UPSEU recently received Supreme Court Justice McGrath’s decision wherein he confirmed the arbitrators’ awards on two grievances UPSEU won in 2011. In his decision, Justice McGrath ordered Columbia County to move an employee to the position he was improperly denied and to reinstate overtime rosters and make whole all facilities employees who lost overtime due to the elimination of the rosters. “We were very pleased with Justice McGrath’s decision and we are even more excited that the County has already taken the steps to comply with the orders,” said Regional Coordinator Kathy A. Wright.

Just prior to the issuance of the decisions, the County had contacted UPSEU President Kevin E. Boyle, Jr. indicating their desire to meet to discuss settlement of outstanding grievances through a labor/management committee instead of constant litigation. “We have always wanted to have a less litigious relationship with the County. It’s refreshing to see that the new administration concurs with our belief that continually litigating issues serves only to damage the relationship between the employees and management. We are hopeful that this is a new positive beginning for labor relations in the County,” said Boyle.

Immediately following the meeting, the County complied with the judge’s orders and moved Jason Tompkins to Automotive Maintenance. Additionally, the Human Resources Department was also simultaneously tasked with reconciling UPSEU’s proposed estimation of the amount of money owed to facilities employees who were due wages for lost overtime. At present, UPSEU and the County are calculating and close to the final numbers of the amount of money due to the affected employees.

“This has been a long process for the affected members to endure, but we are hopeful that we are heading on a much more positive and productive track to resolving issues,” stated Wright.