The "Labor Summit" called for by Gov. Charles Turnbull in his State of the Territory address in January has been postponed indefinitely.
The meeting was scheduled for March 6 and 7 and was to focus on ways to pay the more than $200 million that is owed to unionized government workers in retroactive wages.
Turnbull returned to the territory late Thursday from a 10-day trip to Washington, where he met with high-ranking federal officials. Upon his return, according to a release from Government House, he met with his financial advisers to discuss unspecified economic information that could have some bearing on the summit.
The release stated that the governor wanted to attend the meeting with up-to-date information, but wished to meet with his advisers beforehand. He did not suggest a new date for the summit.
News of the postponement didn’t sit well with Cecil Benjamin, president of the St. Croix chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. Benjamin said that when Turnbull first announced a labor summit, most union leaders were against the idea because of failed attempts in the past.
But after a meeting late last month to discuss the ground rules, he said labor leaders warmed to the idea.
"Originally the AFT had not planned to go. We thought it would be a waste of time," Benjamin said. But the ground rules meeting "was very encouraging and we were prepared to do it."
"They were the ones who called this summit . . . to reach some sort of compromise. Apparently they don’t have any proposal. They could have handled it better."
The Government House release said Turnbull "regretted the late notice of the postponement but he felt it necessary to prevent the government from appearing at the summit with outdated financial information and projections."
Benjamin said he will try to organize a government-wide strike in the near future. He said the postponement was a "slap in the face of all government workers."
"We are going to advocate to have government employees come together and shut this government down," he said.
In the meantime, the administration’s chief negotiator, Karen Andrews, will work with the unions to develop a mutually agreeable date to reschedule the summit. Central Labor Council President Luis "Tito" Morales couldn’t be reached for comment Friday evening.
