People who collect garbage or dig ditches in Monroe are not considered important in the city of Monroe, even with African-Americans running the government.
Last week the City Council, in a 4-1 vote approved an employees contract that was overwhelmingly supported by the city employee’s union.
Only one city councilmember, Eddie Clark, questioned the city’s practice of excluding the city’s lowest paid workers from its union contract, forcing them to work without health benefits, retirement, sick days, funeral leave or other benefits of city workers.
To save money Mayo Administration took its lowest-paid workers off the city payroll.
Officially, its sanitation workers, ditching crews and other public works employees are not really employees of the City of Monroe. They are hired through a staffing agency that does not offer the men benefits, job security or any of the protections of other city workers under one union contract or another.
Even though they work around garbage and refuse daily, the city does not require the staffing agencies to provide the men any health coverage.
The Mayo Administration uses a cute phrase called “Seasonal Workers” to define these African-American men. Seasonal suggest that the men only work at certain times of the year and are not permanent.
However, many of the men in this category work full time, year round, and have been classified as seasonal for years.
It amounts to modern-day slavery, which is why it is disturbing that an African-American mayor and a predominately African-American city council would adopt a practice that mistreats workers in this way.
In a strange twist of the labor laws, what the city does is perfectly legal even if it is immoral. The courts have ruled that employers can exclude workers hired through staffing agencies from its benefit plans.
It’s legal, but is it fair to provide benefits and retirement for all other city workers, but exclude these men?
The way it is supposed to work is that the men are actually employees of the staffing company. They are recruited by the staffing company which hires, fires, fields complaints, and pays them.
The staffing company sets their wages.
In addition, the American Staffing Association reports that the staffing company conducts job training, and daily supervision. Absentees and employee disputes are all handled by the staffing company.
When memos are posted concerning city employees, they do not apply to staffing companies that are not under any obligation to attend staff meetings, planning sessions or other meetings held by the city.
Unfortunately, the city does not make the distinctions of the ASA. The men are paid through a staffing company but they operate as if they were City of Monroe employees. They answer to City of Monroe Supervisors, must attend crew meetings and other meetings of other workers.
Because they are not considered employees, they are not covered by the state’s whistleblower laws. That means if they see wrongdoing and report it, they can be fired without protection.
What can be done?
Since Mayor Mayo does not stipulate humane treatment of the lowest paid workers, the city council can require; 1)Council approval of contracts with staffing companies; 2)Stipulate in writing that staffing companies would be given some form of health insurance; 3)Be protected from firing if they report crimes and wrongdoing on the job; 4)That staffing company not pay any worker a wage lower than the city’s lowest-paid full-time employee ($10 an hour); and 5)Stipulate the length of time an employee can be classified as “seasonal” before becoming a full employee of the city with benefits.
This idea of hiring through staffing companies began in 1997 nationaly. It was adopted in full force by the Mayo Administration.
It takes advantage of its most vulnerable workers and treats them extremely poor while others who are covered by one labor contract or another are fully protected.
Slave labor in the City of Monroe should end.
Thanks to councilman Clark for standing up for the workers, even if he has to stand alone.
