Orland Public Works Staff Claim Retaliation, Mismanagement By Village

ORLAND PARK, IL — Orland Park Public Works staff this week rallied before the Village Board, coming forward with concerns about alleged retaliation, low morale, "toxic" work culture, abuse of power and mismanagement by Village staff.

In a coordinated effort to represent the department, six employees and one ex-employee stepped forward to enumerate incidents they say show deep-rooted issues in the department.

"As a dedicated employee, I’m here to address a pressing concern within our organization—a lack of accountability amongst some of our management team, instances of retaliation, and inappropriate jokes," employee Georgie Szymczak told the board. "These issues have the potential to undermine our success and must be addressed."

Staff said they were coming to the board with their concerns as a last-ditch effort, after pursuing other, more formal channels.

"We’ve tried going through different chains of command, and we haven’t gotten where we wanted to go, so we thought you guys and the public were our best option," said employee Frank Gabriel.

Gabriel and Szymczak, along with AFSCME Local 368 acting president Tim Lynch, warned of sinking morale and high turnover in the department, stemming from what they say has been a deteriorating relationship between the staff and leadership.

Lynch is an electrician with the department and a 22-year employee. He's a longtime resident of Orland Park. Lynch said AFSCME Local 368 has attempted to facilitate a stronger working relationship with the Village and management since the department's overarching changes in leadership.

"... The Union officials spoke about looking for ways of building positive relationships between the new management staff and elected officials and came up with a list of ways to be proactive and work together," Lynch told Patch. "Since that initial message was sent, the Union as a whole has been met with resistance, harassment, and retaliation. This has ultimately destroyed the morale of the workforce and has created an unsafe and toxic environment to work in."

Lynch and Szymczak complained of inappropriate and offensive language used by Operations Manager Jack Neven in March 2022. Specifically, they noted a crude sexual remark made during a training session, among other instances. Eight employees filed written complaints with human resources, Lynch said. Village officials in response issued Neven a written reprimand, according to documentation provided by Village Manager George Koczwara.

"Another disheartening issue is the inappropriate jokes and banter from some of the management team," Szymczak said to the board. "It is essential to recognize that inappropriate comments, offensive jokes, or any behavior that demeans or belittles others has no place within the organization. Such actions not only create discomfort and distress, but also contribute to a toxic work environment. The employees deserve a professional and respectful atmosphere where they can thrive and be productive."

Other concerns centered around snow plow shifts, Lynch and others said. Former employee Jamey Davies detailed how drivers were instructed to work 16-hour shifts, with 8 hours off before another 16-hour shift. Such shifts, Davies said, jeopardize the safety of the drivers and any others on the road.

"I don’t know how many of you have been in a plow truck for 16 hours," he said. "Then try to go home and have kids and a family and try to get sleep and have to come back for another 16-hour shift. ... There were people who were falling asleep. That put us in danger and put the public in danger. But our manager thought it was a great idea to do that."

Davies had hoped to complete his career at the department, he told the board.

"I thought I was going to retire here, but I had to leave early along with two other people that I got hired on with," he said. “They are also gone. Upper management doesn’t care about us, and that’s a fact. They feed us to the wolves.

"I wish I could have stayed, 100 percent."

Lynch alleges that after attempts to unify the staff and urge them to work with management, he was written up for insubordination and issued notice of contemplation of termination in November 2022.

"Union officials have been written up for insubordination," Lynch told the board. "They have been told they were going to be fired for insubordination, bullying, coercion – all false, made-up accusations with no backing."

Lynch said that in two decades of employment with the Village, he had never been written up or received a verbal warning up until that point.

"The Union has been extremely diligent in the documentation of all harassment and retaliation and have presented this documentation on multiple occasions to Public Works Management, Human Resources, and both the Village Manager and Assistant Village Manager," Lynch said. "Unfortunately, the attempts to shed light on the harassment and retaliation at Public Works has done the opposite and drawn even further abuse to its workers."

In reprimand documents provided by Koczwara, Lynch is documented as being reprimanded for "continued attempts at coercion and intimidation of fellow co-workers within the workplace, and insubordination to Public Works management." Village staff also accused Lynch of misuse of work time, too much idle time and extended lunch breaks. Lynch refuted the claims, alleging the reprimand was issued in retaliation to his complaints about timely payment of employees.

Staff on Monday also voiced concerns over use of the Public Works facilities and staff's time to repair managers' personal vehicles and property.

The issues run deep in management, Lynch says, naming Public Works Director Joel VanEssen, Assistant Director Brian Fei and Operations Manager Neven.

"This type of behavior from village officials, management staff, and the environment it creates for its workforce also impacts the tax paying residents of this town," Lynch said. "We have lost 10 percent of our workforce since October of 2022, which is unheard of. If this type of treatment continues, there won’t be a workforce left to plow snow or make repairs on the delicate infrastructure the residents rely on."

Village Manager Koczwara said the board heard the staff's grievances, and "a comprehensive evaluation is being undertaken.

"Since the Village takes very seriously these concerns, a comprehensive evaluation is being undertaken to review these matters," Koczwara said. "It is anticipated that a full reporting will be provided to the Village Board in the coming weeks, but I am confident that what will be demonstrated is a continued adherence to professionalism and accountability."

Koczwara went on to dispute workers' allegations of retaliation.

"Claims of retaliation made recently are patently false since they go against the leadership philosophy that is being developed within the organization," he said. "The Village values all of the hard-working men and women of its organization. Without their dedication, the Village would not be able to fulfill its mission of enhancing the quality of life to those who live in, work in, and shop in Orland Park."

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau was absent from Monday's meeting. Lynch said union representation and Public Works staff plan to speak up again in the future.

"As a collective, we have been and are still standing up for what we believe in," Lynch said. "We believe in being treated as human beings, with decency, and with respect.

"For years, the employees of the Village of Orland Park have watched and listened to Mayor Pekau 'preach about putting people over politics and standing up for what he believes in.' Clearly this doesn’t apply to his workforce."

Village officials strive for a "Mission First, People Always," approach to governance, Koczwara said.

"... the organization is built on dynamic and respectful workplace relationships, while also achieving our mission," he said.

The Village has "worked to create a quality culture where collaboration thrives," he said, and "this type of change sometimes causes conflict for those unwilling to adopt such a culture."

The Village "runs a lean organization, which means that every single employee plays a very important role," he wrote.

"Any employee not carrying their own weight can also be a cause for conflict, since it is their fellow co-workers who have to take up the slack in fulfilling our mission.

"Our leadership approach is one that ensures that when such conflict occurs, it is rare and brief, and handled with progressive and appropriate discipline as outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was negotiated in good faith by the Village."