Local News in Brief : Anaheim : City Employees Union Criticized by Members

A group of unionized city employees Friday met on the steps of City Hall to protest a decision by their leaders to sever a contract with the Service Employees International Union of Orange County.

The board of directors of the Anaheim Municipal Employees Assn., which represents about 700 clerical and maintenance workers, voted recently to end affiliation with the SEIU, contending that the union had breached its contract by, among other things, not providing a full-time representative.

However, about 40 employees who met at City Hall argued that the board of directors should have sought a vote from the membership and said they have gathered more than 300 petitions demanding that the SEIU contract be reinstated.

Municipal employees association member Sandy Harper, a city building inspector, said dissatisfied members will seek a recall of the 25-member board if no action is taken.

The employees group has been affiliated with the SEIU since April, 1987, under a contract that called for the union to provide organizers and negotiators for the association.