Morningstar to Float $34 MM GPA Bond for 48 Residences

Morningstar Senior Living, once known as Moravian  Hall Square, received permission from Northampton County Council last night to float a bond for as much as $34 million through the County's General Purpose Authority (GPA). The proceeds will be used to construct 48 independent living residences at its Upper Nazareth Township campus. These will be tax exempt, but the County shall in no way be liable for repayment in the event of default.

Ken Kraft was dubious. He questioned spending as much as $34 million for 48 residences. But his real concern was whether it would be built using local labor and at prevailing wages. Though he received that assurance, he was still unconvinced and was the sole Council member to vote No.        

Task Force Blames Wealth Disparity on Racism

Olga Negron and Rev. Gregory Edwards

We've all seen the race card played. But thanks in part to a $3.4 million sustainable communities grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2011, a local "Task Force on Wealth Disparity" has now used federal tax dollars to play it. During a November 21 presentation at Northampton Community College before an audience of about 50 people, co-Chairs Olga Negron (La Ola Radio) and Rev, Gregory Edwards (Life Church) released and read from a report entitled "Justice For All". The report concludes that wealth disparity is the result of racism.

"In fact, denying that racism exists is the new racism," the report charges.

Interestingly, the 12-person task force responsible for this report itself has no diversity. It lacks a single white person. Kevin Greene (Lehigh Valley Faces), the task force member who led the discussion, complained that only "a few people rise at the expense of others."

The data

The data definitely demonstrate that there is a huge divide between the white and other families in the Lehigh Valley. Whites have a better education, make more money and live in nicer homes.

- In 2007, only 4% of black students took the SAT, the standardized test used for college admissions, compared to 79% of white students.
- 27% of white people have at least a Bachelor's degree, compared to blacks (18%) and Latinos (13%).
- Loan approval rates for white people are nearly 70%, regardless of income level. For blacks and Latinos, the approval rate is closer to 50%, regardless of income level.
- Latino and black poverty rates are 220% and 166% higher than white residents of the Lehigh Valley, respectively.
- Whites make 40% and 62% more, respectively, than black and Latino Lehigh Valley residents.
- A white person's home value is 17% and 29% higher than a black or Latino person.

Greene concludes that racism not only exists, but that the "exclusion is intentional." His comments were echoed by another task force member. "Wealth diversity is a function of our values," she asserted. "We value people who have white skin more than we value people who have black or brown skin."

Alan Jennings, Executive Director at CACLV, disputed Greene. "I don't want to believe it's deliberate," he told the group.

The Recommendations

The Task Force has recommended a minimum wage that is a "living wage," although it fails to specify an amount. It insists that all children, regardless of the family income level, should participate in pre-kindergarten. It demands an end to what it calls "educational apartheid," a "separate an unequal public education."It is calling for expanded home ownership, including a "post-homeownership counseling program marketed to persons of color." It also calls for the elimination of minimum lot sizes to enable a "more equitable distribution of wealth,"  It even calls for more diversity on non-profit boards.

One of these recommendations, home ownership counseling marketed to persons of color, appears itself to be discriminatory.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, Pa-15

Dent: Wealth Disparity is The Result of Free Market Economy

Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent, who appears to have been the token conservative participating in an otherwise one-sided forum, gently reminded that audience that wealth disparity is the necessary result of a free market economy. "We've always had it," he noted. He also cautioned against changing that approach to one in which power is concentrated. Under other systems, "You will see less prosperity and a heckuva' lot more cronyism," he warned, in an obvious reference to totalitarian regimes.

But he conceded that the disparity has increased in recent years. "We have to fix the policies that make it harder for people to make more money," he argued.

Part-Time Recovery

One of these policies, brought about in large part by Obamacare, is what Dent refers to as our "part-time recovery." He pointed to data of his own, showing that 7.6 million Americans are involuntarily working part-time, either because their employers have reduced hours or because that's they best they can do. This in turn has resulted in a "very erratic" recovery, one that Dent warns is unstable.

Employers like Red Lobster and Olive Garden are trying to remain under the Obamacare requirement of providing health insurance to employees who work more than 30 hours per week. This hurts working families, and Dent supports expanding the 30-hour cutoff to 40 hours.

Flawed Monetary Policy

Dent also argued that our monetary policy is flawed. The Federal Reserve's interest rates on short-term loans has been near zero since late 2008. But there's been no mad rush for mortgages, and no real incentive to save. Those who do are investing in the stock market instead of depositing at their local bank. "It drives people to the stock market," Dent observed. "The wealthy are getting wealthier." But he worries that "[w]e are creating another bubble in the stock market."

Tax Code Policy 

A third policy change desperately needed, according to Dent, is a simplification of the 70,000-page long Tax Code. Calling it a "hodge podge of special income breaks", he noted that 2/3 of the population is unable to take advantage of them because they don't itemize.

One of the more nonsensical federal tax policies, he argued, is one that discourages American companies from bringing their profits back. A recent report does indicate that $2.1 trillion is held by American companies overseas.

Stoffa Denies Mandatory Furloughs Under Consideration

Northampton County Finance Director Vic Mazziotti would like to spend more time with his grandchildren, more time than his vacation package allows. So he occasionally takes a day off, without pay, because his family means more to him than a job.

This got Northampton County Executive John Stoffa thinking about voluntary unpaid furloughs for similarly-minded county workers. As long as it involved no overtime for other workers, this might save money. But Northampton County is a cesspool of rumors. Somewhere along the way, this was twisted into mandatory time off. Claiming that she had received several complaints, Council Prez Ann McHale asked Stoffa what was going on at yesterday's Personnel Committee hearing.

"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

That's how Stoffa responded to McHale, telling her very clearly that at no time has he considered mandatory furloughs for anyone. "Some people want to take time off without pay. Nothing is mandatory. We have not decided on anything. All we're doing is looking at it."

He explained why, too. "We're heading towards big time budget problems." But questions abound concerning voluntary furloughs. Will the county have to pay unemployment? How can it be sure it won't result in overtime somewhere else?

So Stoffa is unsure whether this will really save money, but no county worker should worry about mandatory furloughs.

Controller Steve Barron: Hay Study Flawed

There's something wrong when a salary study, conducted under the supervision of the leading experts in the field, recommends freezing the wages of the most valuable employees. But that's exactly what has happened in The People's Republic of Northampton County.

Two years ago, Northampton County Executive John Stoffa made clear it's time that county workers be paid a living wage. He promised that the county's antiquated salary structure would get a much-needed overhaul.

The prestigious Hay Group, hired to do this study, sewed the initial seeds of distrust when it suggested that a committee of county employees be used to do much of its spade work. That led to charges of favoritism, and two committee members dropped out.

What's left of this committee then met secretly with the Personnel Commission on Tuesday in a blatant violation of both Pennsylvania's Sunshine Act and John Stoffa's open government policy. Now, Controller Steve Barron has determined that this salary analysis is full of gaping holes.

I have participated in the meetings on this matter, listened to the results of this study (as presented by Ron Seifert) and have further reviewed the methodology employed in this study. However, rather than resolving my concerns this has only raised a number of new questions.

***Please note that this is not questioning the application of the standards by the committee, but the creation of the tools you used given to you by the Hay Group.

We need to look at whether this study was conducted in a reasonable fashion for industry standards and whether the county received a realistic assessment. To that end, I am requesting a statement of the methodology employed, the statistics used to create the "measuring stick", and the correspondences discussing these matters in order to audit the work the Hay Group provided.

I do not have concerns about the study passing at this point. However, in order to insure that applicable standards have been applied, to further insure the efficient and effective use of county funds and as the elected steward of such funds I must further review the services provided.

I stated some of my concerns at the last meeting, but I have some additional concerns to raise:

The Column (Northampton Ave. Pay) is really the actual salary for an individual in that position. The true average for the current range for audit manager is $75,761.00. Based on information gathered from Lehigh County the CCAP numbers are correct. However, using the standard Hay used to calculate the average pay, Lehigh's Average pay is $86.00 per year less than that for the Northampton County Audit Manager Average pay. The schedules used by Hay compares two different numbers, and it is presented to be a $9,746 difference. This is just plain untrue.

Per PSACC (The County Controller's Association), the counties of Carbon, Dauphin, Luzerne, and Monroe do not list a position that is an equivalent to an audit manager. Further, the counties of Carbon, Dauphin, and Monroe do not even list any auditors on staff. Nonetheless, Hay lists audit manager salaries for all of these counties.

Ironically, if the salaries for the counties of Carbon, Dauphin, Luzerne, and Monroe are removed from the calculation the average "average salary" would be $73,453, which is a $2,308 difference from the current average salary of the Northampton County range of pay for this position.

Finally, on page 6 of the executive summary under compensation philosophy, I have to question the reason these counties were selected. Carbon and Monroe are 6th and 5th class counties respectively so they are not even a relative comparison. Also all 3rd class counties are to be included in the study, but there is no mention of Lackawanna County which has been a 3rd class county since 1976. If you look at lists easily available to any person or the County Code this is clear. However, it is missing from a study for which we paid big bucks.

This is just one position where I actually had access to some information and it only took me a few hours to discover. Imagine if we devoted more man hours to it.

I do want to see county employees having a better standard of living. We all would like to see the employees doing a little bit better. Happier employees leads to better services for the tax payers. I think that is a good investment. Not all of this study is a bad thing, but when it is based on poor data how can we trust it.

I am disappointed (not just as the controller), but as a taxpayer that we have a study presented for review with so many glaring flaws. Flaws that any person with an elementary understanding of the issues could look at and know there were an issue.

Norco Workers: The Facts About Hay, They'll Raise Your Pay

The Hay Group, an organization hired to conduct a comparative pay study in Northampton County, is simply the best in the business, representing over 7,000 clients with 88 offices in 47 countries. Of course, the county could simply rely on information from CCAP about what is paid for similar jobs in similar counties, but who is to say they are similar? So the county is spending $115 thousand for a salary study of its 2,000 person workforce. It is widely agreed that, once this is done, nearly everyone who works for the county will be making more money.

As a first step, a questionnaire was mailed to every county employee with a due date of December 28. Although I am no county employee, I remember this very clearly because I heard people from many different offices talk about it.

Last week, I told you that a new deadline of February 28 has been set because many county workers simply had no time to complete these forms. At the time, I mildly made this observation to county workers. "Are you out of your frickin' minds??? Fill out the damn forms and get them in. Forge if necessary. Ask me to fill them out. But if you like a living wage, get them in."

Like a dripping faucet, the complaints began to pour in.

1) The questionnaire is totally unnecessary.

2) The Hay pay study is bogus.

3) Department heads are not letting employees complete these questionnaires on county time.

4) They are only late because HR did not even send them to some departments until February.

5) John Conklin, Director of Administration, failed to submit his own report by December 28. It's all his fault.

The Facts

As I mentioned at the time, neither the pay study nor the questionnaire is bogus. Hay is very real, and the first thing it asked for was something that would describe what each worker does and how long it takes for her to do it. I also mentioned, and the Human Resources Department confirmed, that these periodic reviews are required. Monday I actually sat down with Director Connie Falk-Sutton and Personnel Analyst Linda Markwarth. As Connie explained to me, "We're trying to do it right and completely ... to make sure we're competitive."

Instead of whispers and rumors, here are the facts.

On November 15, a memo and questionnaire was sent to every county worker. It was up to each department head to decide how many employees should fill out the report. If five or six people in one department do the exact same thing, it would only be necessary to get a representative sampling. At the time the memo was sent, a return date of December 28 was established. The Hay group would begin its work once it started receiving the paperwork.

On December 28, roughly one-third of the questionnaires were returned. They were immediately forwarded to Hay.

On January 4, Linda Markwarth contacted each department that had not returned its questionnaire and stressed its importance. She believes there was and remains a "lot of anxiety." In the meantime, her own office has undergone training for this evaluation. As questionnaires have been turned in, they've been forwarded to Hay.

As of yesterday, questionnaires have been completed for only 232 out of 286 different job classifications.

Supervisors have been instructed that these questionnaires are to be completed on county time. If an employee is unable to do so because of work demands, OT must be offered. Sutton-Falk tells me in one instance, she did get a phone call from a union rep who reported a supervisor demanding that employees fill out these forms on their own time. "It took me all of three minutes to resolve that issue," she said.

Director of Administration John Conklin did fail to fill out his own report in a timely fashion. "I blew it," he admitted. "I made sure everyone under me had theirs in, but I didn't think mine was that important."

As it turns out, he's right. Sutton-Falk explained that the Hay study really has no application to cabinet level officials, whose roles are set by the executive and who serve at his pleasure.

Conklin turned his report in a few days ago, and apparently likes gladiator movies. Stoffa shot him.

Yesterday was the first time I sat down and really talked to Sutton-Falk. She's got a rep as a person who can be acerbic, and maybe that's why we hit it off so well. She's very sharp and answered every question.

I liked her.

She and one of her top deputies met me with just one day's notice. Halfway through the meeting, I learned that Linda's son was in the emergency room with a medical emergency, and it sounded serious. She was obviously upset, but wanted people to know the truth.

When she finally did leave, I turned to Sutton-Falk and asked, "She stayed for this?"

Falk shrugged and said, "I could not keep her away. She cares too much."

Finally alone, I asked Connie, "So, what's your sign?" She threw me off the courthouse roof.

With people like them in human resources, Northampton County employees are in good hands. That's my assessment as an outsider. As far as those questionnaires go, git 'er done. You'll only be hurting yourself by letting things go.

Norco Employees Are Delaying Their Own Pay Raises

Northampton County is spending $115 thousand for a salary study on its 2,000 person workforce. It is widely agreed that, once this is done, nearly everyone who works for the county will be making more money.

As a first step, a questionnaire was sent to the workforce with a due date of December 28.

Amazingly, the personnel committee today learned that the administration has had to set a new deadline - February 28 - because some workers have no time for these forms. As a result, the salary study is now delayed by two months. And that means any raises will be delayed by two months.

Memo to county workers: Are you out of your frickin' minds??? Fill out the damn forms and get them in. Forge if necessary. Ask me to fill them out. But if you like a living wage, get them in.

County Reaches Agreement With Gracedale Staff

The County and AFSCME has issued this joint press release, which speaks for itself.

EASTON – Northampton County and AFSCME Gracedale Division, Department of Human Services workers have reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement in just three months since the December 31, 2006 expiration of the previous contract.

"The relatively quick turn-around is the result of joint cooperation between County Administration and AFSCME Local 1435 negotiating teams in conducting good faith collective bargaining," said Northampton County Executive John Stoffa.

"We look forward to working with the members of Local 1435 in continuing to provide excellent care for our most fragile, elderly residents," stated Mr. Stoffa.

The contract agreement, effective from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2011, covers a variety of Department of Human Services positions supporting the County’s operation of the Gracedale Nursing Home. These 700+ employees are represented by Council #13 and District Council #88 of AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees."The contract is a fair contract and was forged in the spirit of cooperation between AFSCME Local 1435 and the County of Northampton," according to AFSCME District Council #88 representative Justus James.

Mr. James adds: "The AFSCME employees at Gracedale stand out in the health care field. They provide the highest quality of care for those in their charge."

The highlights of the agreement include a 4.5% salary increase across the board for each of the five years; increased employee contributions for health care for each of the five years; the introduction of in-network medical deductions; the introduction of co-pays for office visits, emergency room visits and hospital confinement; improved incentives to encourage better attendance; increased longevity payments; and clarification of several technical provisions.
* * *
AFSCME District Council 88 represents more than 13,000 public employees in Southeastern Pennsylvania, including employees of the Commonwealth and its counties, cities, townships, boroughs, school districts, and health and human service facilities.

Northampton County employs over 2,000 workers and has 11 bargaining units, totaling more than 75% of its workforce.

Northampton County Continues to Ignore its Workers

A week ago, over one hundred county workers stuffed into cramped council chambers to demand a fair wage. Some are on food stamps. Others need home heating assistance. The combined average salary for the row office, maintenance and 911 workers is nearly $12,000 below the $38,622 average earnings paid to people who worked in Northampton County over two years ago. Many feel Northampton County Executive John Stoffa has broken promises made before his election.

Although I don't believe that Stoffa intentionally misled anyone, he has clearly failed to give county workers the priority they so clearly deserve. He's not alone. They've been ignored by everyone, and for too long. It's simply inexcusable that, for nearly four years, their wages have been stagnant. And the problem actually started ten years ago, when the county stopped increasing its payscale.

Evidence of this neglect continues to mount. Last Thursday, as courthouse workers paraded the street outside Stoffa's office, he reputedly promised to contact union negotiators the very next day. But that hasn't happened. Once again, Northampton County is dissing its most valuable possession - its workforce. Here's a letter union negotiators mailed to Stoffa yesterday.

Dear Mr. Stoffa,

On the evening of Thursday, December 7th you and [Fiscal Affairs Director] Maziotti promised that you would respond to our request for continued negotiations on the Residual Unit "Final Offer" the following day, Friday, December 8th.

I received no communication from either of you as of Friday afternoon. I left a voice mail for Mr. Maziotti Friday morning requesting a response to our request and also requesting the County's cost analysis ... .

I received a voice mail reply from Mr. Maziotti the afternoon of December 11th stating that my inquiries and request for information should be directed to either you or [the Director of Human Resources].

I left a voice mail for you around noon on Tuesday, December 12th requesting the cost analysis and continued negotiations. As of 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 13th I have not heard back from you.

I am requesting continuation of negotiations and copies of the County's cost analysis.

Is this how you treat an unhappy workforce that already feels betrayed?

Norco Workers to Their Bosses: You Should All be Ashamed

"I think you all ought to be ashamed."

Those words, spoken by long-time courthouse worker Pauline Taylor, best reflect the public sentiment at last night's packed county council meeting. It was the culmination of a week of worker unrest.

On Monday, employees began circulating an open letter to county exec John Stoffa, demanding a fair contract. Late yesterday afternoon, a gigantic rat mysteriously appeared on the street alongside the new courthouse. It was strangely reminiscent of Northampton County's ratpack, first described by essayist Billy Givens. Those river rats have gnawed and pawed for years at the county's wheel of cheese, breaking off pieces to fund a road for a Wal-Mart developer and a parking lot for luxury apartments at Riverport. While chewing away, the ratpack has ignored the little mice, the county's long suffering workforce.

Last night the mice roared.

As workers left their jobs, they began parading around that rat, in a swelling sea of green AFSCME shirts. And as the clock struck 6:00 PM, a tidal wave in green struck John Stoffa's office. Disgruntled county employees stormed the fourth floor, demanding that Stoffa listen to them.

"I'm working," was Stoffa's reply as he attempted an escape to his inner offices. Courthouse workers followed, knocking on his door, until Stoffa finally agreed to hear them out. As he listened to a litany of complaints, the little mice could see two big river rats near Stoffa's office, trying to listen to what was happening. They looked a little confused.

Many mice were still roaring at poor John Stoffa when the ratpack started its council meeting at 6:30 PM. Over a hundred employees crowded into chambers and stood in the halls, straining to listen as the little mice bellowed eloquently at the river rats.

Barb Martucci, an 8 year county vet, chided council: "You take care of your own at the expense of the rest of us." Another county employee with 22 years of experience, John Szabo, reminded council that "we are the bricks and mortar that make up Northampton County." And Dan Sell, a county carpenter for the past 11 years, shamed council when he confessed he makes no more money than a part time Taco Bell employee on work release from the prison.

Several courthouse employees clearly accused Stoffa of going back on a promise to allow binding arbitration. But Rose Macaluso delivered the hardest punch of the night. Several employees had emailed Stoffa to complain about council's decision to give its staff a 20% payraise while ignoring other employees. In an attempt at humor, Stoffa responded he had given council an "experimental drug and it worked." Council was not amused.

When they heard that, the river rats exploded. What outrage! Last night was not a good night for John Stoffa.

As the evening continued, and the river rats began to gnaw at each other with their usual petty squabbles, an experimental drug actually sounds like a good idea to me. A 911 employee sitting behind me in the peanut gallery, stared in disbelief as council members tossed childish insults at each other.

"And this group is representing the county? A God-damned bunch of monkeys up there!"

And it's true. Council tends to embarrass itself all the time. But the real loser last night was John Stoffa. I admire the man. He has been honest with me. But last night he looked like a liar who brushes off employees and speaks publicly of council in disparaging terms that only insane bloggers like me should use.

The real winners last night were the little mice. They finally roared. And as Pauline Taylor noted, county council and administration should all be ashamed.

And after hearing from the little mice, the ratpack responded by giving a tax break in Palmer Township to yet another developer.

And so the battle rages.

Why Are Northampton County Employees so Damn Mad?

Tonight, Northampton County employees will rally outside the courthouse after work, and then march into to county council chambers to demand fair treatment. Why are they so damn mad? You'd be mad, too. Here's just some things that have happened in the past four years.

1. Over 100 positions were eliminated, and 40 workers were pink-slipped on Northampton County's Black Friday, February 6, 2004.

2. Those that remained have seen no payraises for nearly four years, and the layoffs mean they do more work for less money.

3. Although county employees have seen no pay increases, inflation has sky-rocketed in the Lehigh Valley. The consumer price index in the Lehigh Valley rose a whopping seven per cent in 2005, the largest annual increase ever measured in the 22-year history of The Morning Call/Kamran Afshar Consumer Price Index.

4. New employees like Director of Administration John Conklin have been hired at astronomical salaries, but the rank and file are ignored.

5. County council just gave its staff 18-20% pay increases, while doing nothing for the county's remaining employees.

6. In August, county council very nearly gave itself a $2,500 payraise, a 35% increase, and would have succeeded had it not been vetoed by county exec Stoffa.

7. Judges have been provided plush new quarters on a "private" floor in a public courthouse while many rank and file employees have seen their working space shrink from the supposed "expansion."

8. It is nearly impossible to park anywhere near the courthouse, and until recently, the county actually was considering charging its underpaid employees for the privilege of parking.

9. Many row office workers became ill from mold, dust and Fiberglas particles accompanying the new construction, and no one cared until state health inspectors were involved.

10. Employees with frozen wages watched incredible waste as perfectly good furniture and equipment were "thrown away."

11. Employees with frozen wages see another, and often mentioned, example of government waste in the form of the court's garish wind-sensitive fountain and accompanying landscaping, complete with inlaid irrigation pipes.

12. When county council timidly suggested that extravagances like that fountain or the marble floors be eliminated, judges paraded en masse before county council to demand every penny allocated, and then some. But they made no similar pitch for the lifeblood of this county - its workforce. (I wonder if they're busy tonight).

13. While judges enjoy their catered lunches in a private dining room, the cafeteria for the masses has been taken away and employees must eat in hallways or at their desks.

14. Some rank and file employees, even those with 12 or 13 years of seniority, seek some form of assistance with home heating and for food.

15. Courthouse workers with serious safety concerns, like prison guards, have previously been denied the right to address council because some of what they discuss might be part of labor negotiations. This is a blatant violation of the Sunshine Act, which gives any resident the right to address council on any matter of concern. I expect council to try to shoo workers away tonight, too. But they have a right to speak. And council has an obligation to listen.

After three years, it's time somebody listens. This mess was inherited by both John Stoffa and our current county council. But they've had nearly a year now to resolve what should be the county's top priority. It's becoming their mess. And by the way, the rumored 3.3% offer is a joke that actually amounts to a pay cut. If the county can raise taxes to buy some swamp land or build roads in Bethlehem and Wind Gap for fat cat developers, it can pay its employees a living wage.

In all my dealings with county executive John Stoffa, he has been fair and honorable. He wants to do what's right. And our new county council is union friendly. Charles Dertinger is a third generation union electrician. Lamont McClure positioned AFL-CIO union members to hand out pamphlets during the last congressional campaign. Diane Neiper and John Cusick both belong to teachers' unions.

Just do it.

Will Northampton County Council Members Cross Picket Line?

What do Wal-Mart and residual Northampton County employees have in common? They're both paid meager wages yet are expected to serve the public with a smile. Many of them qualify for some form of public assistance.

Northampton County employees are mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore. Former executive Glenn Reibman eliminated over 100 jobs and sent over forty of them home. They've seen no payraises in nearly four years. While judges have a nice new private dining room for their little luncheons, the rank and file eat in hallways.

Many workers have no appetite, anyway. They're sickened by all the mold, leaks and terrible smells that accompanied the courthouse expansion. In the meantime, a disinterested county council very nearly gave itself a nice little payraise even though some county employees in the residual unit now rely on food stamps.

On Monday, I told you the county's residual unit of about 250 employees has begun circulating a letter to County Exec John Stoffa demanding voluntary binding arbitration of its contractual negotiations. Some blame Stoffa for the delay while others blame union leaders.

Courthouse workers also plan to rally outside the courthouse on Thursday at 4:30 P.M. to demand a fair contract. Council members on their way to their bi-weekly meeting will have to pass through a gauntlet of unhappy workers, who intend to address council.

But will there be a meeting? Some council members privately state they will not pass through a union picket line in a gesture of solidarity. Gee, that's nice, but they would do far more good by being honest. Some tell administrators to pay less, yet encourage union leaders to hold out for more. It's little wonder there's no contract.

Voluntary binding arbitration? How long will that take? Another county union for deputy sheriffs has asked for arbitration and they won't get one until April.

If council stops sending mixed signals and permits the union and adminstrators to take an honest stab at round-the-clock negotiations, they just might avoid arbitration and resolve this contractual dispute in time for some to have a Merry Christmas.

Northampton County Employees Speak Out For Living Wage

Northampton County's biggest mistake in recent years has been to exalt buildings over the people who work in them. Its new courthouse and prison expansions provide no services. Those come from the people who work there. Yet to pay for these projects, erstwhile county Exec Reibman sent forty courthouse workers home in February 2004. When the dust had settled, over 100 positions had been eliminated. Employees responded by unionizing.

Northampton County's "residual unit" is a collection of around 250 or so employees who mostly consist of the row office, 911 and maintenance workers. In the three years since they've organized as an AFSCME union, there has been no contract. And these people are all suffering as a result.

You see, these folks are already at the bottom of the Northampton County payscale. A few years ago, four long-term employees qualified for home heating assistance. A few even qualified for food stamps. That situation has only grown worse because there have been no wage increases for nearly four years. Wal-mart is routinely criticized because its wages are so bad that employees must turn to public assistance, but that same criticism applies to Northampton County, a public employer.

Starting today, county employees will make their voices heard. An open letter to county Executive John Stoffa, in poster form, will be exhibited near the rotunda. Employees will be encouraged to sign that letter. Here's their letter.

We are writing to set the record straight on the commitments you made during your election campaign and to express our views on your handling of our contract negotiations.

In your open letter to County employees of August 1, 2006 you claimed that you never promised voluntary interest arbitration for the Residual Unit. We beg to differ. On September 7, 2005 you and your opponent met with leaders from four AFSCME Local Unions and four of the newly organized AFSCME units. At that meeting you agreed to extend voluntary binding arbitration to the Residual Unit. At a meeting on October 5, 2005 you were invited and appeared at a mass meeting of employees in the five newly organized units. This time, over one hundred and fifty employees heard you say firsthand that you were in favor of voluntary interest arbitration for the Residual Unit.

Based on your assurances, AFSCME contacted over 2,000 of its members in Northampton County and recommended they and their family members vote for you in the November General Election. You won that election by 2,070 votes out of 40,506 votes cast.

This summer, the County's 2006 unreserved fund balance stood at around 35 million dollars. New managers in your administration are being hired near the top of the management pay scale while senior rank and file employees remain on the lower rungs of their pay scale! The entire cost of AFSCME's first year wage proposal, including the cost of correcting these inequities, is approximately 1.5 million dollars. Yet despite your campaign rhetoric, you propose as two year freeze on our wages.

We demand fairness, we demand equity, and we demand them NOW.

In fairness to County Executive Stoffa, he's always been honest with me. He denies making these promises. "I never promised this group I would go to arbitration. Why would I give up this right?" I can think of one reason. It's the right thing to do. In fact, why is binding arbitration even necessary? It appears that the union is only asking for what is fair - a living wage.