The Collinsville City Council is set to vote at 7:30 p.m. Monday on a new contract for uniformed police officers that would make them the first group in the city to observe the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
Collinsville City Hall / Photo by Roger Starkey
Photo by Roger Starkey
That the City has not given employees the day off work has been the focus of much media attention in recent years, with city resident Brandon Drake the most vocal critic. In the two years Scott Williams has been the city manager on the holiday, he has ordered City Hall closed, but required workers to report to work.
The decision is financial, Williams said in a February interview.
“It costs about $40-50,000 to give city employees a holiday,” Williams said.
The sticking point is the contracts the City negotiates with the six unions that represent the various groups of workers. Each contract, prior to Monday’s vote, provides for 10 holidays. None called for Martin Luther King Jr. Day off.
Mayor John Miller, also in a February interview, said giving city workers an 11th holiday would not be a prudent use of taxpayer money. “The city does not want to put the burden of another paid holiday on the taxpayers,” Miller said. “We tried to negotiate with the unions and they were reluctant to do it,” Miller said. “So we looked for an alternative.” The alternative was to close City Hall, but to require employees to work.
Williams said it has been a point of discussion with each union to request that they trade a different holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Three of the six unions confirmed the discussions had taken place, one could not remember and Kurt Litteken, president of the International Association of Firefighters (AFL-CIO), Local 2625, said those discussions never happened.
The Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge no. 103, which represents uniformed officers, was negotiating the contract on which the City Council will vote Monday. If their contract is approved, the officers will receive an 11th holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in lieu of a .5 percent pay raise in 2016.
Both Williams and a spokesperson for the union declined comment on the new contract until the vote by the City Council is final.
Union contracts are a non-issue, Drake said in a February interview. “If you really wanted to make it right, you would have found the 45 grand,” Drake said. “Remember, I worked with the financial advisory authority, I know about the money. I hate to say it, but it has something to do with race.”
In February interviews, two African-American leaders in Collinsville, the reverends Avery Duff, of New Mt. Zion Church, and Carl Berry, of Wilkerson Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, said they would like City Hall workers to have that day off, but understand that City Manager Scott Williams is working toward that goal.
Both said they spoke on behalf of their predominantly African-American congregations when they said they were willing to be patient with the city, which they though was making progress.
City Hall workers would be the only group to receive the day off work. Employees in the other five unions must report to duty on all holidays, but receive additional holiday pay.
See previous story: http://metroindependent.com/2014/02/19/is-there-an-mlk-day-controversy-in-collinsville/4394/
