Press Releases
Teamsters Local 251 Contract Approved by Fall River City Council
(FALL RIVER, Mass.) –– Teamsters Local 251 is pleased to announce that the Fall River City Council has approved, by an 8-1 vote, a collective bargaining agreement for the city’s Department of Community Maintenance (DCM) workers.
The agreement was approved after an outcry by Teamsters Local 251, workers and the public over a stalled process.
The collective bargaining agreement between the city’s Department of Community Maintenance (DCM) and Teamsters Local 251 includes a $245,000 settlement agreement for workers that had been reached between the city and Local 251, which effectively ends the high-profile lawsuit that was filed by the union following the privatization of the city’s trash pickup.
The contract also includes important job security protections for the workers, after 24 of their coworkers were laid off following the privatization of trash pickup last year.
Additional funding for training and license renewal was included, allowing for DCM workers to become more skilled.
“We worked really hard to get this agreement finished,” said Nick Williams, Teamsters Local 251 business agent and DCM representative. “With the previously scheduled special city council meeting cancelled without a quorum present, we questioned if this settlement and contract would be approved.”
After some debate by the finance committee last night, the matter was referred to the city council. Only one committee member, Council Vice President Linda Pereira, expressed disapproval for the settlement and contract. Council President Shawn Cadime harped on the city giving away ‘management rights,’ but did not disapprove of the agreement. Later in the evening, the city council quietly voted 8-1 in favor of the agreement, with Pereira being the lone dissenter.
“The city council ultimately did what is right for the hardworking DCM employees and for the laid off workers impacted by privatization,” said Local 251 Secretary-Treasurer Matthew Taibi, in response to the vote. “After an often-times bitter dispute between the union and the city, we are eager to get this behind us and move forward. I believe all elected officials need to be recognized for how they responded during this dispute, both positively and negatively, and Fall River citizens should take this into consideration during city elections.”
“The hard work and persistence of Local 251 on behalf of their members resulted in the approval of this agreement,” said Joint Council 10 Secretary-Treasurer Sean O’Brien. “Matthew Taibi and his team should be commended for a job well done.”