Reynoldsville Borough withdraws appeal, will reinstate Officer Tammy Murray

The long saga concerning a police department in the Borough of Reynoldsville appears to be coming to a close.

On October 11, Reynoldsville Borough Council approved a motion to withdraw its appeal to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) preliminary ruling and reinstate Tammy Murray to the borough police department.

According to a previous report in Reynlow Community News, the PLRB posted its “proposed decision and order” in August of this year concerning an unfair labor practice filed by Teamsters Union Local #110 in June of 2020 on behalf of former borough police officer Tammy Murray. In 2020, Officer Murray’s position was cut from full time to part time. It was then eliminated with the 2021 budget when no money was allocated for part time officers.

In the August preliminary ruling, the PLRB stated that the borough committed an unfair labor practice in two of the three areas that were filed and called for Officer Murray’s reinstatement. Council voted to appeal that ruling at its September 9 meeting.

In the motion that reverses that decision, as read by Borough Council Member Nichole Walk and seconded by Max Smith, the appeal is withdrawn and Officer Murray’s return is “conditioned upon labor council’s ability to successfully negotiate” her reinstatement with the union council.

Because of the ongoing negotiations, there is no clear timeline as to when Officer Murray will return. Those negotiations also made her reluctant to comment on the council’s actions other than to say, “I’m ready.”

The council’s action was met with applause by those who had gathered for the meeting.