Faison’s Updates Include New Labor Attorney, Department Heads Training

 At a succinct meeting of the Town Council on Tuesday, Dec. 3, Town Manager Austin Faison shared updates on four key issues impacting Winthrop and its citizens.

-New Labor Attorney

Faison introduced the Town’s latest hire, the new Labor Attorney, Elizabeth Valerio. Valerio is a partner at Valerio, Dominello & Hillman.

According to her website, Valerio has experience representing government entities in their bargaining goals with labor unions. She has represented the Mass. Department of Labor Relations, the Mass. Commission Against Discrimination, the Mass. Civil Service Commission, the Mass. Joint Labor Management Committee and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In addition, Valerio is a guest lecturer on the topics of employee discipline, employee leave, and education law and labor issues. She was awarded the Massachusetts Super Lawyer distinction in 2005.

-Department Heads Training

Faison announced that department heads will be attending an offsite training on Dec. 17. The training has to do with keeping them informed of the laws regarding discrimination in the workplace. Massachusetts has laws on the books prohibiting unlawful workplace discrimination based on an individual’s race, color, creed, native country, ancentry or sex. In addition, Massachusetts offers employees protection from sex-based wage discrimination, as well as special protections for female workers who become pregnant.

The training will also include a goal-setting activity that will inform the budget process.

-Middle School Zoning

The process for determining the zoning of the middle school is being assessed by legal experts outside of town government. The purpose of this is to provide Council and residents with viable alternatives.

-Win2030

The town manager provided a brief update on Win2030, which is the town’s vision for what it wants to achieve in the coming decade. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council provided a schedule for the last half of fiscal year 2020.