Palo Alto managers talk of joining Teamsters

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=14008

Uploaded: Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 9:40 PM

Palo Alto managers talk of joining Teamsters
Mid-level managers in city government debate joining Teamsters union or forming independent bargaining unit

by Gennady Sheyner
Palo Alto Online Staff

Seeking a greater voice in negotiations with the city, Palo Alto's 242 management employees are considering joining the International Brotherhood of Teamsters or forming an in-house association that would enable them to bargain collectively with the city.

The Management and Professional Group, which consists of mid-level employees from various departments, is the only major employee group that is not in a union and operates without a contract. The managers' benefits are generally based on those negotiated between the city and employees represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

But as negotiations between the city and the SEIU have stalled in recent months, management workers have begun exploring joining a separate union.

Rudy Gonzalez, an organizer with Teamsters Local Union No. 856, said Palo Alto management workers first approached the union about a month ago.

About a week and a half ago, the management group formed a committee to explore formally joining the San Bruno-based local.

"It isn't until you reach tough economic times that you actually realize you don't have bargaining powers," Gonzalez said of the managers' decision to contact the union.

"The current climate made that really evident to the group."

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