CLEVELAND, May 17 (UPI) -- Union workers on Cleveland's public payroll stand to be paid for services they did not perform, raising a fairness issue, business leaders say.

Downtown business owners have used private crews for two years to clean public areas that city workers did not clean, but a labor arbitrator has ruled the city has a contractual obligation to have the work done by workers represented by Municipal, County & State Employees Union Local 1099, The Cleveland Plain-Dealer reported Saturday.

The amount to be paid to the city workers could run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, the newspaper said.

Terry Coyne, a senior vice president with the Grubb & Ellis (NYSE:GBE) real estate services firm, said the non-profit Downtown Cleveland Alliance, a group of business owners, contracted private crews to do work that city workers had not been performing.

"I think the Downtown Cleveland Alliance would have loved to have the city do this work," he said, "but because the city wasn't doing it, the property owners had to do it themselves."

The business owners contracted with Block by Block, which provides "downtown business ambassadors" who perform cleanup chores. Block by Block is owned by Brantley Services, which also provides private security and custodial services.

City Law Director Robert Triozzi agreed with the union that it "is not appropriate" for businesses to clean public property.