Donegal lays off road crew
Donegal Township has laid off its road crew and will meet with International Union of Operating Engineers Local 66 on Wednesday to discuss differences.
Supervisors voted unanimously on Sept. 12 to lay off the four employees with pay – reducing the road crew to zero – pending the meeting.
If no solution is reached, the employees will be laid off indefinitely starting Friday, according to Phil Binotto, labor negotiator for the township.
The road crew, which works four days a week, has been working under terms of an expired contract since Dec. 31, 2022.
Binotto said the board decided the action was necessary based on what supervisors deem to be the road crew’s lack of productivity.
“This was a very difficult and complex decision for the supervisors. They’re trying to do what’s best for residents. The supervisors are fiduciaries of the taxpayers and are trying to make sure they’re not wasting taxpayer money on a department that is not working as it should,” said Binotto.
Road crew members carry out tasks including road maintenance and repair, plowing snow, cutting grass and trimming trees, and other jobs.
In the meantime, the township does not have a working road crew, which IUOE 66 representative Larry Cardillo said impacts the employees and the community.
“The impact on the employees is loss of employment, and for the township, the services provided by the road crew – maintenance and emergency services – aren’t available. I believe the services, especially emergency services, are very important,” said Cardillo. “They’ve been off all week with no services rendered to the township.”
Cardillo said negotiations between the township and workers are at an impasse.