ANAHEIM : Workers Request Union Apology
Employees of the state Economic Development Department office in Anaheim are upset with the union that represents them and are seeking a retraction for what they call a “distorted” portrayal of their office environment.
The employees say that two weeks ago, when a union representative was arrested at their office, the union used the situation to claim that workers were being unfairly treated by office management. In fact, they say, relations between the workers and managers in Anaheim are better than in many EDD offices.
Nearly 20 employees from the office signed a grievance against the California State Employees Assn. and asked the union to publicly apologize for its statements.
“We have good things in this office, and this thing doesn’t help us,” said Hector Gutierrez, a union member who signed the letter. “I would have liked a little more diplomacy.”
The employees who signed the complaint, about half of whom are union members, are also upset because the union has failed to respond to their request within 10 days, as the workers had requested.
CSEA area manager George Swift said that he was out of town when his office received the letter and that he plans to meet soon with the disgruntled union members. Swift said he would inform the workers of the proper procedure for filing complaints against the union.
“I believe this grievance was orchestrated by management,” he said. “These people are being misdirected and misguided by management, and we’ll deal with it.”
The union representative, James Connors, was arrested by California State Police two weeks ago while discussing a grievance with a worker. Managers of the office said the representative posed a threat to the safety of the workplace because of comments he once made comparing the Anaheim office to one in Garden Grove. In 1986, a frustrated employee in the Garden Grove office fatally shot a supervisor and then killed himself. Connors’ case is pending.
