CHAPEL HILL -- Chapel Hill administrators are defending the town's disciplinary process after local labor and civil rights groups and some Town Council members questioned the firing of two sanitation workers.
Clyde Clark and Kerry Bige low were fired in October after an investigation by town consultant Capital Associated Industries, a nonprofit employers association, found the pair were "insubordinate" and caused residents on their trash-collection route to "fear for their personal safety."
Last month, the Town Council asked Town Manager Roger Stancil to reevaluate the town's contract with CAI, which actively lobbies against public-sector collective bargaining. The council has traditionally endorsed public workers' right to collectively bargain.
In a memo released during the last council meeting of the year Monday night, Town Manager Roger Stancil defended the town's contract with CAI.
"The Town of Chapel Hill is a large local employer with the same needs any other business requires," Stancil said in the memo.
The town has a $60,000 contract with the group. Chapel Hill has paid out a total of $46,630.50 for consulting services including $22,130.50 for interviews relating to the investigation of Clark and Bigelow.
In the memo, Stancil also emphasized town workers' right to organize.
"The Town of Chapel Hill does not interfere with the right of our employees to organize," he said. "We recognize that right and support it. ..."
The termination of Clyde Clark and Kerry Bigelow has prompted a firestorm of criticism from labor groups, including the state and local NAACP chapters. They say the town is retaliating against the pair for filing grievances in the past.
The state and local NAACP, UE 150 public service workers union and other worker groups have called on the town to reinstate the men and end its contract with CAI.
Clark and Bigelow have filed appeals with the town and with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Last week, the town reviewed Clark and Bigelow's case. Staff will return with a final decision about their termination within 14 days of the hearing, Stancil said.
