SALISBURY, Md. -- On Tuesday night, the Salisbury City Council voted to end the city's union agreement. This will impact city employees, including firefighters and police officers.
The meeting itself was contentious. The battle began outside the government building at 5:00, when city employees and AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) gathered for a rally.
The crowd could be heard singing and chanting, hoping to reiterate the importance of collective bargaining one final time before Tuesday night's vote. Their goal, said Jack Hughes, a field staff representative for AFSCME, was to sway the outcome.
"That's what we're hoping for. That's why we're here, I mean that's what we do. We're a union that stands up for our people, stands up for the rights, and the city employees deserve this right," said Hughes. They fought hard and worked hard to get this right, to you know, have a seat at the table. And for them[city council] to try and just take it away unilaterally is terrible."
That fighting mentality migrated straight into council chambers, where a packed crowd filled nearly every single seat, eagerly awaiting the council's decision.
When the votes were tallied, and councilmembers April Jackson, Melissa Holland, and Sharon Dashiell all voted aye, the crowd erupted.
Audible gasps were let out, and one man was heard yelling "shame" over and over as he walked out of the meeting.
"It's just disappointing," said Melissa Bragg, Second Vice President of Professional Firefighters for Maryland. "I was really hoping better for these outstanding employees across the city."
"It kind of gives you pause to think, do you elected officials really have your back?" added Brandon Records, president of the Salisbury Career Firefighters Local 4246.
Dashiell offered an answer to Records' question and told WBOC she stands firmly by her decision.
"We are now in a position where it is not sustainable. I realize everyone that spoke tonight from their hearts were very upset because it translates into not valuing our workers," said Dashiell. "It has nothing to do with value. It has to do with what's best for the city."
Dashiell and other supporters say it's the best move because the current system, established only a few years ago, was not financially feasible. They argue it could have forced Salisbury into bankruptcy by forcing the city to dip into its savings to cover pay increases approved by prior administrations.
"If we don't have the revenue coming in, we don't want to put that burden on the taxpayers to pay for wages that are taking a considerable percentage of our overall budget," said Dashiell.
Tuesday's vote, theoretically, puts an end to this saga. But union leaders say they are not done fighting.
"We're going to, as of tomorrow morning, we're going to pick up the petitions from the city clerk's office," said Records.
The hope, Records said, is to get this issue on the ballot for voters to have the final say.
According to Salisbury's city charter, petitioners have 20 days to collect signatures, and they must gather at least 20% of registered voters to be successful.
20% of registered voters, based on the most recent city election, would equal 3,504 signatures. It's a high bar, and there's not much time to make it happen.
