RICHMOND, Va. -- Dozens of Richmond city workers and supporters rallied outside City Hall Tuesday, calling on the city to reach an agreement with them in their union contract negotiations.
"The time is now. Not next year. Now. N-O-W," said library technician of 38 years Linda Brown. "Our expectation to bargain in good faith and fairly has been ignored, disrespected, and totally lacking an urgency to move forward."
After Richmond City Council approved legislation to allow city workers to unionize in different sectors, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Virginia 512 was selected this summer to represent around 1,100 administrative and technical workers in departments like social services, parks and recreation, and libraries.
Union representatives said they have been meeting with city negotiators since September (including a meeting Monday), but said the city has delayed the process and created roadblocks.
"We thought we needed to have the rally today to shout about it," said Senior Library Technician Cathy Bruce, who is a part of the negotiating team.
Speakers said a contract is needed to address issues like poor working conditions, overworked staff, health benefits, and wages that have not kept up with inflation.
"It is not wrong to ask for respect, fair wages, safety on the job. And all across the United States employees are demanding equal pay for equal work," said Brown. "You're looking at under $20 an hour after 38 years. Remember this face. But they starting people now with $18 an hour. What does that say to me? They don't really care about me."
"For me, especially, I'd say one of the biggest things is, especially the Broad Rock Branch, a lot of people use our public computers. They're applying for jobs, they're applying for SNAP benefits and our computers are constantly freezing up and they lose work," said Bruce. "And all we can do is apologize and try and get on another computer and hope that one doesn't freeze, too."
The union said they have brought forward proposals to address the issues, but claim the city has not given them an effective response.
"I would say the major points are around health and safety, labor management, and wages and benefits," said LaNoral Thomas, President of SEIU Virginia 512.
"Of 20-some proposals, there have only been a few tentative agreements that look promising so far. Just in general. And we're still hoping that we'll hear more from the city," added Bruce.
In response to Tuesday's rally, a city spokesperson sent the following statement:
“SEIU Virginia 512 claims are false. The City understands the rules of negotiation and has come to the bargaining table in good faith, affirming our commitment, just yesterday, we engaged in mediation with SEIU from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday, November 27, 2023. We will continue in the spirit of fair and equitable negotiations with the desire of reaching an agreement that works for our employees and our residents," said the statement.
The union said the next scheduled meeting is Friday, which is also the deadline in the legislation for an agreement to be reached in order for it to be factored into next year's budget process. Union representatives said they are hopeful to have an agreement reached by then, but said the two sides could agree to an extension.
If an agreement is reached, it would still require approval from the city council.
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