Municipal Services and Operations workers are the latest City of Lawrence group to seek unionization with Teamsters Local 696.
The union has filed a petition “with overwhelming support,” asking the city to conduct an election for the workers, according to a Wednesday news release from the Teamsters.
“We are coming together to improve working conditions and secure better wages. We know that the Teamsters will give us the voice and strength to address the issues that matter most to us,” Dave Osborne, a utilities worker for the city, said in a press release.
The MSO department includes three divisions — from the city’s website: infrastructure and maintenance (facilities and structures, street and stormwater maintenance, pavement management, water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment), engineering (engineering design and technical support, stormwater, utility and traffic engineering), and services (solid waste, water, wastewater, fleet management, and administrative functions).
In July, the city’s sanitation workers voted to ratify their first contract as a bargaining unit. The Lawrence City Commission approved the agreement, which includes that wages for solid waste workers will start at $18.34 per hour in 2022; the highest step in the pay grade sets wages at $29.82. The contract includes a 2.5% adjustment for 2023 and 2024, so employees will start at $19.27 in 2024.
“After seeing sanitation workers organize with the Teamsters and win a strong contract, the decision to follow suit was a no-brainer. I’m not doing this for me; I’m doing this for the next generation,” Steve Demaranville, a worker for MSO, said in the release. “We’ve had too many city workers quit. The turnover rate is too high, and we the need union to bring us stability and respect.”
The campaign is about respect and fairness, according to Mike Scribner, President of Local 696.
“These workers have seen the impact of the union firsthand thanks to their brothers and sisters who work in sanitation. We are thrilled more workers in Lawrence are looking to join them by uniting as Teamsters,” Scribner said in the release. “When workers win respect, the entire community thrives.”
The Lawrence City Commission is expected to set a date for the election in the coming days, according to the release.
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August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
