Dept of Labor Relations Issues Second Complaint Against Town of Foxborough for Denying Wage Increases To Steelworkers Local

Attorney James Hykel persuaded the Department of Labor Relations to issue a complaint after the Town of Foxborough, for the second year in a row, to refuse cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) to wages of employees newly represented by the United Steelworkers.

In 2014, a majority of certain supervisory and clerical employees of Foxborough authorized the Steelworkers to bargain on their behalf for improved working conditions. The Town then had a legal obligation to continue the same working conditions unless and until it bargained in good faith about new terms with the Steelworkers. For years, the Town by-laws provided for annual COLA increases to employees, including the supervisory and clerical employees now represented by the Steelworkers. But on July 1, 2014 and July 1, 2015, the Town denied those increases to the new members of the Steelworkers, even though the Union never agreed to postpone such wages.

Following two investigations six months apart, the Department of Labor Relations issued complaints alleging that the Town's withholding of wage increases violated its statutory duty to bargain in good faith. The Department is scheduling hearings to determine whether the allegations are true and whether the Town violated the Law.