State law wont protect those who walk off job

North Carolina law doesnt protect the rights of striking public employees, state and federal experts say.The degree of disciplinary action taken against Greenville sanitation workers who walked off the job Wednesday will depend on what happens in the next few days, Public Works Director Wes Anderson said.North Carolina and Virginia are both states that ban public zone employees and governmental entities from participating in strikes and collective bargaining and offer no protections if they go on strike, said Steven Kreisberg, director of collective bargaining with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the nations largest public zone employees union.Now that they have gone on strike, there is no legal protections for their actions. North Carolina prevents strikes among public workers, he said.The law is pretty black and white. North Carolina statutes prohibit units of government from engaging in collective bargaining and prevents strikes by employees, said Robert Joyce, a lawyer on the faculty of the University of North Carolina School of Government.Joyce said this is the first time in his 31 years at the school that he has heard of public employees striking in North Carolina.Some North Carolina local governments do have provisions in their personnel laws that require cause be shown before firing employees, Joyce said.The city of Greenville is an at-will employer, which means it can terminate employees at any time, said Gerry Case, human resources director.However, the city has discipline which focus on progressive discipline, which gives employees a chance to correct their actions before being terminated, Case said.Case said her office received no communication from public works or the city managers office about striking workers Wednesday.The tardiness policy that ignited the walk off was sent to all public works employees, she said. Tardiness has been a problem in the sanitation division, she said.There are no winners in a situation like this because the public is lo! sing ser vices and employees are risking their jobs, Kreisberg said.Kreisberg said he doesnt know details about the Greenville situation, but it suggests there has been a failure of management to listen to employees.People dont walk off their jobs only because their employer is trying to enforce the rules, he said. If they are willing to jeopardize their livelihoods by walking off the job, there is some-more than only simple rule enforcement involved.Contact Ginger Livingston at glivingston@reflector.com or 252-329-9570.