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Q&A
Discussion on museum's violations of union contract
0:58:00
ยท
127 sec
Council Member De La Rosa asks Henry Garrido to clarify how the museum's actions violated the union contract. Garrido explains several violations, including direct dealing with workers, timeline issues, and requesting concessions unrelated to cost reduction.
- Garrido cites direct dealing with workers as a violation
- Questions the timing of layoffs before the city's budget process conclusion
- Criticizes the museum's requests for concessions that reduce union power without cost savings
Carmen N. De La Rosa
0:58:00
Can you clarify how the museum's actions violated the union contract?
Henry Garrido
0:58:04
Well, I said some of it.
0:58:06
Right?
0:58:06
First, by going directly to the workers before they had an opportunity to negotiate.
0:58:11
Right?
0:58:11
So the general practice is you go and you negotiate.
0:58:15
You're supposed to meet and confer.
0:58:17
That's the term.
0:58:18
Not go directly to the workers.
0:58:20
That's considered direct dealing.
0:58:21
That's violation number one.
0:58:25
They also violated by timeline issues, right?
0:58:29
We believe and that would be I don't want to get into the legal case because we understood that there was a timeline.
0:58:35
And this is both questionable in my mind because the budget process ends in June.
0:58:42
Our budget process in the city.
0:58:44
If we have the best possible intention to address the financial problems of the museum, why would you make the layoffs affected March 9?
0:58:56
Why not wait to see what we could have done?
0:58:59
Even if the city council did not put up all of the money, if the administration and I worked very well with this commissioner didn't find all the alternatives to do it, if we had a way to reduce that $10,000,000 to say six, then perhaps you didn't have to lay off 47 people.
0:59:17
Perhaps you could reduce that to 20.
0:59:19
And then we could have worked to try to figure out to make that from 20 to zero.
0:59:24
You see what I'm saying?
0:59:25
So I I don't understand the approach of the administration of the museum on this.
0:59:31
I know they have a responsibility.
0:59:33
And also the other things that they that bothered me is that the things that they were asking by way of concessions to make things better had nothing to do with reducing cost but reducing the power of the collective bargaining agreements.
0:59:48
Seniority has no cost on it, right?
0:59:51
And the way that we're doing it, laying off senior people or junior people has no no cost other than the fact that you can get rid of whoever you want.
1:00:03
So those are the things that we are going to be questioning during this process.