City Employee Labor Union Formed

Lubbock City employees are forming a municipal labor organization.

Emergency Management Coordinator and Animal Services Director Kevin Overstreet was elected president in a charter meeting Friday.

Overstreet says the goal of the new City of Lubbock Empolyee Association is three-fold: giving employees more effective communication with City Council and the public, enhancing opportunities to provide quality service to citizens, and improving employee compensation and benefits.

Overstreet cites budgetary uncertainty and the recent FBI search warrant served at City Hall as chief concerns many employees are expressing.

Overstreet says the group will focus on the positives and off the politics when taking issues to higher-ups.

"I do want to make it clear that this is a non-partisan association with City staff and we won't be endorsing one candidate over another," says Overstreet. "I think that provides a lot of negativity. And you know you gotta look at the fact that, you know, you open up the newspaper on a daily basis and there's nothing but negative, negative, negative. There's a lot more going on in this city than just politics and you have lots of employee issues out there that I think need to be addressed."

Newly-elected Mayor Tom Martin tells FOX 34 he wants more information on the association before making public comments about it.

Lubbock Police and Firefighters have had separate professional associations for years; however, this is the first general municiapl employee union to be formed in Lubbock.

Under City Charter and association by-laws, the group cannot strike and cannot engage in collective barganing. The new employee association holds its first membership recruitment next Friday.

http://www.myfoxlubbock.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6713888&version

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City Employee Labor Union Formed