YOUNGSTOWN Layoffs were unfair, 2 say

The law director says the layoffs were done in compliance with union contracts and civil service rules.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Two black street department workers have complained they were unfairly laid off Aug. 9 as the city furloughed workers because of its financial crisis, the president of the local NAACP said Wednesday.
"It appears some were laid off out of sync," said Willie Oliver, president of the NAACP's Youngstown Branch. "Everybody has a right to make a living. Everybody has a right to be represented properly and fairly in the process of doing this."
He asked city council "to determine whether or not these people are being fairly treated."
Oliver said he wants council to act on the complaints and that, if he doesn't get satisfaction, he will encourage the employees to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.
The laid-off workers, Dennis Walker and Jerry Jann, say they were improperly furloughed, while workers doing the same work with less seniority were retained.
Their jobs
Walker, a watchman, who was the only employee in his classification and has worked for the street department for 17 years, said a manager is doing his job in violation of the work rules.
Jann, a mechanic's assistant with the department 21/2 years, said others with less seniority continue to work.
Atty. John McNally IV, city law director, told council the layoffs were done in full compliance with collective bargaining agreements and civil service rules, and that the civil service commission has ruled against all claims brought before it from laid-off employees.
The city called back to work 11 laid-off police officers and 15 laid-off firefighters earlier this month after voters approved a half-percent city income tax increase.
At that time, Mayor George McKelvey said other laid-off city employees might be called back if city revenues allow it.