By DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2015) — There will be no Brien Center strike on July 6. That’s what sources are telling THE PLANET.

Management negotiations with Brien staff have gone on for a fruitless year. The contract between Brien and SIEU Local 509 expired in October last year. It was extended to the first of this year. Workers have been without a deal since then. Clinicians and care staff cite “poverty wages” as the main issue. Staff claims that low pay has led to high turnover resulting in lack of continuity in care that’s behind a severe loss of quality. Reporting on the case by the mainstream media has been slanted toward the union. No surprise there, but in this case, there’s a weightier “other side” that needs expression.

Subpopulation of the ‘Needy” Is, Sadly, Pittsfield’s Growth Industry

Pittsfield and to a lesser extent the rest of Berkshire County can ill-afford a strike at The Brien. Alcohol abuse, drug addiction, behavioral issues, parental incompetency, unprecedented youth intransigence, and care for a growing number of transient needy sent to the city by the fine print in so many state grants have driven this “high-maintenance” subpopulation to unsustainable levels. A strike would make a bad situation worse.

Unfortunately, this subpopulation is Pittsfield’s one-and-only boom industry. Presently the taxpayer-funded Brien Center treats 10,000 families. They consume services far higher than the norm and contribute far less in return, draining the community chest.

The existence of such facilities comes down to which of two lesser iniquities is preferable: Have no treatment for this group, save short-term on tax outlays, and let a derelict wave wash inundate the city or provide public funding and at least put a wet cloth over the raging social wildfire. Sadly, Pittsfield, once home of a booming industrial economy and 60,000 more-or-less respectable citizens has become a city with no economy and 40,000, probably half of whom have serious behavioral issues.

No Strike, Sources Say

Brien CEO Christine Macbeth walks the tightrope trying to balance the competing needs of staff and clients. She reports to a strong board that expects clinical excellence, access, and affordability. This isn’t Canyon Ranch or the Betty Ford Center. This is community triage on a dime for a growing list of ever-more-intractable cases. [ED. NOTE: Board members include Richard Lombardi, president; Paul Marchetti, first vice president and treasurer;  Linda Fables, second vice president; Kaitlyn King, clerk; Christa Ames, Robert Bardwell III, George Membrino, Tom Stokes, Bill Sturgeon, Robert Tabakin, and Michelle Whalley].

THE PLANET has infiltrated deep into both sides of the negotiation, talking to those in the room for what one source calls the “talks within the talks, [involving] fewer people, less chatter, and more dialog.”  Our informants have spoken on strict assurance of anonymity, given the sensitivity of the issue, especially the secret talks. There, sources say, substantial progress has been made. A deal may even be imminent.

A management source expressed confidence that the remaining “minor” issues will be addressed prior to the July 6 deadline. “There will be no strike,” the source told us. Management has offered a 1.5% pay hike. Workers want 5%. The Solomon-like compromise, sources say, will result in a hike in the 1.5%-2% range.

A member of the union with knowledge of the secret negotiations concedes the strike threat is “a bluff.” She told THE PLANET she didn’t agree with striking “because it would mean shutting the place down. I do not want to be a part of that, and I know most [union members] feel this way.” When asked about management’s prediction of “no strike,” she concurred with it.

Strike is Not an Option

Raya Kirby, who intensive care coordinator at The Brien, makes a fair point about health insurance. Brien staff, she says, have seen health insurance premiums rise 34.5%. That’s a large bite to swallow, but, given the criminally-messed-up state of health care in America, that can’t be helped. The issue also raises a relevant aside: Pittsfield municipal employees have a full 85% of the their health insurance bills picked up by taxpayers. For some retirees, it’s 90%. Yet try addressing that inequitable split, and they’ll squawk. They need a large dose of Welcome To The Real World. Brien workers will be glad to administer the medicine.

In down-and-out Pittsfield, a strike at the Brien is not an option. Management knows it and the union knows it. If our sources are correct, there will be no strike.

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“Cattivo come adesso non lo sono stato mai.” — Bjork, “Domestica,” (2013).

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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