City of Duluth AFSCME workers vote to authorize strike

AFSCME Local 66 workers with the City of Duluth voted to reject the City’s settlement offer and authorized a strike during a meeting on Tuesday, December 10. According to the Union, the City had previously walked away from a contract mediation on November 26 that left workers with an offer that they deemed unacceptable.

AFSCME Local 66 represents more than 500 city workers including library workers, utility workers, gas and water maintenance, snowplow drivers, inspectors, police records staff, and many others.

“We need a labor contract that is fair and equitable with dignity and respect for all workers – the City’s offer is insulting, inadequate, and unacceptable” said Wendy Wohlwend, President of AFSCME Local 66. “Our members are working short staffed and being called on to work longer and harder every day. The City is unable to fill critical vacancies due to low wages. Two years ago, police received an 8% market adjustment to their wages without any concessions. Fire received the same one year ago. And recently some supervisors received a substantial market adjustment. Yet, for our workers, the City proposed only 1% in the first year and just 6% over three years while also demanding major concessions.”

A union representative said a strike could begin as early as mid-January if an agreement cannot be reached. They also stated that privatization of public services has further strained the budget and cost more than paying fair wages for union members, continuing that that the they feel the City’s proposed changes to work schedules and mandatory overtime strips workers of their dignity.

“Our union members are prepared to do whatever it takes to secure dignity and fairness for the workers who provide core city services,” said AFSCME Council 5 Executive Director Bart Andersen. “This fight is about more than competitive wages – it’s about respect for the workers who provide core city services day in and day out. It’s about the dignity that comes with a union job and a pro-union community that has each other’s back every single day. Duluth workers have the full support and solidarity of our 43,000 members and our labor and community allies across Duluth, the region, and our state.”

WDIO reached out to the City of Duluth and received this statement regarding the strike authorization.

“The City of Duluth did not walk away from mediation. The City and AFSCME participated in almost 14 hours of mediation with the State Bureau of Mediation Services on November 26 until close to midnight,” said public information officer for the City of Duluth Keli Latuska. “The City and the Union were both released from mediation by the Bureau following the City’s submission of a Settlement Proposal. The City is currently in the process of scheduling its next mediation session with the State Bureau of Mediation Services. We look forward to continuing this process with the Union. The City has offered additional compensation increases which range from 13.5% for all unit members to up to 21.5% for eligible unit members over the course of the three-year contract.”