JACKSON OFFICIALS OPPOSE EFFORT TO UNIONIZE WORKERS

JACKSON -- The mayor and Board of Aldermen announced their unified opposition to an effort to unionize some city employees in a formal statement Monday.

Approximately half of Jackson's municipal workforce are eligible to participate in the March 19 election to decide whether to be represented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 702, which is based in West Frankfort, Ill.

"The notion of an IBEW representative who lives in the state of Indiana and works in the state of Illinois making demands on this board, the city employees and the citizens of our town goes directly against the 'Jackson pride' that we all stand for," Mayor Paul Sander and the eight members of the Board of Aldermen said in the statement.

The mayor and aldermen further said the city offers a competitive salary and benefit package to its workers and they unanimously feel "the arena of public service in the city of Jackson is no place for a union."

The statement urged all eligible employees to vote against union representation.

Last month, Jackson City Administrator Steve Wilson sent a letter to city employees also urging them to oppose unionization.

"Even though there may be a minority of disgruntled employees or employees who think that a union would help them, I can assure you that there is nothing a union can do for you that you cant do and haven't done for yourselves," Wilson said in the letter.

IBEW Local 702 officials familiar with the Jackson effort were out of the office Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.

The local represents approximately 4,700 workers in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. In Southeast Missouri, it represents employees of Sikeston's municipal electric and water systems, Union Electric and most of the region's rural electric cooperatives.

Only Jackson's electric, water, sanitation, street, waste water, parks, cemetery, maintenance, and building and planning workers can participate in the union election and be eligible for representation if the proposal passes. Those workers account for 51 of the city's 104 workers. Union supporters need a simple majority of 26 "yes" votes for victory.

The chairman of the State Board of Mediation will conduct the election, to be held at City Hall. The votes will be immediately tabulated at the close of voting.

Both the union and the city will have 10 days to challenge the outcome of the election. If there is no challenge, the Board of Mediation will officially certify then election results.