COMMISSIONERS Labor unions weigh proposal to shut down county operations

One union also will see whether it will strike Election Day.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Members of Lawrence County's labor unions will let commissioners know next week if they will accept plans to shut down county operations to save money.
Commissioner Steve Craig met Wednesday with representatives from Construction & amp; General Labors Union Local 962 and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2902 to talk about the county's financial woes.
Both representatives said they must discuss the matter with the membership.
Meetings
Local 962, which represents many of the court-related offices, as well as the jail, is meeting at 4 p.m. Friday. AFSCME will address the issue at its already scheduled meeting on Wednesday. Members also will be voting on whether to authorize a strike Election Day. AFSCME members have been working under the terms of a contract that expired last year.
Craig told the union representatives that the county is considering having employees take off one day per pay period for the last four pays of the year or shutting down all nonessential county operations for one full week.
"We've explored a lot of options on how to do this and realize there is going to be some pain before it's all done," he said.
Craig said they expect to save about $25,000 for each day the government center is closed. The county jail and 911 center will remain open, along with some smaller staffs in some other offices such as the sheriff's department.
The county had $8.2 million in its general fund earlier this week and owes $7.7 million by the end of the year for the tax anticipation note taken out earlier this year to cover expenses until tax revenue started coming in. Each two-week pay period costs an average of $500,000.
cioffi@vindy.com