When 48 full-time employees lost their jobs after Christmas, a
handful had the option of
”
bumping
”
a subordinate and taking a job they had in the past.
When 48 full-time employees lost their jobs after Christmas, a handful had the option of “bumping” a subordinate and taking a job they had in the past.
The process, outlined in the city’s layoff policy found in the Human Resources Rules and Regulations, had city employees looking over their backs, worrying if a friend and colleague may take their jobs. Those on both ends of the bumping dilemma expressed frustration, and the City Council subsequently asked administrators to look into the possibility of tweaking the policy, but the council heard from City Administrator Tom Haglund in a closed session Monday night that Gilroy’s four bargaining groups want to keep things as is.
“Any changes to the policy are subject to bargaining under California state law, so we inquired with each of the bargaining units whether they wanted to meet and confer about this, and they did not,” Haglund said.
Next up for the council is negotiating with the Police Officers’ Association. That union’s memorandum of understanding, which governs future pay hikes and benefits, expires June 30. Haglund declined to say whether administrators would take a hard line with the union given the city’s financial straits. Instead, he said officials will take cues from the city council, which knows more than any entity the financial straits Gilroy faces.
“We’ll take direction from the council, but it’s no secret that the broader economy has had a very significant effect in reducing the city’s revenues,” Haglund said.
