||| FROM CORY HARRINGTON |||
Today, I received a letter from IBEW Local 77 dated May 20, 2026 directly addressing that claim.
According to the union representative:
• Union negotiations do NOT prevent the Board from conducting a neutral third-party investigation into workplace concerns.
• The Board is NOT prohibited from communicating with staff members regarding workplace or operational issues.
• Prior Board investigations and interviews with employees have already occurred in the past.
• The union itself supports an independent outside investigation into the concerns raised by employees.
This is important because the inability to communicate with staff has repeatedly been presented to members as a limitation tied to the union process. The union has now publicly clarified that this is not the case.
At this point, the question is no longer whether the Board can independently investigate workplace concerns and hear directly from employees. The question is whether they are willing to.
Transparency and accountability matter — especially when it concerns the operation and stability of our public water systems.
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When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes the circus.
It’s time for the Board to ACT. Following Tuesday’s Board meeting, a state certified operator approached me to say he/she was halfway out the door…the hemorrhaging of trained, experienced staff MUST BE STOPPED…the Board can do this with one, swift, decisive stroke…whether that would be WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY to engage a neutral third-party investigator OR take more drastic action is up to the Board. Certainly the Board can count on the standing-room-only crowd of EWUA co-op MEMBER-OWNERS who attended the Board meeting for support.
If need be, the EWUA Board could always reach out to a wealth of legal talent and management experience in the membership to stiffen its spine.
…just the opinion of an ex-EWUA Board member…
This should be concerning to every member of EWUA. This is also why we need public municipal utilities, even if it costs more. The cost of what has happened here is far worse than if we had just paid more money to create a PUBLIC essential utility because trust has been broken, staff has been hurt and intimidated, and the Public has no real say. this is why I am against private essential utilities ‘co-ops.’ I agree with the Union’s stance that an outside independent investigation needs to be called.
In a private utility, we have no recourse. Water never should have been made into a private coop. Those two words seem an oxymoron. We can’t ask for Public records because private entities are not taxing districts and are under no mandate to give Public Records. There is no transparency, only more contentiousness and maltreatment of those who speak out. An entity is only as good as its governing body is fair and representative of its members and all employees.
I have not been able to stomach going to another meeting after the one meeting I went to months ago, after people were shamed for asking questions. Someone besides Cory needs to be watching.
I guess the question in my mind is, what, exactly can be done? We don’t even get to vote for the board members. So what should we do, and how do we get together to have a greater voice than just individual voices? If people feel I am attacking EWUA board, I ask them to consider how employees who were attacked, threatened, and intimidated must feel. If everyone doesn’t have a voice at the table, then no one does.
Thank you, Cory
And what Fred Klein says. Bravo, Fred. Many good ideas have been brought forward by you and others.