Eight recently fired Cicero public works employees picketed Tuesday outside Town Hall, accusing town officials of retaliating against them for trying to form a union.þþTown officials deny the allegation and say the men were laid off nearly two weeks ago because of needed budget cuts. The Public Works Department employed 86 full-time personnel, and Cicero overall has 500 full-time employees. The town made only one other layoff, Police Department towing coordinator Jose Del Angel.þþÿWe aren't any different than any other governmental body. There are layoffs, there are budget cuts, there are any number of economic woes,ÿ said Town Atty. Dennis Both. He said additional layoffs might be necessary.þþFrom 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, the laid-off workers picketed, holding signs that read ÿCicero unfair to laborÿ and ÿWhy did Cicero fire me!ÿ Public Works Director Sam Jelic did not return a call seeking comment, and another top public works supervisor declined to comment.þþTwo officials from the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, joined the picketers outside Town Hall. In response to the firings, the union has filed a complaint with the state labor relations board and is seeking to have the employees reinstated , said Ken Edwards, an attorney representing Local 150.þþÿCicero picked the wrong union to fight with,ÿ Edwards said. ÿIf they think we're simply going away, they're wrong. We are very large, we are very aggressive and we don't back down.ÿþþThe layoffs came two days after the Town Board approved a budget that, with the exception of one clerk, included a wage freeze for all employees outside the Fire and Police Departments. Those are the only unionized departments in the town, and they received 4 percent pay hikes.þþTwo weeks ago, Town President Ramiro Gonzalez said there would be no raises to avoid layoffs and other cuts. On Tuesday, however, town spokesman Omar Duque said Cicero is trimming $500,000 from the Public Works Department's $8.4 million budget. The cuts include $250,000 in salaries and benefits and $250,000 in equipment purchases, Duque said.þþAll but one of the laid-off public works employees was on what is known as the ÿrubbish crew,ÿ which hauls away heavy and larger objects not picked up by the town's regular garbage trucks. ÿOther crews will pick up the slack,ÿ said Duque. ÿThat's just the crew we needed the least.ÿþþThe only other public works employee laid off was Mike Iniquez, who worked as a driver in the department's forestry division for the last two years. He had more than 15 years' experience with the town, while another fired employee, Andy Gutierrez, had 16 years. Most of the others worked between two and five years for Cicero.þþAbout a year ago, the operating engineers' organization approached public works employees about forming a union. In May, they voted 45-34 against forming the union, but two months ago the Illinois Labor Relations Board ordered another vote after ruling the town had failed to provide the union with a list of employees eligible to vote on the issue.þþThe town has appealed.þ
Source: Chicago Tribune
