Politics & Government
DAC Votes for Union Membership
Three out of four members opt to join Council 4, AFSCME.
Three part-time employees of the District Animal Control (DAC) agency will get what they wanted – union representation – following a vote supervised by the state Labor Relations Board.
Four ballots were cast in the election held at Woodbridge Town Hall Monday afternoon, and Labor Relations Board Assistant Agent Ron Napoli announced the vote was 3-1 in favor of representation.
Napoli said the parties would have five business days to file objections about the conduct of the election. Then the board would certify that AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) represents the employees.
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Afterwards, the three employees who voted yes said they were happy about the outcome. “Absolutely,” said Dave Dorsa.
He and Gail Evanko said they wanted union representation because the DAC board has a history of making arbitrary labor decisions.
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Woodbridge Administrative Officer Joseph Hellauer, who is also a DAC board member, was not available for comment.
The employees filed their petition for union certification on Jan. 6. Since then, Dursa’s hours were cut for the second time this season. Both times the DAC board said it was cutting him back to “winter hours,” he said.
“It’s an uneasy feeling to walk into work and not know if your hours will be cut,” said Evanko.
The employees are hired to take care of abandoned or lost pets and dispose of dead animal carcasses. They recently raised $1,800 by soliciting donations in the community to pay for veterinary treatment for an ailing Chihuahua named Henry.
Council 4, AFSCME field representative Dena Fleno, who accompanied the pro-union employees, explained the certification request was not motivated by pay issues.
The employees concern revolves around the question: “Is today when I get in trouble for something I didn’t know I had to do,” she said. “Most of it was just to have a clear set of rules that everybody has to follow.”
Fleno said when the union certification is finalized, five DAC employees will be eligible for membership, including two, full-time animal control officers. One of the ACOs was hired after the union certification petition was filed and was not allowed to vote.
Council 4, AFSCME represents 35,000 municipal and private sector employees in Connecticut.
