City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, employees represented by AFSCME Local 369 (Council 25) scored a huge victory last week as the City Council, by a 7-4 vote, passed a resolution opposing the outsourcing of trash collection to a private, for-profit company.
“The City of Ann Arbor AFSCME workers showed us the true definition of solidarity and what being union is all about,” said Council 25 President Lawrence A. Roehrig. “When our jobs came under attack, we banded together to show that we wouldn’t stand for it. AFSCME members across America know that outsourcing always leads to disaster. There is a decline in the quality of services and we never see the cost savings that outside companies always promise. We are all proud of Local 369 members in their success in stopping outsourcing in their community.”
Roehrig issued a special thank you to councilmembers Jack Eaton, Anne Bannister, Sumi Kailasapathy, Zachary Ackerman, Julie Grand, Graydon Krapohl and Chuck Warpehoski, who all voted in favor of the resolution to prevent outsourcing.
Mayor Christopher Taylor, along with councilmembers Kirk Westphal, Chip Smith, and Jane Lumm, were in favor of moving forward with the option to outsource trash pickup.
AFSCME Local 369 President Curtis Morris thanked all the rank and file members who contacted the councilmembers before the meeting and spoke out against outsourcing during the council meeting.
“When the elected officials saw the sea of AFSCME green, they knew AFSCME meant business,” said Morris. “Our hardworking members pick up trash, fix roads, repair water mains, trim trees, and do hundreds of things every day to keep Ann Arbor running. We stood up and spoke out about the dangers of outsourcing our jobs to a company that only cared about profit. No outside company cares about Ann Arbor the way our AFSCME members do.”