Editorial: City union fighting losing battle

We commend Newark City Council for agreeing with Service Director David Rhodes’ plan to save taxpayers $63,000 by consolidating two city departments into the Division of Street Maintenance and Traffic Control starting Jan. 1.

We now just hope the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2963 won’t waste more city time and funds filing grievances or other complaints about a sensible plan that shouldn’t cost anyone their job.

The union, and president Lewyenne Shumaker, whose own job will change in this process, should look to council’s 10-0 vote as a clear sign they’re picking the wrong fight should they proceed.

The council now has a Democratic majority, one that demonstrated a willingness to support unions over the opposition of Mayor Jeff Hall’s administration during fire department negotiations earlier this year. This 10-0 vote to consolidate the street and traffic divisions despite union objections should tell AFSCME something.

Instead, Shumaker vowed Monday to consult with union representatives and attorneys to determine what to do next, predicting arbitration will cost the city money.

Such a comment should infuriate Newark taxpayers who want to see more police officers and firefighters, not to mention more road paving. And it should upset other city employees who have not exactly had robust pay raises in recent years because of Newark’s financial struggles.

What Rhodes wants to do amounts to nothing more than a simple management decision to realign city resources with available funding and serve residents more efficiently. Even better, nobody should lose their job. It’s the type of management decision private companies make every day to ensure their competitive survival.

“What we do know is, with financial challenges, we have to change some things and create efficiencies,” Hall told The Advocate, noting the consolidation would allow the city to use more resources during snow emergencies or in-house paving projects.

Unions play an important role in ensuring the city’s employees are treated fairly and consistently. And while they can certainly contribute to discussions on improving city government, voters elected Hall and the council to make the ultimate decisions shaping our community’s future.

We strongly support their decision and leadership on this issue.