Washington County Housing Authority clerical and maintenance union employees go on strike

Wages are the main issue for the authority’s clerical and maintenance workers.

Washington County Housing Authority clerical and maintenance union employees hit the picket lines Tuesday after contract talks stalled over wages.

Thirty-three employees, members of Teamsters Local 585, went on strike after their contract expired at midnight.

Harold Close, principal officer and secretary/treasurer of Teamsters Local 585, said $36,567.20 separates the union and authority from settling the contract stalemate — equating to a total of $1,000 more a month for 33 employees. He said that equals around a $30 increase for each employee for 36 months to keep clerical and maintenance workers on the job for the next three years.

Striking employees at Monongahela Manor and Donora’s Highland Terrace locations referred their comments to Close. Workers with picket signs were also seen at the California Apartments and other WCHA locations.

“The authority has offered the union a contract that surpasses the previous several contracts in terms of wages,” Solicitor Sam Dalfonso said in a statement issued on behalf of the housing authority. “The wages offered place our employees beyond the median income for Washington County. Further, the offer does not touch the employee benefits, including outstanding medical benefits of which employees only pay a small percentage of the premium, a 13% contribution to the employees’ pension, outstanding sick and vacation leave, and job security that most employees do not have in the private sector.”

Close told the Mon Valley Independent he agrees that the housing authority initially wanted to increase health care contributions, but he said they attempted to cut the pension contributions that workers had as well.

“We’ve taken a stance that we’re not looking to have any concessions,” Close said. “We’re also not looking to get rich here. We’re talking about an increase, and we’re not negotiating through the media and we’re not talking about a lot of money here.”

The authority and Teamsters officials met with state mediators Tuesday morning and did not come to an agreement. They will meet again Oct. 8 in an attempt to resolve the wage issues.

The union unanimously rejected STRIKE •A2

“We’re just looking for fair wages. The current roster that we have, two out of three of them would qualify to live within the housing authority.”

HAROLD CLOSE

TEAMSTERS LOCAL 585 the authority’s last best offer, according to Close, and said the authority is in the public sector with its sources of revenue coming from grants, federal Housing and Urban Development funds and the rent from the units themselves.

The authority has assets in the range of $20 million and manages approximately 1,100 units at 24 locations in Washington, Canonsburg, California, Fredericktown and the Mon Valley. The authority’s main office is at 100 S. Franklin St., Washington.

“Throughout the negotiations, the authority has worked towards raising the employees’ wages, but that goal post has been moved by the union and their negotiating committee,” according to the housing authority statement. “As the authority continued to raise its offer, the union chose to raise its demands. This includes voting down the authority’s offer to accept the union’s most recent proposal before raising their demands. The authority looks forward to continuing to bargain in good faith despite an ongoing strike that continues to affect the health, safety and welfare of the residents we serve.

“Most importantly, as the maintenance and clerical union have decided to strike, the Washington County Housing Authority is working to ensure that services are continued to be provided to our residents and their health and safety are maintained. To that end, the authority has several contingencies in place should an issue arise during the pendency of this strike.”

Close adamantly said the workers are not choosing to strike and that the authority put the workers on strike.

“We’re just looking for fair wages,” Close said. “The current roster that we have, two out of three of them would qualify to live within the housing authority. So that’s what we’re talking about when it comes to wages. We’re not far apart and for the housing authority to put us on strike over $36,000 and that’s a total over three years and that is not per employee, per year. We’re talking about three combined years.”

Close said the housing authority has “never once indicated” that there’s no money available and that they are trying to get a fair contract for their membership that is only a “very, very small amount of money.”

He added that the workers are going “over, above and beyond” answering all of the service and maintenance calls, responding to questions and helping families transition into public housing.

“The housing authority provides people that avenue, and for us to fight over what is essentially a $1,000 increase to their budget line item per month for the next three years, is absurd to me,” Close said. “These people work very hard, and some of the places that they go into are not nice places. There are a lot of mental health issues within our county and they go into places where they are verbally abused, they are accused of things. This is not an easy job we are talking about.”

The union membership has the support of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, according to Close, and he said their strike benefits are higher than the wages that they make.

“The IVT has taken the position that we’re going to support our workers for fair contracts,” Close said. “The membership has sent me to get them a wage increase, and until we get to that wage increase, we’re not being unrealistic here and it’s not life changing here. We’re trying to take two thirds of our membership, and we want to move them above their yearly income.

“We’re trying to get them out of being eligible to live within county-assisted housing. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has given us a commitment that they will support this group as long as they have to get them a fair wage, and that’s where we’re at.”