Arbitrators Rules in Favor of Middletown AFSCME Union

 To read the judgement summaries use links here:

AFSCME Statement

Time line of of Dispute Events & Summary of Ruling 

From the Ruling Summary: "There is no way to sugar-coat the facts:  Ms. Bourne was treated horribly by the Board of Education.  

And when push came to shove, the City punished the victim."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 30, 2013

Contact: Larry Dorman (860) 989-9127 (cell) or (860) 612-3855 (office)

Arbitrators Rules in Favor of Middletown AFSCME Union

New Britain, CT — The union representing Middletown public service workers today applauded an arbitrator’s ruling that the City acted illegally when it transferred an employee from the Board of Education to the Parks and Recreation Department after she had raised concerns about the Board’s financial practices.

In a decision issued July 29, Arbitrator Roberta Golick found the City acted without just cause by removing the grievant, AFSCME Local 466 member Christine Bourne, from her position as Payroll Supervisor at the Board of Education and moving her to the position of Program/Budget Analyst in the Parks and Recreation Department.

The involuntary transfer took place in 2010 amid litigation between the City and the Board of Education.

Golick wrote, “There is no way to sugar-coat the facts: Ms. Bourne was treated horribly by the Board of Education. And when push came to shove, the City punished the victim.”

 In the award, Golick directed the City to immediately reinstate Bourne to her prior position at the Board of Education and to make her whole for any losses, if any, in wages and benefits for the period December 8, 2010 to date of reinstatement. She also directed the City and the Union to jointly attempt to calculate damages.

“Arbitrator Golick’s ruling is a victory for workers’ rights in the City of Middletown,” said Bourne, who was elected President of her bargaining unit in 2012. “Our union was caught in a political turf war, so I hope the arbitration award sends a strong message about the importance of respecting the collective bargaining agreement. You can’t discipline employees without just cause, and you can’t retaliate against them when they speak their mind. I’m glad this ordeal is over.”

Council 4 Staff Representative Ed Thibodeau advocated for Local 466 during the arbitration. Council 4 is the parent union of Local 466, which represents nearly 400 City and Board of Education employees in Middletown.

A copy of Arbitrator Golick’s ruling is attached to this press release.

# # #

Larry Dorman

Council 4 Public Affairs

(860) 612-3855 (Direct)

(860) 989-9127 (Cell)

ldorman@council4.org

www.council4.org

 

Letter to the Editor: Mayor: Don't Play Politics on Riverfront

All letters to the editor are published as a courtesy to readers, and opinions expressed/ claims made may or may not be shared by Middletown Insider editors. Salafia was named on the list of most influential Middletown women of 2012: http://www.middletowninsider.com/2012/12/2012year-of-middletown-woman.html

MI Editors Note: Per charter, all commissions and committees must be created by ordinance. To be clear, a mayor can seek and take advice from anyone, be it an individual or a group of people. A mayor then could therefore form a group that advises him and him alone. The mayor can't form a Riverfront Advisory Task Force i.e. a Committee that has any real duties; only the Common Council can create such an entity. The mayor would then appoint its membership and the Council would then vote to confirm those appointments. Unless this process has been followed, this "task force" is worth little to nothing. Which raises the very same question about the "Mayor's Bi-partisan Task Force on Government Reorganization" or, as it has been referred-to, the "Blue-ribbon Commission."
Dear Editor,
     My letter is in response to the article published by the Hartford Courant on January 2, 2013 announcing that Mayor Drew would put together a 7 member task force to make recommendations about River Front Zoning. The article is here:
http://articles.courant.com/2013-01-02/community/hc-middletown-riverfront-20121228_1_sewer-plant-riverfront-proposals-master-plan
     The first time I had heard that the Mayor was considering such a committee was from this article. As a Planning and Zoning Commissioner, I should have been made aware of this by well before the announcement. By charter, there is already an existing Harbor Review Committee and the question as to why a second "task force" or essentially a committee is needed should  be questioned.
     Immediately after reading the Courant article, I submitted my name to the Mayor and asked to be considered for  the committee as a representative from the P&Z Commission. I believe my training in  architecture, planning, historic preservation, and sustainability could be useful.Because I work in the planning and architecture field for a living, I  was volunteering my skills as a professional out of my dedication to Middletown.  I only received an answer 3 days later ,after a second request, from the mayor's assistant that my request was received and being reviewed.
     This was all ruse. The Mayor had already chosen the committee by the time the Courant published the article asking for volunteers. 
      The problem I have is not that I was not considered, it is more so none of my republican colleagues on P&Z, who have over 30 years combined experience on P&Z were not chosen - a wealth of knowledge that is being wasted.  Equally as troubling is that the only minority representation on the whole 7 person committee is a single council member.
     Furthermore, Mayor Drew neglected to choose to add the Harbor Master, any representatives from Harbor Improvement committee, Design Review and Historic Preservation, the Conservation Commission, and most importantly the public.
     As commissioner, and a taxpaying citizen of Middletown, I am disappointed  that the Mayor is once again playing politics when choosing committee members to make crucial decisions about Middletown. 
     When people go to the City of Middletown website, there is no indication of what committees are open. When I have asked the Council Clerk for a list of open committee seats, I have only been given the run around. I have asked to be apart of other committees, only to receive no answer to my request. Despite this Mayor's mandate for evening meetings, committees regularly meet during work day hours and not always at public locations.  This is  disturbing because the transparency of such committees is then an illusion because they  are purposely inconvenient to the majority of full-time working citizens who are entitled  to access to their government.
      If this Mayor, and the Democratic majority keep choosing the same people to make decisions, and acquiesce to the same desires of those chosen,  we as citizens will only be burdened with the same mediocre results that stagnate us as a community.

Respectfully submitted,
Molly Salafia, Assoc. AIA, LEED GA,
 Middletown Citizen & also
P&Z Commissioner, (R)

City FOI Request - A Call for Transparency

William Wilson, vice chair of the Republican Town Committee submitted the letter below last week to City Hall (and the Insider) as an FOI request.   In April of 2012, upon his return to from China (of which he was not asked to go on, nor did he approach the Council with this venture prior, but asked to join the trip), Mayor Drew promised the Common Council on record he would provide a detailed report of his tax payer funded trip and findings regarding the supposed possible sale of the Aetna property to unnamed Chinese companies . 
Wilson also asked a variety of other relevant questions about where your tax money is going as well. 
The Insider has been told Wilson has received a copy of the Mayor's plane ticket, but no other answers have been provided. All we want for Christmas is peace on earth and government transparency, how about you?

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To: The Town Clerk of the City of Middletown,

I am sending this letter as an FOI request to be answered by the appropriate parties within the City of Middletown. I would like the all the relevant reports that will answer the questions below.

1.How many discharges from the sewer treatment located at 100 River Road have there been in the last 5 years?  How many gallons per discharge into the Connecticut River during that time?

2. Please provide me the relevant reports to disclose any and all spills into the Connecticut River stemming from Middletown's sewage treatment plant and relevant systems dating back five years. Have
there been any other spills as documented by the City of Middletown into the Connecticut river where sewage has been discharged or overflowed? Please provide any and all  bypass reports.

3. Please provide documentation to answer the following question: Have there been any fines due to discharges or spills during the past five years to the Water and Sewer department? If so, when, why and for what amount?

4.Please provide information regarding billing oversight at the Water& Sewer department. How many billing complaints have been filed in the past five years? How many customers have been misbilled? Please
provide a record of this and the remedy.

5. Please provide receipts& expense report for the Mayor's trip to China. Please also provide the detailed summary report he told the Common Council he would provide at the Common Council meeting immediately following his return. Please include a detailed list of whom he met with.

6. Please provide copies of the documents prepared by the architect hired by the Mayor to do drawings of a proposed addition to house the senior center at City Hall.

7. Please provide a list of open commission seats as of the date of this letter. A list is provided to the Common Council at the Mayor's request but not to the public.

All subsequent data provided may be returned to me as printable pdf files in digital format on CDs I will provide, in lieu of paper copies at the City's earliest convenience.

Sincerely, William Wilson
                Middletown, CT 06457     
cc:
Mayor Dan Drew
Common Council Clerk, Marie Norwood
Town Clerk City of Middletown, Sandra Driska
Director Guy Russo, Water & Sewer Department
Republican Town Committee Chair Ken McClellan

Mayor: Safety Message via Honeywell Alert

This weekend, we held a joint meeting with the mayor’s office, Middletown Public Schools’ central office administration and Middletown Police Department command staff to review and improve our existing plans to secure our children’s welfare and safety.

We reviewed our existing emergency response protocols in light of the heartbreaking tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School and made additional plans to increase security at each of our schools. Some changes will be visible and some will not.

Students, parents, faculty and staff will witness an increased police presence in and around Middletown’s schools in the coming weeks. We have also formulated additional plans for increased police presence in and around Middletown’s schools on a permanent basis. Additionally, a number of other security measures are being implemented.

Our top priority is to provide our students, their families, our staff, and our community with a safe learning environment.

The tragedy suffered in Newtown puts into perspective the preciousness of our loved ones and that we must never take for granted their presence. We mourn for the children who were taken in the dawn of their lives, the families whose unimaginable grief can never be assuaged, and the community whose heart will bear enduring scars.

We can only hope and pray that they find comfort in the memories of those they have lost and in their spirit of unity. We invite you to join us for a vigil on the South Green Monday at 7 p.m., in memory of the people who lost their lives.

Sincerely,

Mayor Daniel Drew
Superintendent Patricia Charles
Police Chief William McKenna