investiagate the matter. What really happens is the investiagator won't call the witness and barly looks at all painstakenly notes and paperwork. He passes on his recommendations on to his superiors who make the decision to do something.

Best bet is to hire a lawyer to deal with the NRLB, then they seem to listen. Even if the NRLB takes your case, your job is made so unbearable that you quit or they fire you. Kinda of what happen to you. The employer has a lawyer on retainer and you have to scrape to survive, let alone pay a lawyer.

The Unions are weak right now in this country. They are not in the strongest position to defend you. It has to be a case so blatant, the union has no other choice. For the most part the union officials are going to protect the majoriaty for now. The employers throws them a bone if the union lets you be the sacrificial lamb.



As for the employees some complained, some kept quite knowing that nothing was going to be done, some are just butt kissers and will do whatever to keep their jobs, others know that in these hard economic times is best to keep quite, and you will be punished for your actions eventually.

Why do they let Joe be the way he is? Laziness?, Oh I would have to get involved?, hide behind the old statement we can't our hands are tided, we just like the way things are, and Why would you want to rock the boat anyways. The good Ole boy system.


Don't worry Blaine what goes around comes around. Like someone once told me maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but their day of judgement will come.

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Interesting statement in a movie just out call V is for vengance. The statement was The people shouldn't be afraid of the government, The Government should be afraid of the people. I thought it was thought provoking ??

Is the Durango that Mr. Bippus drive owned by him?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

No Everything I've heard is, that it belongs to the city but he has been given permission to drive it in some situations that Daryl could give more details about.

Sorry, didn't get a chance to hit the forum this weekend. Blaine is correct about the Durango.

Daryl

"If you have a difficult task, give it to a lazy person...they will find an easier way to do it.", Unknown