Teamsters Union Member Rich Girard Vies to be Mayor of Manchester, N.H.
Union Endorsed Incumbent Joyce Craig — OPINION
MANCHESTER, NH — In a not-unexpected development, Teamsters Local 633 endorsed incumbent Mayor Joyce Craig rather than one of its own, United Parcel Service truck-loader Rich Girard.
In Girard’s nearly 30-year political career, he has developed a reputation for being anti-union, particularly as regards public school teachers’ unions.
In addition to representing Girard’s fellow UPS workers, the Teamsters is the collective bargaining agent employees at the Manchester Airport Authority, the Manchester City Library, and the Manchester Welfare Department.
The Teamsters also represent the Manchester Police Support Staff, the Manchester School Directors and Coordinators, and the Manchester School Principals.
The contract expired on June 30, 2018. It was not settled until after Girard left the School Board. Many observers attributed the failure of the School Board to reach a contract with the teachers to be his fault.
One of the more infamous incidents in Rich Girard’s political career was the result of his being the Board of the School Committee’s lead negotiator over a new contract with Manchester’s public school teachers. Teachers, instructors and support personnel in the Manchester School District are represented by the NEA-NH.
Serving as an at-large member of the BOSC, Girard was criticized for contacting a high school student, via her school email account, who had criticized his negotiating stance in her high school newspaper
The incident led to the threat of legal action.
Rich Girard is not considered union-friendly by his political supporters and those opposed to him, politically. Ironically, late in life, he finds himself a member of one of the most powerful if not fabled trade unions in the world, The International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
TAGS
#richgirard #mayorjoycecraig #joycecraig #mht #manchesternh #manchestermayor #girardformayor #teamstersunion
