SALISBURY, Md. - A petition effort over collective bargaining rights for some Salisbury city employees is drawing sharp disagreement between Mayor Randy Taylor and AFSCME Council 3.
The debate escalated after Taylor sent a letter to Salisbury households accusing AFSCME of spreading misinformation about the petition effort. In the letter, Taylor said the city supports employees’ right to advocate for themselves, but said the current collective bargaining model is financially unsustainable.
Taylor said the issue centers on the city’s long-term financial health.
“The reason why we’ve moved to this point is to preserve the financial capability of the city, the financial health of the city,” Taylor said.
Taylor said agreements the city has signed to avoid arbitration have outpaced Salisbury’s new revenue each year. He said that leaves less money for other priorities, including streets, curbs, waterways, parks and playgrounds.
“All of the new money is being absorbed,” Taylor said. “There’s a bunch of priorities for the city, not just labor.”
Taylor also denied claims that money was shifted from the fire department to the police department. He said the city adjusted police pay after county pay increases created a competitive challenge for Salisbury.
“There was no shifting of any money,” Taylor said. “We just had to pay our police officers and adjust their pay accordingly to remain competitive in the region.”
Jack Hughes, a field representative for AFSCME Council 3, said the petition would allow voters to decide whether city employees should keep collective bargaining rights.
“The petition, all the petition does is get it on the ballot, where the city of Salisbury, the residents can decide if they want city workers to have collective bargaining,” Hughes said.
Hughes said employees would lose the right to bargain over wages, working conditions, and health and safety if collective bargaining is eliminated or significantly weakened. He said union members understand city budgets can vary from year to year, but said those issues should be handled at the bargaining table.
“Sometimes it’s good years, sometimes bad years,” Hughes said. “We understand that. But this mayor, he just doesn’t want to talk. He just wants to take the rights away, get rid of the union.”
Hughes did not directly deny Taylor’s claim that AFSCME spread misinformation. He instead accused the mayor of spreading false information and said the union is committed to protecting worker rights.
Taylor said the city is moving toward a model based on voluntary cooperation between management and labor, rather than collective bargaining. Hughes said AFSCME will continue pushing for voters to decide the issue.
