photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

City of Lawrence workers affiliated with Teamsters Local Union No. 696, joined by folks affiliated with a handful of other unions, demonstrate outside Lawrence City Hall Tuesday, June 20, 2023.

Teamsters Local Union No. 696, the union representing the City of Lawrence’s solid waste and Municipal Services and Operations employees, filed a petition this week against the city in Douglas County District Court.

The petition alleges that city officials obstructed efforts to process grievances, refused to discuss working conditions in good faith and seemed to take a number of actions to retaliate against an employee for filing a grievance days before, including allegedly ordering that employee to paint tanks in the rain and watch 40 hours of training videos as part of the discipline being challenged in their grievance.

The petition also alleges that city officials refused to discuss the union’s concerns about employees being instructed to operate front loader trucks unsafely.

The union argues in the petition that those alleged issues were violations of the agreement between the city and union employees. The union is asking for the city to be compelled to process a number of outstanding grievances as part of the civil suit.

Cayla Rodney, an attorney representing the Teamsters, first informed the Lawrence City Commission at its Tuesday meeting that the petition had been filed earlier that day. But on Friday, city spokesperson Laura McCabe told the Journal-World that the city hasn’t yet been officially served. However, McCabe said city staff did have copies of the petition on hand as of Friday and would know more once there had been time to review it.

“We respect workers’ right to demonstrate and speak their minds and will continue to work with the Teamsters to understand their concerns and build relationships,” McCabe told the Journal-World. “… We know our very best is achieved by a diverse, engaged and collaborative organizational culture and want employees to feel trusted, supported and cared for as we all work together to build community.”

On the day the petition was filed, unionized city employees and folks affiliated with a handful of other unions demonstrated outside City Hall ahead of the City Commission meeting. Matt Hall, Teamsters Local 696 secretary-treasurer, said the petition was the result of the city not following their contract, constant harassment and bullying and a failure to follow the agreed-upon grievance process.

“We negotiated a contract in good faith, and the city needs to follow it and abide by it,” Hall said. “The city, in multiple cases, has not been abiding by the contract, so we’re here showing our displeasure with that.”

The city’s utilities and public works employees voted to unionize under the Teamsters in October of 2021, and solid waste employees voted to unionize more than a year prior in August of 2020.