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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesUNIONS WANT MEETING BEFORE LAYOFFS BEGIN

UNIONS WANT MEETING BEFORE LAYOFFS BEGIN

A union official is asking the governor to form a special committee and hold meetings before any layoffs of government workers begin.
Amos Peters, vice president of the United Industrial Workers Union, wrote Gov. Charles W. Turnbull on Wednesday to seek a joint committee of labor leaders and Cabinet members to review layoffs and “deal with the issue of nonessential government workers,” according to Thursday's Independent.
Peters' letter was in response to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's directive last week to department heads to identify nonessential workers.
Peters said the government has an obligation to meet with union officials because the government owes unionized employees an estimated $170 million in retroactive wages and pay increases.
Turnbull in his State of the Territory address promised to reduce the government payroll by 25 percent over the next five years.
The unions, whose leaders campaigned against former Gov. Roy L. Schneider due to the
huge amount of money owed to workers, have been quiet since the election, waiting to see what the new administration will propose.
Glen Smith, president of the St. Thomas-St. John American Federation of Teachers, said
the AFT is giving Turnbull 100 days to see how he will handle the back wages.

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