In Laurel, Department of Public Works (DPW) employees are seeking to unionize with UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO.
A recent council hearing gave DPW employees the opportunity to testify during public comment about their experiences, and several called on the City Council to introduce legislation granting them collective bargaining.
During Mayor Craig Moe’s (D) tenure, the Laurel Police unionized under the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the city has grown by several thousand residents while adding over six miles of road.
“I have worked for the city for eight years in recycling,” said Kyle Lewis during the hearing. “A super dangerous job. We have a tough job, and we would like to get heard. We are in the streets every day.”
Roofing and garbage collecting, jobs akin to their responsibilities in DPW, are listed among the five most dangerous jobs in America.
Bowie, College Park and Mount Rainier have unionized DPWs, and Greenbelt police are also unionized. Larger municipalities such as Baltimore, Frederick and Hagerstown also have unionized municipal workforces.
In a recent press release undersigned by Council members Martin Mitchell (D) and Carl DeWalt (R), several employees cited low pay and dangerous conditions among the reasons they want to unionize.
“We go out and buy a $250,000 truck and other employees have new vehicles, but there’s no pay raise for us,” said driver Derrell Bridges.
Laurel citizens also chimed in with support. Ruth Walls, a 40-year resident of the city, testified in support of the DPW workers and thanked them: “As a nurse, I’m grateful that the DPW provides an essential service.”
DeWalt said in a phone interview, “We received a response from Council President Brencis Smith (D) and we want to get this on the April 5 work session to get it underway. Now, Smith’s proposing to get it on the work session by June 3, months away.”
He also thanked Kate Wright, the DPW administrative assistant, for providing detailed statistics on DPW’s role in the city including the amount of new roads paved in recent years.
Lloyd Holloway is one of the main organizers of the collective bargaining effort.
“We are in the streets putting our lives on the line every day just like the police department. The Monday before our hearing, their collective bargaining agreement was signed,” Holloway said. “With the cost of living going up 8%, we only got a 2.5% pay increase. It’s hard to take care of your families with that. We don’t have the proper uniforms, proper rain gear, proper boots.”