Reynoldsville Borough facing unfair labor practice allegation
Reynoldsville Borough has been hit with an Unfair Labor Practice charge by Teamsters Local #110 in connection with the controversy surrounding the borough council’s action on the police contract earlier this year.
The contract was approved by the previous council in 2019 and took effect on January 1, 2020. It runs until December 31, 2024.
According to the March filing with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board Office in Pittsburgh, the union argues the borough did not bargain in good faith.
At its January 29, 2020, meeting, it was stated that the council felt the new contract was not valid. At a February 6, 2020, private meeting with borough officials, Union Business Representative Rick Keller confirmed the union’s position that the contract was valid and the union would not agree to reopen or negotiate the package.
According to a previous Reynlow Community News story, the borough council then met on February 12 and backed off its claim that the contract was invalid. Instead, it approached the issue through the budgeting process with monies originally designated for the police department moved to other areas.
Officer Tammy Murray’s hours were reduced to part time status effective February 17. Her hours were cut from 40-hours per week to 10 hours per week. According to the filing, that made her ineligible for health insurance under the collective bargaining agreement and that the action was discriminatory against Officer Murray.
When commenting on the filing, Union Representative Keller told Reynlow Community News that some rumors about the contract were not true. He said there is nothing in the contract that says the officers can only work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. He also said it was not true that Officer Murray was not willing to work weekends.
Council president Bill Cebulskie said he had no comment on the matter at this time and that it has been turned over the Borough Solicitor Joe Ryan for review.
A telephone conference has been schedule for July 9. If the case remains unresolved, a pre-hearing telephone conference will be held on August 20. The hearing itself is slated for September 4 in Pittsburgh.
