Analysts are questioning whether labor negotiations in Montgomery County have become worthless amid a string of decisions in which county leaders ignored formerlysacrosanct union talks.
Labor leaders in the progressive stronghold have lambasted County Executive Ike Leggett and the County Council for changing compensation packages — including health, pension and likely disability benefits — over deals reached at the bargaining table.
“If [Leggett] is not going to honor the process, why should I even waste my time or resources?” said Gino Renne, president of the Municipal and County Government Employees Organization. “I’ll just focus on the council.”
But the nine-member group, which controls the county’s purse strings, was hardly a fallback for unions. A council panel gave approval to a two-tiered disability system that would assign payments to all employees based on the severity of their injuries.
Council members said they were forced to take action after waiting two years for Leggett and the unions to find a solution.
For decades, labor deals essentially remained unchanged in the final budget — that is no longer the case.
“What you’re seeing is a product of the economic times,” said Councilman Phil Andrews, D-Gaithersburg/Rockville. “When times we’re good, you didn’t see this fighting. Unions get upset when there isn’t the money for what they want. That will probably continue.”
Some county officials, however, are concerned about harming employee morale.
“I don’t think bargaining is dead unless we continue to ignore it,” said Councilman Marc Elrich, D-at large. “But I’m concerned we’re heading in the wrong direction and creating unnecessary ill will. We shouldn’t just say, ‘screw the process.'”
The Fraternal Order of Police union said it submitted a three-tiered disability proposal but was ignored by council members more concerned with pushing their plan through. Andrews called the proposal unrealistic and said that officials would adopt union recommendations if they made fiscal sense. – Brian Hughes
