Union head blasts city after demotions

Long Beach Civil Service Employees Association President John Mooney criticized members of the City Council and administration at Tuesday’s council meeting after 14 city workers were demoted and two were fired.

Mooney, backed by more than 200 union members who stomped and shouted in support, blasted the administration, saying that City Manager Jack Schnirman stripped 14 union members of grade changes and promotions given last year, amid a fiscal crisis.

“I want you all to know that the CSEA was unaware that the city was in any financial straits,” Mooney said. “We were just as surprised as anyone with the December payroll.”

On Feb. 16, the city rescinded what Schnirman said were the “unbudgeted” promotions of 14 employees made shortly before the previous administration left office. Schnirman said that the employees in question are now receiving their previous salaries, and that the move saved the city $52,000, not including overtime.

At the meeting, Mooney asked the administration and council to explain how the city hired a new comptroller, at $15,000 more than the previous comptroller’s salary; a secretary, at $5,000 more; and a deputy city clerk, at $23,000 more, among others. “These totals of unbudgeted expenses that you guys approved were close to $100,000,” Mooney said. “That is double the amount of the grade changes and promotions that were rescinded.”

He also claimed that Schnirman let two union members go without any union representation, saying, “That is a disgrace. These members should be treated with respect. Maybe from Brookhaven, that’s how you do it. That’s not how we do it in Long Beach.”

Mooney said that the CSEA had filed a grievance with the city on Feb. 14, when it learned that the city was going to make the grade changes. He also said that, contrary to Schnirman’s claims, the promotions were properly budgeted. Most of the promotions were approved in August, Mooney said, months before the previous administration left office, by a committee made up of union representatives, former City Manager Charles Theofan and others.

Before the meeting, Mooney said that the grievance was filed because the promotions fall under the collective bargaining agreement with the city. An arbitrator will ultimately review the case, he said.

“The city still has to honor the contractual obligations, even if some of the grade changes weren’t properly budgeted for by the previous administration,” Mooney said, adding that he was disappointed with the way Schnirman handled the demotions. “We understand the economy is bad everywhere, however, you have to treat your workers with respect and dignity. The people who got demoted weren’t even informed by the city manager or in writing — they were only told by the union, and in my opinion, the city manager should have called them up and told them. It’s about treating employees with dignity. If you [get] bad news, you want to hear it from your leader and your boss.”

But Schnirman maintained after the meeting that the previous administration awarded the grade changes and promotions in August and again in December, and that it was aware that they were unaffordable.

“The real question is why were these unbudgeted, unaffordable raises and promotions done during a fiscal crisis at the eleventh hour by an administration on its way out the door,” he said. “I don’t know who this phantom committee was and why we never heard of them before, but it is unfair to have given city workers false promotions that the previous administration knew would have to be rescinded.”

Schnirman also disputed claims that the demotions were handled inappropriately, saying that the city did not have a contractual obligation to honor the pay raises.

“They were actually grieved before they happened,” he said. “Because we’ve had a good relationship, I informed the union before I made the move. We have a weekly meeting every Friday at 11 a.m., where we informed the CSEA president of our intention to do this. We consulted several times with corporation counsel before making changes and eliminating positions, as we always do, and all were done properly.”

Schnirman acknowledged that two employees have been let go — and insiders say they included Mary Giambalvo, who handled public relations — but he added that one position, which he did not specify, was provisional, while the other — a service assistant — was eliminated. He said that it is only “during matters of internal discipline” that a union representative is present and that both layoffs were handled properly.

Schnirman also disputed Mooney’s claim that recent hires, such as that of Comptroller Jeff Nogid, have cost the city $100,000, adding that not all new employees are receiving higher salaries than past administrators. “As of today, on the management side, the city is spending $250,095 less on management employees,” he said.

Before the meeting, Republican Councilman John McLaughlin said that he believed an arbitrator would make a fair decision, but he agreed with Mooney that the previous administration did not issue the promotions at the last minute, and he pointed out that several paid firefighters who were promoted late last year have not been demoted.

Democratic Councilman Mike Fagen — who criticized the previous administration for awarding what he called unbudgeted grade changes and promotions following Tropical Storm Irene, saying that city officials knew they were unaffordable — apologized to Mooney.

“I’d like you to know that I apologize,” Fagen said. “I feel that this union has been mistreated by the administration so far. I do believe that the union deserves better. Moving forward, there’s going to be some really tough decisions for this administration over the next month. We can’t forget, no matter what, we’re still neighbors. Even during the tough times, fair treatment, equality and how we dispense funds and how we make the tough decisions are important. I think it’s important that this administration understands that when those tough decisions come, that this union be treated fairly.”