The City of Eden Prairie employs between 270 and 280 fulltime regular employees. of this number about 60 or so belong to a union. That union, the International Union of Operating Engineers – Local #49, represents our Street Maintenance, Outside Utilities, Inside Utilities, Park Maintenance, and Fleet Maintenance employees.
I would say that we have very good employee relations with Local #49. One of the reasons for that is the Labor-Management Committee. This committee has been in place in Eden Prairie for over a decade. There is a culture of consensus and good relations on this committee.
The Committee is composed of an equal number of labor (local #49) and management employees. The photo below is from this morning’s meeting. From left to right, that’s Wes Dunsmore, Park Maintenance supervisor; Brian Middleton, Park Maintenance worker; Tom Lammers, Streets Maintenance worker; and Bob Lambert, Director of Parks & Recreation
The Labor Management Committee meets once each month to discuss issues effecting either or both parties. Today we discussed the subjects of working “straight 8″ shifts, which are 8 straight hours of work with no paid breaks of lunches and how we might successfully launch a new blvd and right-of-way mowing program for this comming summer.
There is a high level of trust around the table. That makes for a productive meeting and a good relationship.
