CYPRESS : Union May Go to Court Over Layoffs

A union has threatened legal action if the City Council does not offer acceptable severance pay to five city maintenance workers scheduled to be laid off in September.

The council last month unanimously voted to lay off five landscape employees as a budget-cutting move. The council said it is cheaper to hire a private firm to do the work.

The layoff vote prompted protest speeches at the July 25 council meeting by members of the Cypress Maintenance Employees Assn., a union that represents the 45 maintenance workers.

Union members were back at the City Council meeting this week. Their staff representative, Robin Nahin, told the council that the union will seek a court injunction to halt the layoffs if the workers are not given an agreeable severance package.

“You offered your employees essentially nothing at all; you just got rid of them,” Nahin said.

Nahin also charged that city government has refused to negotiate for an acceptable severance package for the five maintenance workers.

Because legal action was being threatened, City Council members said they generally could not comment on Nahin’s charges. But Councilwoman Cecilia L. Age told Nahin that the city is still trying to negotiate with the union.

Jeffrey C. Freedman, a lawyer who represents the city in labor negotiations, told the council he disputed Nahin’s accusations. “I think the facts were somewhat falsely represented to you,” Freedman said.

He added: “There has been no cutoff of negotiations” with the union.

Nahin, in an interview outside the council chambers, said that an acceptable offer to the maintenance workers would be some short-time medical coverage and a week’s pay for every year they have worked for the city.

City officials did not disclose what offer, if any, they are making to the workers scheduled to be laid off. Nahin said the city had tentatively offered a flat $2,000 to each worker. She said the city’s offer does not account for differing seniority among workers.

Nahin also charged that the city picked workers for layoff without regard for their seniority.