Parking partners hit impasse with union

Members of Harrisburg's parking union are not budging despite the latest round of wooing by a private partnership offering to lease the city's parking facilities for $215 million.

It's been more than two weeks since the partnership led by New York City-based real estate investor Jacob A. Frydman mailed individual letters to union employees that promised higher pay and job protections if the deal goes through.

"The members have gotten the letter. We have talked about the letter. They are not interested. And a lot of them just don't want to talk about it anymore. They've made their decision. And that's basically it," said Gail Lewis, who leads the union.

The letter was sent after union members voted unanimously not to negotiate with the partnership, Harrisburg Public Parking. Many parking authority employees declined to talk last week when approached by reporters. A handful who did were adamantly opposed to the lease.

Garage attendant Paula Mills had this blistering message for Frydman:

"Get out of Harrisburg," she said.

Attendant Charles Franklin Jr. had a similar view.

"No one wants this," he said.

Frydman said this position does not make sense - and that it's not so clear all union members oppose the deal.

"We have every intention to bring all the union members on with these generous terms and be contractually bound to continue to have them employed with HPP," he said. "There's a small contingent who are trying to sabotage what is a great deal for Harrisburg and a great deal for the union membership. Something doesn't smell right.

"I think the union will eventually come to the table," he added.

In response to fears about the future of the union, Frydman said Harrisburg Public Parking would be obliged by law to keep the union in place even after its current contract expires. In his letter, he reserved the right to lay off workers if market conditions demand it, a prospect he called unlikely.

Lewis and other employees said it comes down to a matter of trust. Lewis said the employees have watched enough takeovers to believe that what is promised does not match up with the real outcome. The union is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 521b.

A clause in the union's contract requires that union workers remain employed by the city's parking authority in the event of a lease. Harrisburg Public Parking wants the workers to be on the private operator's payroll, so the partners need the union to void that clause. Frydman said he is not considering ways to get a deal done without union support, but he did not rule out weighing such options in the future.

Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed could not be reached for comment this morning.