Walk-Out at Waterworks Ends; State to Arbitrate Pay Dispute

The employees of the Cambridge Water Department Tuesday ended a one-week walk-out and went back to their jobs after the City and the Water Department Association (WDA) agreed to take their case before the State Labor Relations Board.

The top Massachusetts labor relations troubleshooter and Cambridge city officials had ended talks last week without resolving the issues behind a workers' walk-out that nearly shut off the City's water supply last Tuesday morning.

Sixty water department employees walked off their jobs Tuesday, July 24, to protest three one-day suspensions handed down by department superintendent William H. McGuiness to three truck drivers who refused to tow portable water compressors.

The drivers resisted because the activities were not included in their present Civil Service job classifications. "We started following the book the same way the city has been stalling us," Joseph Tichanuk, president of the WDA and one of those suspended, said.

Tichanuk referred to the eight-month contract dispute between the WDA and the city. WDA contends the city is stalling the contract talks.

While the walk-out continued, the WDA left ten filter operators on the job at all times so that there would be no interference in the public water system.

The four issues which have prolonged the contract dispute center on seniority, internal wage parity, wage parity with other workers doing the same jobs in other agencies and dangerous working conditions.

The union maintains that workers in the state Department of Public Works and some City recreation departments get paid $12 to $15 more than the water employees.

The WDA demands that the new equipment recently installed and the highly dangerous chemicals involved warrant at least two men on the post during the same shift. One worker narrowly escaped death from exposure to cholorine, flourine and other toxic gases in the chemical chamber last month.

Guiness yesterday declined to comment on the issues surrounding the walk-out.

Tichanuk complained that both city manager Corcoran and the city council were using delay tactics to "avoid and dodge the issues." He said that the union has had three appointments with the city manager this year when "he simply didn't show up." Corcoran could not be reached for comment.

When Tichanuk took the issue before the city council, the members "took an indefensible and irresponsible hands-off policy" toward the water department," Tichanuk said