Although a labor dispute arbitrator says Ottawa City Hall can hire contractors to do some jobs done by city employees, the city has to be careful. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 2819 President Bob Anderson says the situation can’t cause any job loss or hour cuts.
Anderson says AFSCME is pleased with the decision that the city needs to provide 30 days advance notice about contracting out certain work. The union gets to respond to try to prevent it.
When Mayor Dan Aussem spoke to us about it a few days ago, he described it as a win for the city because the arbitrator found the city has the absolute right to outsource jobs it has outsourced before.