Lower Merion Commissioners Approve Workers Association Contract

The Lower Merion Board of Commissioners approved the 2011-2014 Lower Merion Workers Association labor agreement by a 9 to 4 vote on Wednesday night after several attempts to amend the contract put the agreement at risk.

But the board rejected by one vote a proposal to apply the 2011 provisions of the union contract to non-union employees.

Commissioner Jane Dellheim voted in favor of recommending the union contract to the full board when it was before the Board of Commissioner’s Administrative and Human Resources Committee earlier in the evening, but she was excused from the meeting after the committee vote and was not present when the full board voted on the contract shortly before midnight. 

The board’s four Republican commissioners-- Jenny Brown, Lewis Gould, Philip Rosenzweig and Scott Zelov—cast the dissenting votes against the four-year contract for the union’s 206 non-uniform, township employees. 

“It’s clearly one our taxpayers cannot afford and it’s clearly not one our taxpayers are willing to pay,” Gould said. In his 16 years on the Board of Commissioners and his 26 total years in voting for union contracts (for the Board of Commissioners and previously SEPTA), Gould said, last night’s contract was only the second time he had voted against a union agreement.

The new contract will cost the township about $2.1 million in salaries but save about $1.4 million in health costs.  Over the course of the four-year contract, the additional cost to the township is estimated to be slightly less than $700,000.

Commissioner Brian McGuire said the cost increase for the contract over four years is 1 percent, which got as close as possible to the board’s goal of zero percent.  “I thought all of us would be pleased with that,” McGuire said. The bottom line for the board, McGuire said, ought to be the real bottom line which is the cost for taxpayers.

For several hours, it remained unclear if the contract would be rejected because of some commissioners’ attempts to amend the union contract.

Board of Commissioners President Liz Rogan began the Administrative and Human Resources Committee with a point of order about the committee vote on the union contract:

“The motion on the floor is an up and down vote so there can’t be any amendments to the motion,” Rogan said. 

Rosenzweig disagreed with Rogan saying he did not think there were any provisions in Roberts Rules of Order or the law that say it is an up or down vote.

However, Township Solicitor Gilbert High advised the commissioners that in the context of a bargaining agreement, if the commissioners amended the labor agreement, then the board would be effectively denying the agreement.

“Once you make one amendment, then you disapprove the agreement,” High said.

Despite High’s advisement, commissioners proposed several amendments to the contract.

Commissioner George Manos, chairman of the Administrative and Human Resources Committee, voiced strong opposition to making amendments.  He said he as a commissioner would not “participate in negotiations” and as committee chairman he would not permit the commissioners to negotiate the contract terms, “so if this motion passes, the conversation is over.”

Manos reminded the commissioners before the committee vote on each proposed amendment that “anyone who votes yes for this is basically voting no for the whole motion.”

Zelov proposed the first amendment: to have all Workers Association employees, rather than just new hires (as is stated in the new contract), make a 7.5 percent employee contribution for health insurance.  Zelov said “the cost of benefits have been and continue to be a great concern.”

Zelov’s motion failed by a 4-10 vote, with Zelov, Brown, Gould and Rosenzweig voting in favor of the amendment.

Rosenzweig proposed two amendments: removing a one-time lump sum payment of $1,300 in 2011, a provision which the Workers Association agreed to when the union ratified the contract; and to reduce the four-year labor agreement to a three-year agreement.

Both of Rosenzweig’s amendments were defeated by 4-10 votes, with Zelov, Brown, Gould and Rosenzweig voting in favor of both amendments.

While Commissioner Cheryl Gelber voted against the amendment to remove the $1,300 lump sum payment for employees she said, “To me this is one of the more objectionable parts of the contract…But I’m not willing to destroy the whole Workers Association contract because of that.”

Democratic Commissioner Brian Gordon made the last proposed amendment: to direct the township manager to negotiate 15 percent savings in healthcare benefits (rather than the 10 percent savings stated in the new labor agreement) and to give Workers Association employees an additional $100 each as part of their one-time lump sum payment.

Gordon, who later voted in favor of the contract, said the union agreement was “one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make” and “…if I decide to vote no, it’s specifically to say we can do better with our health care expenses.”

Gordon’s amendment was defeated 5-9, with Gordon, Zelov, Brown, Gould and Rosenzweig voting in favor of the amendment change.  However, other commissioners who voted against the amendment expressed concerns about healthcare costs during the board’s discussion about the contract.

After all of the amendments had failed, the committee voted 10-4 to recommend the union contract to the full board.  Several hours later, during the Board of Commissioners meeting, the board voted 9-4 to approve the contract.

Eight members of the public, including residents and Workers Association employees, spoke for and against the contract agreement before the committee voted.  In some cases, the public criticized the commissioners.

Kim Sorgini, a dispatcher for the Lower Merion Police Department and member of the Workers Association, said she was “appalled at the behavior of the commissioners.”

“It’s unfathomable that you sit up here and take digs at each other…It’s our livelihood that you’re talking about,” Sorgini said in addressing the commissioners.

Sorgini said “our new hires will walk in with nothing.” She asked how much more workers were expected to give up and suggested that the commissioners were out of touch with the workers’ financial realities.

The median income for Workers Association employees is $54,000, Sorgini said. “Try to raise a family on $54,000 a year,” Sorgini said, adding that that is before paying taxes, a mortgage and other bills.

Sorgini asked the commissioners when was the last time one of them had to decide,  "do I buy my kid’s shoes this week or do I buy pants this week," because there is not enough money for both.

Penn Valley resident Craig Stretch said union workers had “been very poorly represented” and deserved more than the contract provided. 

Craig Cullen of Villanova criticized his own political party.

“I’m a Democrat but I’m very disappointed in these Democratic commisisoners who think because this township has some wealth in it, spending is no problem.”

In regards to the union contract, Cullen said, “I think the simplest solution is say, (to the union workers) ‘You’re continuing with the same benefits you’ve had in the past,’ and then see how many of them quit.  I don’t think you’ll have many of them.”

Stretch criticized Board of Commissioners Vice President Paul McElhaney for not recusing himself from the union contract vote.  McElhaney’s brother is Workers Association President George McElhaney.

“You need to recuse yourself from these discussions," Stretch said to the commissioner. "Your very presence in the room makes it impossible for them (the union workers) to get the real treatment they deserve.”

Elizabeth Coles Umstattd, who has lived in Villanova since 1956, requested that the commission be mindful of the contract’s cost.

“Please consider there are township residents whose income has not increased but decreased, Umstattd said.

In another decision, the full board voted 7-6 to deny a proposal to apply the 2011 provisions of the union contract to the township’s non-union employees, including crew leaders, front line supervisors, management and exempt employees.

Daniel Bernheim, Brown, Gelber, Gordon, Gould, Rosenzweig and Zelov voted against the proposal.

Commissioners suggested several amendments to the proposal, all of which failed.  The failed amendment proposals included: achieving an additional 5 percent in healthcare savings for non-contract employees; eliminating the $1,300 lump sum payment for 2011; eliminating longevity payments for all existing, non-union employees rather than eliminating it only for new hires.

After the vote on non-union employee provisions failed, Rogan asked the other commissioners if any of them wanted to change their vote.

“Unless someone wants to change their motion, the current provisions will continue and we won’t have any of the savings that we had,” Rogan said.

No one wished to change their vote.

Rogan told Patch in an interview after the meeting that because the proposal to apply the 2011 provisions of the union contract to the township’s non-union employees was rejected, non-union employees will keep the same wages and benefits package for the time being.  Rogan said provisions for non-union employees could be brought up again during budget discussions.