by Willem Goff, WMALF Intern and member of UAW Local 2322
Employees in the Department of Public Works for the town of Amherst held a rally at 6:00 PM on Monday, March 2 in front of Town Hall to bring attention to their ongoing contract fight. Workers in the DPW, themselves members of the independent Amherst DPW Associations (ADPWA) union, have been without a new contract for over seven months.
The ADPWA is fighting understaffing, high turnover, low retention, and low wages. Union President Andrew Brace, in an address to the crowd, said, “Fifty percent of our non-supervisory staff has been here less than three years. The town refuses to acknowledge that that’s an issue.” Brace added, “There’s a wide range of responsibilities. A lot of stuff that we do is out of sight, but we’re doing things every day that keep the town running. And what the town is doing is a disservice to the staff and it’s a disservice to the residents.”
Another worker, John, described the treatment of DPW staff by the town, saying “The DPW is neglected. The people who plow the roads, treat your drinking water, maintain your parks, manage your waste water, and respond to emergencies are expected to stay quiet.” John explained how the system of employment maintained by the town administration does not encourage job retention because wages are kept so low. Due to this, key positions such as waste water operator have been hard to fill long-term. In turn, the employees that remain are stretched thin as they cover for the vacancies that are created by low wages and deliberate understaffing. Additionally, when DPW employees retire their institutional knowledge goes with them, which contributes to the struggles the department has had with proper training.
Amherst’s administration was accused of bad faith tactics and union busting. The town “is attempting to split [the ADPWA] into two groups for fact-finding, effectively doubling [the] costs in an attempt to drain [the union’s] limited funding. That’s not good faith bargaining.” These actions were contrasted with the town’s image of itself being “progressive, compassionate, committed to social justice and equity.”
The building where DPW operations are located also came under fire during comments made at the rally. “If that building were an apartment,” one worker said, “the administration of this town would be considered slum lords.” In 2022, an air quality assessment of the building revealed toxic mold and volatile organic compounds exceeding safe levels. The recommendations that resulted from this assessment, it was said, were “mostly ignored” by the town. For more than eight years, DPW has been promised a new building by the town. The only recent movement on this front is said to be the formation of a committee.
The rally received the support of Amber Cano-Martin, Amherst Town Councilor. “Until you get a fair contract, I will be by your side standing with you”, Cano-Martin said while speaking to the crowd, adding, “You’ve come to the council and it’s time for us to act. We need to build a town that lives up to our values. Every worker has the right to fair pay and safe working conditions.” Cano-Martin also emphasized the larger community benefits to solving the problems that have been brought up by the ADPWA. Cano-Martin also noted that Town Councilors Ellisha Walker and Jill Brevik were in attendance at the rally, and made an appeal to other Town Councilors to hear from the workers directly.
At the special meeting, the Town Council voted 6-6-1 and did not go into Executive Session. This development reflected the impact of the rally and the show of solidarity from the workers and the community.
“We’re not asking for luxury, we’re asking for fairness”, said John. “We know even if the town is okay with treating us this way, the people who live and pay their taxes in town are not. We have faith in our community that we serve. The public deserves to know what is happening at the DPW and and the workers deserve a contract that reflects the value of the work that they do every single day. We’re here because we care about this town, it’s time for this town to care about us.”