On Wednesday, March 10, AFSCME Local 1724, the union representing approximately 670 employees with the City of Eugene, received notice of victory from arbiter Luella E. Nelson, who ruled in favor of the workers regarding the grievance filed in October of 2009 against the City for violating the contract and implementing furloughs unilaterally as a cost cutting measure. AFSCME leadership recognized the budget shortfall and was the first union to begin talks with the City only six-months after the employment contract was signed by both parties. After months of conversations, offers of creative solutions, and requests from the union to use the competitive service delivery assessment tools outlined in the contract, the City opted to implement mandatory furloughs reducing the hours of all AFSCME represented employees, violating the contract. The union had no alternative but to file a grievance and set a date for binding arbitration. The City was ordered to cease the mandatory furlough and reimburse its employees for the wages lost due to the illegal implementation. "It was a frustrating process for us. We met with the City Executive Leadership and the City Council. We shared the negative results experienced by other communities from this sort of implementation. We made a good-faith effort to avoid this result by trying to work toward creative solutions to the budget issues that would not violate the contract that both parties worked hard to negotiate." says Gary Gillespie, President.

In solidarity,

Your AFSCME Executive Board:

Gary Gillespie, President

Don Easton, Chief Steward

Don Lefkowith, Treasurer

Deanna Kreger, Recording Officer

Cindy Clarke, Correspondence Officer

Raudel Perezchica, Safety At-Large

Wendy Beck, Benefits At-Large

Martin Lewis, PAC At-Large