NEWS

Council consolidates street, traffic divisions

Joe Williams
Reporter

NEWARK Under threat of another union grievance and possible arbitration, the Newark City Council unanimously has agreed to combine the street and traffic divisions to save money and streamline services.

On Monday night, the council voted 10-0 to create the Division of Street Maintenance and Traffic Control starting Jan. 1.

Service Director David Rhodes proposed the consolidation, saying it will save the city about $63,000 annually.

His plan abolishes a clerk typist and sign fabricator, street maintenance operations manager, and traffic control operations manager. At the same time, the city will now create one sign fabricator and impound clerk, an assistant street and traffic superintendent, and an additional senior crew leader.

Rhodes said he expects to fill the new posts from within.

Lewyenne Shumaker, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2963, said she thinks her union will file grievances against the plan. Shumaker currently works as a clerk typist and sign fabricator for the city’s Traffic Division, one of the three jobs being abolished.

“This is not a one-grievance deal,” she said. “This affects a lot of people.”

Shumaker said she plans to meet with union representatives and attorneys to determine what to do and when, but she predicted that arbitration will cost the city financially.

“I hate to see this happen,” she said, “but when people don’t listen to what you’re telling them, this is what you have to do.”

Mayor Jeff Hall said the city is consolidating the two divisions into one to save money and improve services.

“What we do know is, with financial challenges, we have to change some things and create efficiencies,” he said.

In situations “when it’s all hands on deck, snow plowing, grass cutting, that kind of thing,” Hall said, employees from both street and traffic will be able to pitch in. During in-house, street-paving projects, traffic workers might now flag traffic to help out.

Shumaker already filed one grievance over the plan, contending the city took away some of her duties — specifically assisting in preparing her office’s annual budget — while it worked toward merging the two divisions.

Last month, Rhodes formally denied that grievance declaring it “without merit,” writing: “You did not show any loss of wages or harm of any kind.”

Shumaker told the council’s Personnel Committee last month that the union does not oppose the restructuring but was denied a chance to sit down with city representatives and help determine the duties for the new positions before Rhodes presented the plan to the committee.

City and union representatives finally met last Wednesday, Shumaker said, but she called that session “pretty much fruitless.”

Rhodes said he took his time with the reorganization. After Street Superintendent Dave Reed’s retirement last year, the city promoted Ralph Buster Prince to that post and did not fill his vacancy, street maintenance operations manager, one of the three jobs now being abolished

jwilliams6@newarkadvocate.com

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