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Show Back Pay Asked in UPEA Suit Utah Public Employees Association Attorney J. Francis Valerga filed suit in Coalville Thursday asking Third District Judge Bryant Croft to award back pay to the municipal employees fired July 22 and scheduled to be reinstated September 14. The workers were offered reinstatement without back pay after a hearing before the City Council August 13. The hearing represented an appeal by City Manager Arlene Loble of an earlier decision of an appeals board to reinstate the workers with pay. Valerga in his suit contends the state statute covering the appelate process for terminated termina-ted public employees does not grant the City Manager the right to appeal the decision to the City council. In urging Loble to take the initiative. City Attorney Mike McCoy contended that portion of the statute was unconstitutional because it denied the elected officials the right to a final say on employee matters. McCoy says he hopes the case will be eventually heard by the Supreme Court in order to clarify the statute for future situations. In filing the suit, the UPEA activated a July 31 suit charging Loble with violating the state's right to work laws. The suit contends Loble tried to prevent employees em-ployees from organizing and Particularly from joining PEA for collective bargaining bargain-ing purposes. The suit seeks to enjoin Loble from any further acts; which would infringe upon the worker's rights to organize orga-nize and be represented collectively at the bargaining table. Since the City Manager maintains she never in any way stood between the ! employees and their right to organize, she says she is I perfectly willing to be enjoined from doing something some-thing she never did nor had any intentions of doing. A tentative hearing date has been set for September ' 21. |