The City of Bloomington reached out to the Bloomingtonian with the following statement Friday after the AFSCME union, which represents about 150 city workers, said negotiations were delayed by budget hearings this week.
The City of Bloomington administration said,
“We postponed a scheduled bargaining session before the start of budget hearings for the unremarkable reason that the Administration was working until virtually the last minute on items in the budget relevant to our negotiations, including new benefits available to union members. That postponement was not a “tactic” aimed at gaining an advantage at the bargaining table.
Meeting during budget hearings is very difficult simply because of everyone’s hectic schedules during that time, and typically AFSCME bargaining has concluded after the budget is finalized. We have offered to meet with the union again starting next week, and as we have repeatedly told the union, the outcome of these negotiations is not dictated by the budget process.””
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