A Raleigh City Council committee will review the appeals procedure for fired city employees after union members complained Tuesday that the process almost never results in an employee returning to work.

Members of the N.C. Public Service Workers Union remain upset about the 2011 firing of Raleigh sanitation worker Shirley Venable, who was accused of threatening her boss. Venable has denied making threats and said she was ridiculed on the job after becoming a victim of domestic violence.

Ashaki Binta, a union organizer, asked the council to give Venable her job back and investigate the city’s Civil Service Commission, which handled the appeal. Last November, the commission voted 3-2 in favor of Venable’s appeal, but a successful appeal requires four votes. Two of the seven board members were absent that day.

“What is the purpose of the Civil Service Commission if it’s just to rubber stamp every decision management has made?” Binta said, adding that it hasn’t reinstated anyone in years.

Council members said they won’t reopen the Venable case but will discuss the appeals process in an upcoming meeting of its law and public safety committee.

The N&O's Josh Shaffer wrote about the Venable case last year. Read his column here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/11/18/2493347/shaffer-years-of-taking-trash.html