Upper Darby municipal workers to hold strike authorization vote

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Upper Darby municipal workers will hold a strike authorization vote Monday, opening the possibility of a walkout as early as New Year’s Day.

The 115 members of Transport Workers Union Local 234 handle animal control, garbage collection, municipal vehicle repairs, sewage maintenance, snow removal and street cleaning for the township.

“Upper Darby administrators have dragged their heels and have not negotiated a contract for our members in good faith,” TWU Local 234 President Brian Pollitt said in Monday’s press release. “Their contract demands are outrageous and would harm both workers and residents. We are sounding the alarm.”

A strike authorization vote would give union stewards the ability to pull the lever on a strike as soon as the contract expires at midnight on Dec. 31.

“Contract negotiations are ongoing and have been productive and professional as far as I know,” Mayor Ed Brown told WHYY News in a statement. “I hope that continues and we can avoid any work stoppages.”

The union said it urged the township to begin negotiations in May, but Upper Darby officials “stalled” and did not come to the bargaining table until November. Local 234 asserted the township presented a contract proposal on Dec. 5, which would reduce the workforce, increase union members’ health care costs and remove seniority rights.

“We don’t take this action lightly,” Gene Olivant, a sanitation department driver, said in the press release. “We are members of this community. Many of us live here, and our extended families live here. But the mayor and his administrators have launched a vicious attack against us and our livelihood. We believe they are also quietly planning to cut essential municipal services that we provide and that residents depend on. We can’t stand by and let this happen.”

Brown denied the union’s claim of possible service cuts. He said Chief Administrative Officer Crandall Jones is negotiating “in good faith” on the township’s behalf.

“My administration has no plan to cut any municipal services, only expand them when we can,” Brown said.

Home to more than 85,000 people, Upper Darby is Pennsylvania’s sixth-largest municipality.