MINNEAPOLIS — Park maintenance workers are set to walk off the job here as early as Tuesday, as negotiations over a new contract continue in private.
Both sides were hunkered down in contract talks Monday, looking for ways to avoid the strike, which would affect about 35 percent of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's year-round workforce.
Those covered under the LIUNA Local 63 contract include 201 permanent and 114 seasonal maintenance crew members at parks, pools and playgrounds. The unit also includes arborists who care for hundreds of thousands of trees.
They assert their pay isn't keeping up with inflation, or what comparable workers in surrounding suburbs earn. According to a LIUNA study, the current top pay for parkkeepers is $30.99, compared to the suburban average of $38.02 for the same positions.
"A strike is always the last resort," AJ Lange, the union business manager, told reporters last week.
"We've been bargaining in good faith for nearly seven months, and following our strike vote we returned to mediation with a revised proposal that would significantly reduce the overall cost for the park board."
Union members picketed outside the Theo Wirth Home in South Minneapolis, which is the residence of Parks Superintendent Al Bangoura. The gathering included a giant inflatable rat, which is one of the visuals labor unions rely on often to make their point.
"What we do is make sure we do a playground inspection every day, to make sure the bolts and nuts are in the right areas, the right spots, to make sure your slide doesn't fall off when your child is having a good time," Lanel Lane, a parkkeeper, told the media.
"We're not just living paycheck to paycheck. We're one paycheck behind."
The arborists are tasked with taking care of 400,000 trees in parks, plus 200,000 boulevard trees along Minneapolis city streets. Arborist Scott Jaeger said he and fellow arborists play a vital role in public safety.
"We keep the streets and public green spaces safer by removing hazardous trees, removing dead limbs making sure all that all stop signs and stop lights are visible," Jaeger explained.
"When storms hit we are there to deal with the damaged trees, often in dangerous situations. Without park board’s highly skilled arborists, the risk to public safety would go up considerably."
The Park Board said its negotiating team is making a good-faith effort to reach an agreement with the union. They told KARE if the strike does happen, they'll prioritize and adjust maintenance to minimize the impact on park visitors.
The Board said its final offer featured a pay increase of 10% across the next three years, including bumps of 2.75% in year one, 4.5% in year two and 3% in year three.
The Board listed the following numbers as current pay for positions covered in the contract:
- Parkkeeper $61,000
- Arborist $65,000
- Horticulturist $67,000
- Crew Leader $81,000
- Foreman $92,000
The Board said the public cost is actually about 30% more, once the cost of insurance and other benefits are added.
The Board's statement said they've agreed to eliminate the first step in the pay scale so that new workers can start at a higher pay level than they currently do.