Only four and a half months into the administration of Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, the situation in the Inspections Division became critical yesterday when a meeting of the PMEA, the non-supervisory employees union, was hijacked by the issues that concerned the Division's employees.
The building friction was previously reported here.
As a result of yesterday's meeting, Plainfield Today was told, grievances are being lodged against Nagy Sileem, the mayor's new hire to oversee the Division; his boss, Jenny Wenson Maier, director of the Department of Public Works and Urban Development; and City Administrator Carlton McGee in a letter hand-delivered to the mayor by union president Cynthia Crawford.
The situation was deemed critical enough that Assemblyman Green reportedly rushed to City Hall and was closeted with Mayor Robinson-Briggs, McGee, Wenson Maier and Sileem for much of the afternoon.
The revolt of the PMEA membership puts its president, Cynthia Crawford, in a ticklish position. She and her husband Andre, president of the police union, were among the strongest backers of Robinson-Briggs' run for mayor.
As president of the non-supervisory workers' union, Crawford was expected to deliver a docile workforce for the changes contemplated by the new administration -- including changes in the Inspections Division.
At the same time, the attempt to promote her as a civilian employee in the Police Division set off a ruckus when Chief Santiago refused to sign off on the promotion, saying. Crawford was not qualified for the job. The Mayor then put the Chief on administrative leave.
The upshot of that incident was that the Chief sued and was reinstated, the city's case being dismissed "with prejudice." The attempt to promote Crawford ran off the rails, and the Chief is now looking for damages over the forced leave.
Union members are worried that Crawford may put up a front of fighting for them while working behind the scenes to subvert the workers' complaints so as not to jeopardize her relationship with the Mayor and the job advancement promise that is rumored.
Can you say 'conflict of interest'?
The nub of the complaints seems to be Sileem's alleged high-handedness and failure to communicate policy and procedure changes in an evenhanded manner.
Meanwhile, Sileem is also engaged in a war of attrition against long-time Inspection head Jocelyn Pringley -- of which more tomorrow.
Will the mayor be forced to rebuke Sileem and reassign him? If so, where would he go?
Will the uproar force Sileem out? That would be bad news for the administration, which is rumored to have given him the job at the behest of Union County Dem chairwoman Charlotte DeFilippo.
Will the union members rebel against Crawford's leadership, which some at least see as compromised?
What will become of the administration's slogan, "Unity in the Community"?
Stay tuned.
-- Dan Damon
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