They won't even talk to him until they've had coffee.
Fed-up workers in the Long Island village of Southampton have hit back at their mayor and his cronies after cost-cutting became so drastic that they stopped serving hot drinks.
“Crucially, Mayor William Munger Jr. and his staff came up with the bright idea to remove the coffee, plates and utensils from the dining hall.
“They're all employees who take care of the beaches, the parks and the boats,” a source familiar with the situation, who asked not to be named, told The Washington Post.
“These are low-cost items that are crucial to crews who show up to work at 2 a.m. to clear snow,” added another source.
The coffee-cutting action prompted union members to gather at the scenic region's village hall last month with signs reading “Show Respect!” They were also protesting cuts to overtime hours and delays that prevented the signing of a 2023 contract that they said was incomplete.
“The mayor lives in a multi-million dollar beachfront mansion and is depriving his staff of coffee and vacations,” a source familiar with the situation told The Post.
“It all started with the contract not being signed. [Manger] “The company was trying to take away some of the employees' sick days, adjusting sick days and vacation days. They were unhappy with their contracts, which caused the collapse,” the source added.
Munger Jr. became mayor of the village of Southampton last July. At the time, I vowed to take the lead. He will lead the administration with a “balanced approach” that “embraces progress while respecting our cherished traditions.”
A representative from his office denied that coffee deliveries had actually been stopped, but said orders were being “better managed due to improved budget management.”
But public employee union officials say cuts to overtime hours have caused chaos in recent months, with village roads in disrepair and local business owners complaining about overflowing trash. According to the union.
Another union source told the Post, “We had a contract, it's been in effect since last year. It took months for the village to get us an error-free copy. They dragged everything out. The village board was angry because lawyers were charging them hundreds and thousands of dollars.”
“As of January, our legal budget was depleted and we had to raise more money because our lawyers were dragging everything out, which caused the village to incur further costs,” the union source said.
Fearing the unrest the rally would cause, a source told the Post that “CSEA's contract was presented to union representatives and agreed to at a village council meeting just before the Aug. 8 rally.”
“They came to us 10 minutes before the rally was set to begin and said they wanted to sign the agreement,” Mary Ann Wright, vice president of the CSEA Southampton Village chapter, said in a statement.
A representative for Munger told the Post that Munger's recent “Letter to the Editor” Last month he contributed an article to the Southampton Press entitled “False Allegations”.
“Under my administration, the village will make every effort to address employee concerns and treat all employees with respect,” the manager said. Written It was sent to the Southampton Press last month in response to a letter to the editor sent Aug. 15 by former Mayor Jesse Warren about labor relations issues.
“The Mayor and Commissioners have a fiduciary responsibility to safeguard taxpayer dollars and eliminate unnecessary expenses. We provide our employees with fair compensation and generous benefits, and we appreciate their efforts to provide great service to our residents.”
In an emailed statement to The Washington Post, Munger added, “The Village is not in violation of the Taylor Act. The Village is in compliance with its contracts with the Village labor union. All union employees have received pay increases as required by their contracts. All required overtime is paid to employees.”
