Ruling favors union leader

Modesto violated state labor law and unfairly retaliated against the leader of the city's largest union because of his union activities, according to a recent ruling by the state labor board.

Notices telling employees about the ruling were posted in city offices Wednesday. The Public Employment Relations Board issued the ruling in August. It became final earlier this month because the city didn't appeal it.

Modesto City Employees Association president Tom McCarthy said the decision will send a signal to city workers that they shouldn't be afraid to join unions.

"I'm hoping this will encourage more people to get involved," McCarthy said. "When I came in four years ago, a lot of people saw getting involved with MCEA as putting a target on their back."

The 375-member union represents employees in public works, parks and recreation, code enforcement and finance.

McCarthy filed the complaint with the labor board in 2007, after the city threatened to suspend him for not notifying his supervisors of his meetings with union members. City officials also told McCarthy he wasn't allowed to take notes on union activities during work hours.

The state labor board found that the city moved to discipline McCarthy in retaliation for his union activities. The ruling says that not letting employees take notes on union activities violates their rights.

The city was ordered to rescind the note-taking rule, and destroy all references to disciplinary action in McCarthy's personnel file.

"We certainly accept the findings and we've certainly learned from that entire experience," said interim human resources director Mark Gregersen.

He noted that the events surrounding the complaint took place three years ago. "That's in the past," Gregersen said. "We're looking to the future. We appreciate and value our excellent working relationship with MCEA. It's a very valuable asset."

McCarthy, a waste-water collections system operator, became MCEA president in 2006. He said he took a more hands-on approach than previous union leaders, suggesting ways the city could improve relationships with employees. Officials may have seen those actions as too aggressive, McCarthy said.

City officials in the public works and personnel departments took steps to investigate McCarthy's work activity because they were concerned he did not correctly record the time he took off for union work. Officials placed a satellite tracking device on a public works truck assigned to McCarthy.

McCarthy said the city has legitimate uses for such tracking devices because they improve efficiency and prevent theft of vehicles. Most city vehicles now have the GPS devices. But McCarthy said he felt singled out when the city monitored his movements in 2006. His complaint to the labor board did not address the tracking device issue.

The city engaged in similar tracking of employees in 2005. Officials monitored phone calls, e-mails and movements of public works employees who filed a gender discrimination lawsuit. The employees eventually won a $3.25 million settlement. The public works director and city manager who oversaw those actions aren't with the city anymore.

McCarthy said the city has "changed drastically" over the past few years and for the better. McCarthy credited City Manager Greg Nyhoff with striking a more positive tone in city-union relations. Nyhoff became city manager in June 2008.

"Nyhoff came in from the outside and had a very pro-employee, proactive way of dealing with the city," McCarthy said. "There was a mutual agreement that the employees here need to feel wanted and welcome and treated well."

Bee staff writer Leslie Albrecht can be reached at lalbrecht @modbee.com or 578-2378. Follow her at Twitter.com/ BeeReporter.