The Town of North Hempstead’s union president, Tom McDonough, said the town has faced a shortage of union employees for the entire year as town board Republicans opted to remove the hiring of a union laborer Tuesday night from the list of approvals during an acrimonious meeting.

“We’re at the lowest amount of union members since I’ve been president of this union,” said McDonough, president of CSEA Unit 7555.

McDonough, who has been CSEA Unit 7555 president for five years and represents all of the town’s union employees like laborers, said he came to the meeting hoping for eight full-time union employees to be hired, but instead only seven were hired and three resignations were approved.

After Tuesday night’s approvals, he said the town employs 361 union members.

McDonough said that this year he estimated he was short at least 10 union members. He told Schneps Media the town has been “grossly understaffed” for years, as long as three decades.

“What really needs to be done is we need to hire people,” McDonough said.

He said the town’s administration has been relaxed regarding this issue and that they have not been as diligent as they should be in hiring and retaining union employees.

McDonough told Schneps that retention issues can be attributed to lower wages, with some former employees leaving to work for PSEG, the MTA or private industries due to higher salaries. He said many town union employees work second jobs to support themselves and their families.

The union and the town agreed to a four-year contract in December that increased salaries by 11.5% from the beginning of 2023 through the end of 2026. McDonough called the contract “fair.”

“The union employees, we’re the ones in the street sweeping the streets, we’re the ones cutting grass, we’re the ones out there working, getting things done for the taxpayers in this community,” McDonough said.

McDonough told Schneps Media that this could pose safety issues in the town.

The town board opted to strike the hiring of a union employee for a laborer position in the Solid Waste Management Division for an annual salary of $51,601.

Council Members Mariann Dalimonte and Robert Troiano questioned why hiring the laborer was being removed from the vote approving all the hirings, firings and retirements, but Supervisor Jennifer DeSena initially refused to answer the question and just called for the vote to be taken.

“We as council people can’t know why we’re striking an item before we vote on it?” Troiano asked.

DeSena then said it was not ready to be voted on and that it was meant to be withdrawn from the agenda before being posted.

Troiano asked if the hiring would be resubmitted for approval, which DeSena said was possible but did not affirm or deny it. She said she did not know whether it would be.

Troiano asked why it was not ready, but DeSena said she would not get into details since it concerned personnel. She attributed the delay in part to a process issue.

McDonough spoke during the public comment section for the personnel vote, speaking as the union’s president. Before he spoke, DeSena told him she did not believe it to be appropriate for him to speak during the meeting as president, saying it was better to discuss the issue during labor management meetings.

McDonough questioned DeSena’s statement, saying his comments had nothing to do with labor management and persisted in addressing the board at the public meeting.

When McDonough tried to speak, Walsh interrupted him multiple times. McDonough spoke over Walsh and the council member asked why he had to raise his voice.

“Why do I have to keep raising my voice? Why do you have to keep interrupting?” McDonough said to Walsh. “Councilman, I like you, but you don’t have to treat me like everybody else. I think I give everybody a decent amount of respect.”

McDonough said he did not know why Tuesday night’s public comment transpired as it did, as he speaks frequently at town meetings regarding union issues.

“I’m voicing my opinion for the betterment of the town employees,” McDonough said.

The board ultimately voted to remove the hiring from its list of approvals along party lines, with the board’s Republican majority advancing it.

The board’s Democrats – Troiano, Liu and Dalimonte – all voted against striking it from the vote. Troiano said he wanted more information before voting on the removal.