Raleigh settles dispute with waste workers

RALEIGH -- Sanitation workers who sued the city over unpaid overtime announced Monday that they have received the money owed them under a settlement approved by the city council in November.

The payouts bring to an end nearly two years of deliberations between the workers and the city.

The 46 men who joined the lawsuit received from $50 to $325, which was less than they had sought. To receive payment, they had to sign an affidavit saying that the payment is fair and equitable and sign a document releasing the city from further legal claims.

Jerry Ledbetter, leader of the UE-150 union that represents many city sanitation workers, said the settlement vindicated the workers who walked off the job for two days in September 2006.

Ledbetter criticized the city for its handling of the dispute, saying that City Manager Russell Allen had not been responsive to sanitation workers' complaints.

Allen defended the city's handling of the dispute.

He noted that the workers who filed suit represent 20 percent of the sanitation department's employees. The city reached an agreement with most sanitation workers in March 2007 when it issued 200 workers $45,000 in checks.

The lawsuit was filed four months later by workers who refused to cash their checks.

"We solved all those problems within the first few months that they came about," Allen said. "I think we have a good system for addressing employees' concerns."

That system does not currently include Allen meeting with union groups as long as non-city employees are present, a policy that the city council could soon revisit.

Council member Rodger Koopman has prepared a resolution that would call on the city to meet with employee representatives who are non-employees.

The resolution was placed on the July 15 council agenda but was later removed. Koopman plans to reintroduce it despite Allen's opposition.

"This is not about collective bargaining; it's about giving people a voice," Koopman said. "I strongly believe the sanitation workers deserve a better way of communicating with management."