Here’s a video clip from the 5/20/2009 Council meeting. Marc Skocypec, Assistant Town Manager, reports that Town Staff has spent 2,000 hours negotiating 3 Memoranda of Understanding with union representatives from SEIU (Service Employees International Union), GPLA (Gilbert Police Leadership Association), and IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters), plus a bunch of facilitators and mediators from the Federal Mediation and Facilitation Service.
The reason for all this? To make sure that staff and management talk nicely to each other. Great use of tax dollars.
A big thank you to Council Member Linda “Shop Gilbert” Abbott, who worked tirelessly to bring the Unions to Gilbert. She started the process back in August 2007, right after she took office.
Remember how SEIU issued a boycott against Arizona, because of SB1070? I guess that helped stick a fork in Ms. Abbott’s “Shop Gilbert” Campaign, eh? Oh well, I guess Linda had to take one for the team.
Who pays attention to politics in the Spring? The Unions!