(St. Louis) - Following the refusal of City of St. Louis officials to honor a pay plan bargained between city representatives and unions representing city workers, AFSCME Local 410 has taken a lead role in seeking justice for employees of the city.
"The people who run St. Louis have forgotten that a deal is a deal. They need to live by the same rules as everyone else and honor the agreements that they make," said Local 410 President Ted Williams.
Local 410 has joined with several other unions in legal action intended to force the City of St. Louis to honor the agreement struck at the bargaining table. Additionally, Local 410 members have led demonstrations at City Hall intended to draw attention to the city's efforts to back out from the pay deal reached with St. Louis unions.
AFSCME Local 410 was part of the multi-union bargaining team which negotiated 5.5% annual pay increases over the next three years for employees of the city. Despite having reached agreement, St. Louis officials later tried to pass only a 2.5% increase. AFSCME and Local 410 continue to fight for the bargained pay raise.
"One of the critical elements of negotiation is that both sides have to be willing to live by the terms they agree to at the table," said AFSCME state council director Jeff Mazur, "and right now it certainly doesn't appear as though the City of St. Louis understands that."
