WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. September 16, 2009 UPDATED 9:45 A.M. E.D.T.: At a meeting of the Common Council Wednesday morning for the purpose of discussing rehiring Lamb & Barnosky as the city Labor Counsel, the Common Council voted unanimously to rehire the firm.. The firm has not, according to Richard Zuckerman, the lead labor counsel forthe city, prepared yet for the labor talks with the police and fire unions starting voluntary Binding Arbitration next week.
Mayor Joseph Delfino emerges from the inner sanctum of the Mayor’s Office to convene the special meeting this morning. The Council voted 7-0 to rehire Lamb & Barnosky, their labor counselors since 1968 for the upcoming voluntary arbitration talks with the police and fire unions. L & B will be paid a maximum of $108,000 as part of their contract. Richard Zuckerman advised the council last week that the labor wage settlements around the County and the metropolitan area have been running at 4% rate.
Joe Carrier, left, and Jim Carrier, right, Presidents of the White Plains Professional Firefighters and the White Plains Policeman’s Benevolent Association, were on hand, monitoring the action. Carrier commented whan asked if he thought the process of getting to the hire of a labor counsel was “bizarre,” said, “This process has been bizarre because they (the council) chose to make it bizarre.”
The approval comes eight days before the matter was to be discussed by the Common Council. Last Thursday evening, when asked if the Common Council was going to send a letter to the Mayor to recommend rehiring a labor counsel before beginning negotiations, Common Council President Benjamin Boykin would only say, “it’s been tabled to September 24.”
There was a change of heart this morning. Council President Benjamin Boykin told WPCNR that the Council received the copy of the agreement between the city and the union as requested last week on Saturday. He said he and Councilman Tom Roach agreed the document was in order and Roach and he agreed to call a meeting this morning to hire the labor counseling firm.
Edward Dunphy, the Corporation Counsel was on vacation and was not available for comment this morning as to whether Zuckerman would have enough time to prepare for the police arbitration talks beginning Monday, and the fire talks beginning September 24.
Boykin told WPCNR the council has been attempting to have a meeting with the labor counsel since last April, having sent the Mayor two letters (one from Mr. Roach and one from Mr. Boykin.) Boykin said he asked the Mayor to schedule a meeting August 25. When none was scheduled he contacted Richard Zuckerman (below) himself on September 3. Zuckerman said he was agreeable to meet and it was worked out that he would meet with the Council last Thursday.
Last Thursday, the Common Council learned from Richard Zuckerman (above)that despite the economic downturn, the negative revenue shortfalls affecting cities and towns and counties around the area has not had the effect of trimming labor settlements. Zuckerman (above) is with Lamb & Barnosky, a legal firm which has handled city labor negotiations since 1968, until July 1 of this year, when the Common Council tabled the matter of renewing the Lamb & Barnosky contract, pending more information about the firm. The matter is scheduled to be considered September 24, three days after pre-scheduled hearings with the Police union begin.
In the course of the acrimonious meeting, punctuated by bickering and fingerpointing between the Mayor and the members of the Council, Mr. Zuckerman noted to the Council that because the Lamb & Barnosky contract had not been renewed, he had suspended all preparation of exhibits he would have usually prepared for the upcoming arbitration.
The Council did not address how much work had been done previously until the suspension of the contract.
Mr. Zuckerman told WPCNR when asked about the possibility of postponing the hearings if the Council acted swiftly in approving the contract. Zuckerman said he could not comment. Zuckerman did say that binding arbitration hearings were routinely scheduled around advance availability of the participants and when they were available. WPCNR took that to mean a restructuring of the present schedule for White Plains Police and Fire would be difficult to do.
