During the Sept. 10 Village of Lawrence board meeting, 21 out of the 25 civil service employees who are represented by Ronkonkoma-based United Public Service Employees Union, sat silently in protest of not having a new contract for five years and the ongoing impasse in negotiations.
The workers voted last year to replace the Civil Service Employees Association as its union. Despite the change in representation not much has changed at the negotiating table as talks remain stalled. Both parties are supposed to be meeting with a Public Employment Relations Board mediator, but no date has been set.
“It sends a message that the workers are still here and are not going away,” said Brandon Nasierowski, a UPSE labor relations representative. “We’ve had one mediation session and another was scheduled, but there is not date yet.”
Nasierowski said the employees are seeking raises between 1.5 and 2 percent, but the village has not budged. He said retroactive pay could be negotiated as well.
Mayor Martin Oliner said he appreciated the workers attending the meeting, but doesn’t think their presence will have an impact on contract talks. “It is with the PERB lawyers,” Oliner said. “We have made offers, but haven’t had anything positive. We would like to resolve this. We offered a very good raise.”