Unions were started to protect working men and women, to ensure they were paid a fair wage and a safe, secure working environment. People who threatened repercussions to the employees asking to be unionized, if they didn't accept what was offered, were referred to as "union busters."
Plum's striking employees are asking for wages comparable to school district and municipal authority employees. They want a secure, nonpolitical work environment. Unions were started to protect these basic rights.
Mayor John Schmeck vetoed the first negotiated contract, citing lack of funds. The audit, which was given an excellent review, has since been completed and the money was budgeted last year for the employees. In fact, the deficit budgeted by the previous council came in at $200,000 less than what was anticipated.
This council made major departmental cuts in the budget and still cannot afford salary increases to the striking employees budgeted over a three-year period. These employees are not asking council to increase their salaries all at one time. Are the elected officials incapable of figuring increases over three years so the amount wouldn't be a major deficit⢠Maybe they just don't want to pay these employees what they deserve.
Jeff Russo and council have made an offer to the striking employees that is far below what is fair, with no job security. They are now threatening to fire the strikers if they do not accept what is offered. It would appear that this is the punishment to these employees for joining a union. Maybe these elected officials should be referred to as "union busters."
It's ironic that councilman "Skip" Taylor benefits from being in this same union. Where was his support for these employees when this started⢠Councilman Dave Vento's wife benefits from being in a union. In fact, Mrs. Vento's salary as a secretary after six years will be more than $37,000. Our emergency dispatchers, with a pay increase, would be receiving less than that.
Perhaps John Schmeck, Plum councilmen and their friends on the school board think that her job is more important than our emergency dispatchers.
Every union worker, their families and friends should be supporting these striking employees. Isn't the principle of being united what it's all about?
Plum leaders continue to mismanage cash
Take a ride past the borough building and you'll see Plum Boroughs' dedicated employees walking the picket line: for wages comparable to the school district and municipal authority employees and a secure, nonpolitical environment in which to work. You'll see the young, just starting their careers; you'll see employees who have dedicated more than 10 years of their lives to their job and community.
There are full-time employees on that picket line making less than $9 an hour, but council claims not to have the money to pay them. Mayor John Schmeck and council did have money to hire a friend of theirs in January for an unadvertised position at $10 an hour, part-time. This employee has now been promoted to interim assistant borough manager.
There are people standing on the picket line who have worked more than 10 years for this community and have a salary of less than $22,000. It is little wonder that these employees decided to join a union after the elections in 2001. It probably has always been this council's intention to fire these dedicated employees.
The decisions council has made are costing money. Because they refused to change one of their "rules of conduct of meetings," it cost the taxpayers $13,000. They hired a borough manager at a salary of $75,000, when only $60,000 was budgeted. He started looking for another job within a month of being hired.
Maybe the way John Schmeck and council were running this borough scared him off. That should cause every person in this borough to question the decisions made by this council.
The mayor and council chose to spend thousands of dollars on temporary software for the borough, instead of the $13,000 for the permanent software; borough funds are being used to pay for John Schmeck and councils' attorney to represent them in federal court because they fired police Chief Terry Focareta.
Maybe this mayor and council are not using taxpayers' money to move this community forward.
Who is John Schmeck and council going to blame now for their lack of funds⢠Eventually, the decisions and actions of this council and mayor are going to have an adverse affect on everyone in this community — not unlike the decisions made by the school board and the raising of taxes.
