Episode 5: Reuben Simmons And His Fight vs The City Of Beacon To Save His Job
UPDATE 7-30-2020: The City of Beacon is responding to a series of questions we sent to them. We are awaiting a response from them. Meanwhile, the list of questions is at the bottom of this article.
Reuben Simmons was born and raised in Beacon. He has two sisters and his parents are mixed race. That detail was never a defining characteristic about Reuben until after he spoke at an open mic at the second Black Lives Matter March in Beacon in June 2020. Usually people know him as Coach Yogi, as he coaches youth football for the Beacon Bears, and youth basketball for Beacon Hoops. He is the founder of I Am Beacon, an organization in Beacon that connects anyone in the community and helps them stay involved. Reuben works for Beacon’s Highway Department. He started years ago as a summer intern, and stuck around, making it his career. He studied Criminal Justice at Dutchess Community College, and Sociology at Catholic University of America. Reuben went on to apply that knowledge to his civil service career for the Highway Department, as well as his role for his union.
During Reuben’s speech, at the Black Lives Matter March, Reuben spoke for the first time about his career in the Highway Department. Not many people may have noticed this detail, but at one point, Reuben had been promoted within the department to become Highway Superintendent. He held that position for less than a year before he was demoted. He continues to work for the department as a Maintenance Worker.
Pictured above is a copy of the unsigned letter from the Highway Department that is referenced in this podcast, as well as in former Mayor Randy Casale’s podcast, that was circulated to City Council during the decision making process to demote Reuben. We have reached out to the City Council member mentioned in this podcast to see if she had further comment about how or if the letter impacted her voting decision on employment, and were replied to by the City Administrator, Anthony Ruggiero, with an offer to speak with himself and Lance Klein, an attorney specializing in management-side labor law for the City of Beacon’s law firm, Keane and Beane. We have responded with an invitation to them to appear on this “Wait, What Is That?” podcast if they have anything further to contribute to this story, after they listen to Reuben’s interview in this episode.
Reuben’s Resume:
City of Beacon Summer Help in parks 2002-2008
Laborer 2008-2012
Maintenance Worker 2012-2017
Highway Superintendent 2017-2018
Maintenance Worker May 2018-August 2019
Working Supervisor August 2018-March 2020
Maintenace Worker March 2020-Present
Union President for City of Beacon CSEA Local 814 unit 6662 2009-2017
While serving on the planning board with Reuben for the Rock Out For Mental Health event Reuben organized in 2019, “Wait, What Is That?” co-host Katie was writing an article about what inspired Reuben to start this initiative. She went to Reuben’s LinkedIn to get his proper job title of Highway Superintendent, so that she spelled it right and all that jazz, when she noticed that his job title was Maintenance Worker. She refreshed the screen a few times, and saw that sure enough, Maintenance Worker was above the role of Highway Superintendent.
Never having seen a job decention like that in LinkedIn, she asked Reuben about it. At the time, he stated that he was going through some things at work and wasn’t able to talk about it because of union rules. A year later, his job demotion secured and a new Highway Superintendent, Michael Manzi, promoted and voted in, Reuben took to the microphone at the Beacon4Black Lives March to share his story.
In this episode, you will hear Reuben mention a letter. During former Mayor Randy Casale’s interview, Randy also mentioned this letter. The letter was a small detail in the larger story of how and why Reuben lost his job position, but it is a detail nonetheless. The letter was typed onto a plain piece of paper, not on letterhead, and was not signed. The opening paragraph states that it was written by the Highway Department, which at the time, employed Michael Manzi before he replaced Reuben as Highway Superintendent.
As of today, Reuben continues to work for the Highway Department, and undergoes a series of complaints written up against him and placed into his file. For instance: one day last year, Reuben attended a planning meeting for the Rock Out For Mental Health event that he and Katie were on. The meeting was at 9am. Reuben was at work, with his team just down the street getting breakfast at Mr. Vs. Reuben waved to his then boss, and stepped into the meeting, which at the time was in the Telephone Building, before Katie moved offices. During the day, Reuben reported the clocking out for that meeting on his time card, yet the attendance was written up against him and placed in his employment file, which currently continues to get thicker.
This episode is long - but we kept all of the details in because they include how a job for the city works - the legal parts of it. It is a “Civil Service” job, which means that it follows rules that Dutchess County sets, and has a lot of particular details that must met, like tests taken and what happens if the City makes an offer to the first person on the job offer list, and that person declines. Like a good board game, there are a lot of rules.
Give it a listen, as it will help you follow along with the search for Beacon’s new police chief, as well as when other employment opportunities arise in this city, or any municipality you follow.
PRESS PLAY
Timeline Of Events Referenced In This Episode
“I have experienced unfair treatment, harassment, and retaliation in the Highway Department that has continued after my efforts to bring a number of issues to the attention of city management and leadership. I share my story as a response to the many narratives and rumors spread by childish individuals and because I don’t want it happening to anyone else.”
With the different technicalities in play, we have asked Reuben for a timeline of events referenced to in this podcast. To help you follow along, those events are as follows, in Reuben’s words.
Civil Service Test “Superintendent of Streets” called for by the City - 2016/2017
Simmons appointed to position - 2017
Civil Service notifies City that Simmons does not qualify to take the test because “I never held a supervisors title” - 2017
Test given - 2017
Reuben discovers that “Superintendent of Streets” is an outdated job title for the work being done - 2017
City of Beacon [allegedly] fails to reclassify job - 2018
List from test available - 2018
List “broken” in 2018 when candidate with the highest score (Mark) turns down the job offer. According to Reuben, when the top candidate turns down an offer, flexibility opens to hire other people not in the order of the list.
Anonymous letter written (shown above) in opposition to the City to offer Mark the position. Says Reuben: “Letter attacks my character. Letter pushes for the appointment of our current Superintendent Michael ‘Mickey’ Manzi.” - 2018
Anonymous letter given to City Council member, Jodi McCredo, who reads it during a private Executive Session meeting discussing Reuben’s job. Says Jodi when A Little Beacon Blog reached out for comment: “I barely remember that letter. It wasn't signed and I don't remember if it was on any type of letterhead. I brought it to the Council's attention because it seemed like the right thing to do, but I didn't think much about it since I didn't know who sent it and I don't put much weight into anything that I can't back up or verify. It was only discussed briefly in Executive Session so I'm surprised that Randy's talking about it and that Reuben even knows about it. It had absolutely no influence on any decisions.” - 2018
City appoints Manzi to Superintendent position. At that appointment, employees of the Highway Department were in the audience. When it came time to vote, Jodi turned to them to ask: “What do you guys think?” She was met with shouts of agreement and applause after she voted Yes to appointing Michael Manzi. The rest of the board also voted unanimously. Hooting and hollering happened after the vote happened, and then Mayor Casale told them to settle down, that this wasn’t a football game. None of the Black employees (3 in total) were at the voting or told of the appointment. The video of that vote is below. You can find it at minute 50:17. - 2018
Regarding Manzi Management, Reuben says: “A meeting was called for by the three Black workers under Manzi supervision to address issues that are looking to be racially motivated within the department. Nothing comes out of the meeting, and the workplace continues to be uncomfortable, hostile, and unfair for the three employees. Examples: we have been denied training opportunities, denied opportunities to gain contractual financial benefits, and holding up promotion opportunities. As well as receiving bogus write up of disciplines to be added to employees’ personal files.”
Note:
The current Superintendent of Streets, Michael Manzi, is actually listed as Highway Superintendent on the City of Beacon’s website, as of August 2020. During public City Council meetings, the City Administrator refers to the position as Highway Superintendent. While the City may change this on the website once they read it, it is noted that after Reuben lost his job for being told that there is no Highway Superintendent job, because it is really Highway Superintendent, the public listing was not changed, nor the reference to it in meetings.
FAST FORWARD
The part of this City Council meeting referenced in the podcast is at minute 51:18.
Just skip ahead on the video strip.
Questions Awaiting Response From The City Of Beacon
When Reuben first applied for the higher level position, was he encouraged to do so by Anthony Ruggiero (City Administrator) or Former Mayor Randy Casale?
When Reuben first applied for that higher level position, was it at the time called Superintendent of Streets? Or did Beacon know it to be called Highway Superintendent?
During the decision making process of appointing Reuben at that time, did you recommend that he would be good for the position and a good leader? Was this in 2017?
After Reuben was hired as Highway Superintendent, but Dutchess County said that the job title was Superintendent of Streets, did that job position (Superintendent of Streets) require a different Civil Service test? And if so, was Reuben not allowed to take that test because he had not held a supervisor’s title prior?
Was the Superintendent of Streets job title an outdated job title for the job duties that Reuben was doing after he was appointed?
Was the City of Beacon able to reclassify the job title from Superintendent of Street to Highway Superintendent? And did the City of Beacon not do that? If so, was this in 2018?
For a new hire for Superintendent of Streets, was a list made available in 2018, with a person named Mark at the top of it?
Did Mark already work for the City of Beacon? Or was he from a different city or state?
Was Mark offered the position of Superintendent of Streets, and did he declined the offer?
If he declined, does this “break the list?”
What does "breaking the list” mean in Civil Service? Does it give flexibility to hire people out of listed order?
Was the City of Beacon then able to hire Reuben to the job title he then performed duties for (but prior had been titled Supervisor of Streets) to be Highway Superintendent? Does “breaking the list” mean that the Civil Service test that Reuben was not allowed to take before, did it mean that he was no longer required to take that test?
Are the job duties different for the current Highway Superintendent than they were for 2018, 2019, and decades prior?
What is Michael Manzi’s salary as Superintendent of Streets?
What was Reuben’s salary when he was Highway Superintendent?
What is Reuben’s salary now?
Did an unsigned letter arrive to any member of the City Council, stating that it was from the Highway Department, but was not signed by any name(s)? Was it read out loud to other council members, and did it factor into anyone’s decision of appointing the current Highway Superintendent, Michael Manzi?
UPDATE: We got this answer, and it is yes. Council Member Jodi McCredo received the letter to her porch, and brought it to Executive Session, which is a private meeting that City Council has after public meetings. She read it during Executive Session. Jodi told us via email: “I barely remember that letter. It wasn't signed and I don't remember if it was on any type of letterhead. I brought it to the Council's attention because it seemed like the right thing to do, but I didn't think much about it since I didn't know who sent it and I don't put much weight into anything that I can't back up or verify. It was only discussed briefly in Executive Session so I'm surprised that Randy's talking about it and that Reuben even knows about it. It had absolutely no influence on any decisions.”