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'We're human beings too.' Lexington sanitation workers call for fair pay scale at rally.

Lexington Herald-Leader - 4/5/2019

April 05-- Apr. 5--Lexington garbage truck drivers and other sanitation employees rallied Thursday in downtown Lexington to put pressure on city leaders to address long-standing pay inequities in the department that collects the city's trash and recycling.

On the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., speakers at Thursday night's rally reminded those in attendance that King was in Memphis fighting for fair pay and conditions for sanitation workers when he was killed.

"Madam Mayor and city council, this is your opportunity to show and to prove that you really care about what the man we like to celebrate in January died fighting for in April," said Rev. L. Clark Williams, with The People's Campaign.

The theme of Thursday night's rally was "What's Changed Since MLK?" Several of the rally's speakers told listeners that not enough had.

"The fact that our sanitation workers are still suffering from unfair wages, an unfair pay scale, is a sign that we've not dealt with that legacy all that well," said Dr. Arnold Farr, with the Kentucky Poor People's Campaign.

Lexington solid waste employees told the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council during an October meeting that pay disparities between starting and longtime employees were crushing morale. They asked the city to institute a "step" program that increases pay based on years of experience and other factors. Lexington police, fire and corrections have similar step programs.

Sanitation workers say longtime employees sometimes make $2.00 to $3.00 an hour less than starting employees.

"I used to be on the training team, they'd bring guys in making more money than me and you want me to train them right?" Rev. Jeff Jones told the crowd Thursday night.

At the October meeting, sanitation workers said they were told a committee would be formed to look into the issue. But in March, the sanitation workers said they were told by city human resources officials the pay issue had still not been addressed. City officials said in March the issue has been referred to a council committee and a report by city officials detailing what it would cost to move sanitation workers to a "step" program will be presented to the council's General Government and Social Services Committee at a meeting May 14.

At the rally Thursday, sanitation workers voiced frustration with the process.

"What is the purpose of the committee if you're not going to ever move it out of the committee," Jones said. "Every time we turn around something's in the committee, but nobody wants to pay us."

The city recognizes the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees or AFSCME chapter of the solid waste workers but does not treat them the same as police, fire and corrections unions. The city meets with the union under a system called "meet and confer," an alternative to full union status.

City officials have said that under AFSCME's "meet and confer" status it can not discuss pay. Only the city's public safety unions can collectively bargain for wages under state law. Dion Henry, president of AFSCME Local 4468, has said the group only wants to discuss a pay scale, not wages.

"Police, fire and corrections are also union and they've got what's called the 'step' program ... So we said, we're union, we're human beings too. We might be garbage men, but don't consider us that," Henry said at Thursday's rally. "We want a fair 'step' program like the other divisions."

Lexington Vice Mayor Steve Kay was among several local and state politicians at the rally.

"I came primarily to listen, to hear what people had to say. I'd heard some of the concerns before, but I wanted to hear it more directly and I wanted to see how people responded to it," Kay said after the rally. "I think the spirit is right and it's a complex question. I don't know if anybody has an easy answer for this."

Step pay programs can be costly and the city's revenues -- what it collects in taxes and fees --is not growing at the same rate it had in prior years.

Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton has already ordered current-year cuts of about $2 million, or less than one percent of the current-year budget, after the city's revenues failed to meet expected estimates this year. Gorton has also repeatedly warned there will be more cuts for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Gorton will unveil her budget proposal April 9.

But Henry and the sanitation workers say the solid waste department is funded mostly through a special property tax that is separate from the general fund, which funds most of the city's services. There is money in the solid waste budget for a step program, they allege. The department also generates its money for the city through services such as supplying and picking up dumpsters for commercial businesses.

Henry said Thursday night that the workers were pleased with the turnout and community support of the rally, and that they hoped the public officials in attendance walked away with an understanding of what the workers want.

"I hope they walked away understanding that we've got a dangerous job," Henry said. "We hope they walked away here understanding, we're not asking for a raise, we're not asking for (an) astronomical amount of money, we're asking for a fair 'step' program."

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