By David Porter

Department of Public Works employees in Amherst have passed nine months working without a contract, though the head of the union representing the workers told the Current that recent developments have given him cause for optimism that an agreement can be reached. 

Meanwhile, the Town Council took two actions at its April 6 meeting to address the potential relocation of DPW workers to temporary space while discussions continue on replacing the current DPW building on South Pleasant Street. At a special meeting on March 30, Town Manager Paul Bockelman had brought up the idea of shifting some employees out of the crumbling headquarters without waiting for the beginning of construction on a new facility to take that step. 

A new DPW building has been debated for more than a decade, and a 2016 study concluded the structure was “outdated, undersized and functionally deficient.” The council’s DPW Building Committee is focusing on a plan to construct a new building on the current site. It is next scheduled to meet on Wednesday, April 8.

At Monday’s meeting the council voted unanimously to have Bockelman produce a relocation plan within 60 days, with the goal of moving all employees to temporary spaces by October 1. It also voted to add a DPW employee as a voting member of the Building Committee, in consultation with the DPW union. 

Bockelman told the council at the March 30 meeting that he and his staff were reviewing three options for temporary, or “swing”, space to relocate DPW staff, including four classrooms at the North Amherst School formerly used by Head Start; the Wildwood School, once the new elementary school opens in the fall; and the Ruxton site in North Amherst, which would require new construction and permitting. . 

“Lately it’s like, why wait?” Bockelman told the council. “Let’s utilize swing space now. The need is now.”

The current DPW building began as a trolley barn in the early 20th century before it was retrofitted in the 1940s. The 2016 study by consultants Weston & Sampson found the building in moderate to poor shape with numerous structural cracks in the masonry, a decaying roof and minimal or nonexistent insulation. (See also this 2016 presentation about the need for a new DPW building.) In recent months DPW employees have regaled the council and public with stories of water dripping through electric light fixtures, rampant mold and poor ventilation that sometimes forces employees to go outside to avoid fumes.

The building’s shoddy state, combined with what the union says are wages that don’t measure up to those offered in neighboring towns, is a factor in the department’s difficulties retaining employees, according to Andrew Brace, president of the Amherst DPW Association that represents about 60 employees. Brace told the Current that the majority of the DPW’s non-supervisory staff have three years’ experience or less; he told the council that only three workers hold the required license to cover the wastewater plant, which operates 365 days a year and treats about 4 million gallons of sewage daily.

It can also make it more difficult to attract good talent. 

“We often hire people with zero experience,” he told the Current. “We sometimes get people who’ve never run a Weedwacker.”

Negotiations began in November 2024, but until March the parties hadn’t met for several months as mediation and fact-finding proceeded. Brace was optimistic after a March 18 meeting he told the Current at the time was “the most productive meeting we’ve had through the whole process.” Since then, the town has sent drafts of a Memorandum of Agreement that the union is currently reviewing, Brace said this week.

Bockelman didn’t address specific questions from the Current, citing the ongoing negotiations, but said in a statement, “Our DPW workers are highly valued colleagues. Their incredible work has been on full display during the multiple large snowstorms this Winter and the subsequent clean-up efforts. They are on duty seven-days-a-week serving the Town to ensure vital services are readily available. I respect each of them and am committed to working with our union leaders to reach a collective bargaining settlement that is fair, that makes needed investments, and that is financially sustainable for the Town.”