Resolution locking in pay and benefits for Grady EMC employees not approved

A Grady Electric Membership Corporation Board Resolution that would have guaranteed the wages and benefits of current and new employees for a period of three years beginning March 7, 2018 was not approved by the members of the board of directors last week.
However, there appears to be confusion about whether the resolution as presented was rejected or merely tabled.
Adam Starr of Grady EMC’s member services told The Messenger this week that the board voted to table action on the resolution and that social media posts by “Take Back Our Grady EMC” were inaccurate.
Grady EMC board member Gordon Clyatt, a vocal critic of Grady EMC and one of the organizers of the Take Back committee, posted on social media last Wednesday that the resolution has been “tabled” by a vote of 7-0, but later revised his post to say it had been “defeated” 7-0.
Clyatt said he revised the post after he noticed he had incorrectly used the word “tabled” when it actually was “defeated.”
Starr said the board’s decision would be reflected in the minutes, but said the minutes are not made public until they are approved by the board, which does not meet again until April.
Regardless, the resolution was not approved last week. It proposes that all current and new employees will be guaranteed to receive cost of living adjustments biannually, bonuses, five percent year-end adjustments, insurance benefits, retirement benefits, pension benefits, uniforms, paid time off, holidays, and any and all “others as customarily provided to Grady EMC employees” and will “continue thereafter as (sic) so long as the board agrees unless a minimum of 18 months’ notice is provided to the employees prior to any adjustments that would result in a negative net benefit, layoff or job downsizing, or decrease in the current wages and any benefit, based upon their current benefits and wages at that time.”
According to the document, which was distributed by the EMC management to EMC employees last Tuesday, “if the board breaches this agreement and resolution or terminates any employee without cause, they will owe each employee affected the face value of said benefits for the balance of the term or term of notice remaining in full force based upon this agreement and resolution of the Grady EMC board of directors.”
The resolution was recommended by EMC President and General Manager Thomas A. (Bo) Rosser Jr., “to continue the outstanding work that has resulted in these tremendous benefits and that was paramount to Grady EMC receiving recognition as the Large Business of the Year for 2017 in Grady County as well as recognition by Georgia EMC for outstanding safety culture and having been awarded the No Lost Time award for the year 2017.”
According to EMC officials, their employees recently considered unionizing, but ultimately decided against doing so and the proposed resolution would protect the current salaries and benefits of EMC employees.
Tensions have been elevated at the EMC as new directors have been elected and veteran board members ousted by the membership over the course of the last two election cycles.