Ortonville- Village officials have been granted a two-week extension to answer a grievance filed by two terminated Department of Public Works employees.
‘We haven’t decided whether we will approve or deny (the grievance),? said Village Council President Ken Quisenberry. ‘It isn’t all yes or no, it can be anything in between. It can be negotiated.?
Village Manager Ed Coy said the village requested until April 17 to respond to a grievance after a hearing with Teamsters Local 214, the union representing Bill Prince and Kevin Booms, who were fired on Jan. 29 and Feb. 2, respectively.
‘In a letter to us, they said they wanted to talk about a possible settlement,? said Teamsters Local 214 Business Representative Les Barrett. ‘The employers? attorney is going to meet with the union president to see if there is a settlement about all the issues surrounding their discharge. The employees want their jobs back and full restitution for what has happened to them.?
Village officials have not discussed the reasons for the termination of the DPW workers, but Booms said he was told he was fired for driving the snowplow in a careless and reckless manner on Christmas Eve. In January, business owners signed a petition calling for a change in village snow removal procedures.
Barrett said Prince was terminated for going over his allotted cell phone minutes, even though the union contract states that if an employee has more than 500 minutes in a month, he simply has to pay the difference. Prince was over by 200 minutes.
The Village DPW has had numerous problems in the past few years, including broken and improperly maintained equipment. Prince has received multiple disciplinary actions, including suspensions, for varying offenses since he was hired in January 2006. Booms has not been previously disciplined in five years as a village employee.
The current DPW contract was agreed upon by the village and Teamsters in August 2006 after nearly two years of negotiations following the formation of the village DPW union in 2004. The contract expires June 30.
Teamsters Local 214 Union President Joe Valenti was to meet with Prince and Booms April 10.
‘It’s easy to go to war, it’s settling it that becomes a problem,? Valenti said. ‘It will be very expensive for the village to go to arbitration… Arbitrators get $850 to $1,000 per day. To arbitrate and lose is the worst. (The arbitrator) could order them back to work with full back pay, half back pay or have the jurisdiction to do a last chance agreement. If (the workers) violate the terms of the contract again, they would be fired again without the right of arbitration.?
Valenti expects to meet with the village attorney by the end of next week. Meanwhile, CM Construction plowed the village streets following last Monday’s snowfall at a cost to the village of about $1,000, said Coy. The village has also hired a part-time seasonal DPW employee
.