I’m shy of details — and the vigorous Forrest City Times Herald  requires on-line subscriptions for its ongoing coverage of the issue — but the formation of a public employees union local in city government in Forrest City has led to a labor dispute.

The AFSCME local was formed last year. On July 1, the workers proposed a grievance procedure to the City Council. It failed on a 4-4 vote, according to my source. The workers see Alderman Roger Breeding as a leader of opposition to adoption of the procedure.

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A spokesman for AFSCME had originally sent a message saying the group today would picket a furniture store where Breeding is a manager, but a message today said the informational picket would be at City Hall, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

I note a summary of a recent news article in the Times-Herald reports a 9.1 percent unemployment rate in St. Francis County.

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