MSD Board reinstates LIUNA as workers’ union, tentatively approves labor contract

By JOE SONKA | 

January 25, 2016 2:40 pm

The board of the Metropolitan Sewer District voted on Monday to end its suspension of LIUNA Local 576 as the recognized collective bargaining unit for roughly 150 of MSD’s workers, then gave tentative approval to the terms of a labor contract, which could soon end the protracted and heated contract dispute that has dragged on for over three years.

The motion to do both was approved by a 5-to-3 vote, with board chair Cyndi Caudil, vice chair Dan Arbough, Sujata Chugh, JT Sims and Andrew Bailey voting yes. The three no votes were from board members John Phelps, Joyce Horton Mott and Yvonne Wells-Hatfield.

The labor contract now will be sent to LIUNA, whose members will vote on whether to ratify and send it back to the MSD board for final approval.

After the vote, Caudill spoke about the breakthrough in the contract negotiations, noting that several new members of the board allowed them to take a “fresh look” at the contract.

“The board is proud of the work of our employees, and I’m pleased that we’re able to move forward with this new contract,” said Caudill. “In the time that we last considered this contract, we’ve added several new board members and taken a fresh look at the terms. We are appreciative of the patience of the employees who remain committed to their work as we’ve gone through this process.”

MSD’s leadership has changed dramatically over the past year, with a new board chair and vice chair, as well as new executive director Tony Parrott taking over for Greg Heitzman after his retirement last fall. Former board member Lonnie Calvert publicly criticized the reluctance of the board to approve contract conditions in the fall of 2014, and former board chair James Craig blamed the impasse on its former vice chair Tom Austin, whom he viewed as “anti-union” and criticized for calling union employees “terrorists” and “animals.” Austin would later resign over those comments.

LIUNA also played hardball tactics with the board and Heitzman over those years, using mailers and television ads to criticize the refusal of the board and MSD’s executive director to agree to its terms. The board stripped its recognition of LIUNA in late 2014, and despite an opinion by then-Attorney General Jack Conway agreeing with two of the union’s key points in the dispute, the negotiations remained at an impasse throughout 2015.

MSD has not yet released the details of the contract terms, but LIUNA Local 576 issued a statement to Insider Louisville praising the board, Parrot, and other local unions who championed their cause.

“On behalf of LIUNA Local 576, we want to thank the MSD board for voting in the contract for CMF workers,” said Lawrence Winburn Sr., LIUNA’s business manager. “We send a special thanks to the new MSD director Tony Parrott for championing the contract. Also a special thanks to all the unions and local organization and activists that have supported the workers and 576 for a contract. And a special thanks to Dave Suetholz of Kircher, Suetholz & Associates PSC (LIUNA’s legal counsel).”

After the vote, Caudill added that after considering the input of counsel and the attorney general, the board “has now increased comfort level with the contract as a whole. We’ve come to understand the terms to be contractual issues and not statutory issues, so our board is able to accept this contract. I’m confident that this contract will serve our employees and the ratepayers who will benefit from their work.”

Though three board members voted against today’s motion, the MSD board also proposed a new policy on Monday stating that “Once the board has acted, all board members are expected to support the decision of the board. Board members recognize their duty of loyalty to MSD and to the board, and agree that, outside the boardroom, they will support the letter and spirit of board decisions when in contact with other parties.”