Mich. City to Address Parts Outsourcing Dispute
The City of Lansing, Mich., council will discuss whether a contract with NAPA IBS for parts management violates a collective bargaining agreement with two union employees.

File photo

File photo
The City of Lansing, Mich., council will discuss whether a contract with NAPA IBS for parts management violates a collective bargaining agreement with two union employees at a meeting today, the Lansing State Journal reported.
One council member brought up this concern as well as cost savings and questioned why city council wasn’t informed of the decision to outsource parts. The mayor disputed this charge, stating that the move falls within the city’s contract with union employees, the newspaper reported.
The city entered into an agreement with NAPA IBS beginning February 22. A city memo stated that city staffers had discussed the outsourcing opportunity with the union and parts room employees as far back as 2013. “The fact that the parts room only has two employees, who have served the parts room well, limits our ability to keep pace with the needs of the garage floor,” the memo stated as reason for the switch.
The two employees were transferred to other currently vacant positions, according to a city release.
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