Minutes 08-07-03MINUTES OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF FIREMEN AND OILERS,
BLUE COLLAR, AND THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING SESSION, HELD ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2003 AT 1:30
P.M. IN CONFERENCE ROOM B, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
Present:
For NCF&O:
Sharon Munley
Richard Stone
Don Roberts
Michael Taylor
.lohn Wolcott
For the City:
Wilfred Hawkins
Arthur Lee
John Jordan
President, Local 1227
Union Steward, Utilities
Union Steward, Public Works and Parks Department
Union Steward, Local 1227
Union Steward, Utilities
Assistant City Manager
Director of Human Resources
Assistant Director of Human Resources
Openin_a and Introduction
The meeting began at 1:30 p.m. The City team and the Union representatives
exchanged introductions around the table.
Mr. Hawkins welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked that they come to
the table with an open mind, and to say what they meant and mean what they
say. He encouraged communication and suggested that everyone be free to ask
for clarification and to have something repeated if it was not understood. The
City will assume that the proposals set forth by the Union representatives are in
the best interest of the entire Union membership. Ms. Munley encouraged the
Union representatives to discuss things with their fellow workers so that they
could speak intelligently on their behalf.
On the City's part, Mr. Hawkins pledged that the City team had authority and
was prepared to be straightforward and as flexible as possible. After each
meeting, the City team will meet with each other, the City Manager, and the City
Attorney so that they can come to the next meeting with a good idea of the
direction in which to proceed. Mr. Richard Stone asked whether Mr. Cherof was
an integral part of the City's proposal. Mr. Hawkins responded that Mr. Cherof
Meeting Minutes
Blue Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
August 7, 2003
was on board from the standpoint of advice and consultation and that the City
would only bring him to meetings when the City and the Union agreed that it
was necessary. Ms. Munley believed that this was a misstatement. What she
had actually said at the morning's White Collar Negotiation was that the Union
would notify the City if it felt it was necessary to bring their attorney to a
meeting. Both parties agreed to prior notification of the other party if legal
representation would be present. Mr. Hawkins' opinion was that having attorneys
present at the meetings tended to "bog things down" and he hoped that it would
not be necessary.
Mr. Hawkins promised the Union representatives that they would be given copies
of the meeting minutes at least one or two days before the next meeting so that
they could digest them and point out any amendments that might be necessary.
He asked the Union representatives to let the Recording Secretary know how
they wished to receive their copy of the minutes. (After the meeting, the
representatives stated a preference to receive the minutes via the regu/ar City
interna/ mai/. The minutes wi//be faxed to Ns. Nun/ey at 561-366-9554.) In
addition to the minutes, the City will provide a summary of the topics that were
discussed at each meeting, allowing space after the items for the status of the
item. Ms. Munley noted that there was an error in the minutes of July 16, 2003
on page 4, next to the last paragraph. In the second line, the word PPM should
be replaced with the word Contract. The Recording Secretary made note of this
and will make the correction.
Mr. Hawkins expressed the hope that the parties could give Tentative Approval
(TA) to items as soon as agreement was reached and not wait until the end to
do so. Ms. Munley responded that it would be rare to go back to a previously
approved article to change it. Mr. Hawkins stated that he hoped the parties
could TA the items on which there was not much change or disagreement at the
beginning of the negotiations and address issues such as wages and
compensation after all the others had been resolved. This seemed to be
acceptable to the Union representatives.
Mr. Hawkins apologized for not being able to provide a copy of the existing
contract with the City's proposals shown with strikeouts and underlines at this
meeting and promised to get this document to the Union as soon as possible. Mr.
Taylor specifically asked for this and Ms. Munley emphasized that it would be
needed. Mr. Taylor stated that he would not want to see any decisions made
until the comparison was in front of them.
Some discussion took place about the time for meetings and it was generally
agreed that starting at 1:00 p.m. was a good time and that two to two and a half
hours would be the optimal session length. It was recognized that there might be
2
Meeting Minutes
Blue Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
August 7, 2003
times when a longer meeting might be in order. Mr. Stone noted that some
meeting dates had already been changed and Mr. Hawkins responded that
August schedules had been "iffy" but the succeeding ones should go in order.
Mr. Hawkins distributed a copy of the City's current proposals to the Union
representatives, with the comment that they were not the final ones but could be
used as a starting point.
City Proposal Presented to Union
Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Lee presented the City's proposal to the Union
representatives and invited their feedback. The City's proposal does not have
Article and Section numbers because the City wants to reorganize the way the
contract looks and wants to group like subject matter together. For example,
anything that has to do with compensation, wages, or benefits would be moved
together into one section. Anything having to do with sick leave, vacation, comp
time, and overtime would be in one section. The City thinks that by grouping
like things together, it will be easier to read in the future. At present a lot of
jumping back and forth is necessary.
Ms. Munley stated that her comment at the White Collar meeting had been that
she would need to ask their attorney if this would impact them in any way if they
did not have article numbers. If there were a grievance, for example, they
would normally have to refer to Article and Section numbers.
Mr. Lee stated that the Preamble and Recognition articles had been combined
onto one page. Mr. Stone stated that it appeared that the preamble was missing
from the proposal. Mr. Hawkins stated that the intent had been to combine the
two articles but he would have to check with legal staff to see if this had been
done correctly.
In the Representation of the City section, Mr. Taylor noted that the Florida
Statutes reference had been deleted and he questioned this. Mr. Hawkins stated
that the Attorney's office had indeed removed that reference. Ms. Munley asked
why this would be done. Mr. Lee stated that there was no need for it and that it
was not appropriate.
Mr. Hawkins noted that the Union Representation section had definitely been
condensed. Mr. Hawkins stated that the City was looking to the Union for
guidance on the language in the Union Time Pool article. The City thinks a union
time pool is a good idea but wants the Union to develop the idea and describe
how it would work. Ms. Munley stated that Mr. Hawkins had mentioned that the
3
Meeting Minutes
Blue Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
August 7, 2003
Fire or Police contract had a good example of this and she asked Mr. Hawkins to
provide that to her.
As Mr. Lee presented the various topic pages in the City's proposal, the Union
representatives tried to match them with the appropriate article(s) in the existing
contract. (For purposes of the minutes, only those top/cs that engendered any discuss/on were
included but ail the top/cs were at/east touched upon.)
The topic of Compensatory Time initiated a request for clarification from Mr.
Stone. Mr. Lee explained that compensatory time could be dealt with in one of
two ways: 1) pay the employee, or 2) allow the employee to take the time off.
Mr. Hawkins stated that the City wanted people to understand what the law
allowed and the City wants to keep to that as much as possible. Many people
have built compensatory time up to very high levels and then want to take it,
sometimes at times when it is not convenient for business reasons. Mr. Stone
commented that he believed the maximum allowable amount of compensatory
time allowable was 240 hours. Ms. Munley stated that the employee's rights
came into play when it came to choosing whether to be paid or given time off.
She noted that this was missing from the proposal. Mr. Hawkins responded that
there would be another article on overtime and another on compensatory time.
On the topic of Transfers, Mr. Taylor mentioned that if an employee transfers to
a lower-level position, his pay would be affected, even if he or she had been with
the City for a long time. Mr. Lee stated that the City tried to take the number of
years of service into consideration. Mr. Hawkins stated that the City had to set a
contract standard but wanted to be flexible as well. Ns. Munley was not in favor
of language that was too restricting since in this situation, "favorites get and non
favorites do not." Hr. Stone and IVls. Munley felt the language was very
nebulous. The City agreed that the topic needed some work but felt that making
it more specific would be restrictive and that more discussion was needed.
On the Sick Leave Donations topic, Mr. Hawkins stated that it had been extracted
and made into a stand-alone topic.
On the Maintenance of Conditions topic, the comment was made that a lot of
time would have to be spent in discussion of this topic. Ms. Munley commented
that a lot of "ruffled feathers" had resulted in the past from the City making
changes without notifying the Union.
In the Holiday topic, Ms. Munley noted that the birthday language had been
deleted. The only part of the existing paragraph in which this was stated that
carried over to this proposal was the last sentence, "Holidays are not cumulative
or interchangeable." Mr. Hawkins will investigate this and report back to the
4
Meeting Minutes
Blue Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
August 7, 2003
Union. IVlr. Hawkins stated that section 3 of the existing contract had been
deleted and rewritten in the second paragraph of the proposal.
On the Posting of Agreement topic, Ms. Munley felt that it was not necessary for
this to be in the agreement since it was something they would do anyway. Mr.
Hawkins did not disagree with that.
Mr. Lee stated that the next topic, ~[nsurance, had been taken from the existing
contract Article 23 General Provision section, page 42, and made into a stand
alone topic, in line with the contracts of the other bargaining units. Mr. Hawkins
verified with IVlr. Lee that there had been no major language changes in this.
Mr. Stone asked about how long Personnel files were kept, believing that that
might be fifty years. Mr. Lee remarked that the files were retained according to
State Statutes and that the length of time varied with the document concerned.
Hr. Lee commented that a form had been added to the Dues Deduction topic to
facilitate this process.
In regard to the Substance Abuse topic, Ms. Munley stated that the rules
pertaining to substance abuse contained in Ordinance No. 92-51 should possibly
be called out in the section so that employees would be more informed, l~t was
suggested that this information be given to new employees at Orientation and
Mr. Lee stated that this was already being done.
Hr. Hawkins expressed a desire on the part of the City to have multi-year
contracts with three-years as the optimal duration. He understood the concern
this might cause about wages but said that the City would do its homework,
forecast as accurately as possible, anticipate the economy, and run the City
accordingly. With three-year contracts, there could be certainty for both sides,
even on the wage front. Mr. Stone remarked that the Fire contract wages had
been substantially increased, with an increase that averaged out to about 7%
per firefighter. Mr. Hawkins stated that a lot of that had been due to market
comparisons and that the firefighters had done a lot of homework on this matter.
The City did a lot of homework as well and agreed in part due to its projections
for future growth. Ms. Munley stated that the length of the contract depended
on the wage package and what people could look forward to. Mr. Stone stated
that this was why the City would offer the employees a nice step plan. Mr.
Hawkins responded that he would call it a career path.
Mr. Stone asked if the Fire employees had Pay for Performance and whether it
was on a scale of 0 to 5%. Nr. Hawkins stated that they did have Pay for
Performance but not on a sliding scale. There are ranges, but no guarantees.
5
Meeting Minutes
Blue Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
August 7, 2003
The City established the ranges and the Union established the years in which
they would be put into effect.
This was the end of the City's presentation.
Mr. Stone wished to know when the next negotiating date would be and Mr.
Hawkins responded that it would be on August 21. There was also one
scheduled for August 28, but that would have to be rescheduled for another day
during the week of August 25. Ms. Munley asked to let her secretary know
before the end of the day on August 8 since her calendar fills up quickly. Mr.
Stone asked if the final proposals would be heard during the week of August 25
and Mr. Hawkins responded in the affirmative. Mr. Stone stated that he had an
important doctor's appointment on the 26th,
Union Proposal Presented to City
The Union representatives distributed an underlined and struck through contract
proposal to the City team. Ms. Munley presented the Union's proposal.
On page 5, Article 2, Recognition, Sections 2 and 3 were deleted, as the
language is outdated.
On page 13, Article 9, Grievance Procedures, the article will be resubmitted. The
language in Section 4 was changed concerning binding arbitration and appeals
for discipline procedures. They will be coming back with language saying that
any disciplinary action could either be appealed through the expedited process or
the long process. When there is a class action suit, the Union will so notify the
City and include the identification of the class of people that are involved in the
suit. Ms. IVlunley also commented that there were things that needed to be in
there such as what to do when someone is terminated; where the grievance
needs to start; and the procedure that must be followed when submitting
documents to the City Manager.
On page 16, Article 10, Basic Work Week and Overtime, Ms. Munley stated that
the Sanitation Task Assignment workers were engaged in work that has been
described as being more dangerous than that of even the Fire and Police. ]:f a
worker comes in earlier than l0 hours because they finished their route faster,
and is asked to pick up the slack for someone else, the additional time should be
covered at time and a half.
On page 17, same article, Ms. Munley stated that the Union might want to
rework the section about assigning overtime on a rotating basis in reverse order
of seniority.
6
Meeting Minutes
Blue Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
August 7, 2003
Mr. Stone stated that how a person was paid should be added into this section.
The workers get paid 20 hours for a holiday but if they work, they are only paid
for actual hours worked. A Memo of Understanding was agreed to where they
would be paid 10 hours of holiday pay at straight time plus 10 hours overtime
pay paid at time and one half, even if only part of those hours were actually
worked. Ms. Munley stated that the MOU could be incorporated into this
agreement.
Also on the same page, same article, Ns. Munley stated that Section 3 had been
changed to coincide with Section 2 of the article.
An employee called back to work after having been relieved and having left the
assigned work station, or called in before his/her regularly scheduled work time,
sha// be paid a m/n/mum ors hours of pay (instead of the current 2 hours) when
the callback is between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. (midnight), and shall receive a
m/n/mum of $.5 hours of pay (instead of the current 3 hours) if the callback is
between the hours of 12:01 a.m. and 7:59 a.m. Employees shall also be paid for
the hours worked.
In Section 7, some language was struck and the statement added, "For purposes
of overtime computation, an employee who is absent but in a paid leave status
shall have a// work hours wh//e /n a pa/d /eave status be considered as time
worked." Also, in Section 8, Standby Time, $75.00 was replaced with three hours
wages at the employee's appropriate rate of pay for each day the employee is
on standby or for each day(striking week) that they are assigned beeper duty.
In Section 13, regarding working in a higher classification, the 20-day
requirement was deleted and replaced with a 5% increase in pay from the f/rst
day...."
In Section 14, Compensatory Time, third paragraph, the Union wishes to replace
the word "used" in the first sentence with the word "paid". Also, the Union is
proposing that this time may be banked for one year.
[n Section 16, Certification Pay, the amount is increased to $1,000.
In Section 1, Article 11, Sick Leave, the establishment of a designee to report
sick time was added. The item now reads: An employee shall notify his/her
immediate supervisor or his designee in a manner provided for by management
of his/her illness within one (1) hour after (striking before) his/her normal
workday begins. Each department should have a procedure outlining whom to
call when sick.
Meeting Minutes
Blue Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach. Florida
August 7, 2003
In Section 2, E, the "extraordinary circumstance or hardship" restriction has been
removed. Sick leave pay shall be paid (in cash) to an employee if the employee
has the amount of sick leave credited to his/her sick leave account.
In Section 5, page 23, the two-tier system has been struck out.
On page 26, Article 12, Funeral Leave, "domestic partner" has been added to the
employee's immediate family for purposes of the Article.
On page 27, Article 13, Military Leave, for the length of time the employee
remains on active duty status, the City shall pay the difference between his/her
net City pay and his/her net Military pay and that portion of the employee's
health care coverage that they would normally pay.
On page 25, Light Duty, the restriction on work in the Department has been
struck and replaced with the word "City", so that the pool of places to work
would be expanded.
On page 32, Article 17, Seniority, Layoff, and Recall, second paragraph, the
severance package has been increased from one months' wages to six months'
wages. The reapplication period has been changed from one year to six months
from the date of the layoff. The employee shall not be placed on the recall list
for six months (added).
Ms. Munley stated that on page 35, Article 19, Holidays, that the first paragraph
would now read: "In addition, the employee may take his or her birthday, with
notice to their supervisor. Birthdays that fall on a weekend may be taken on
Friday or Monday without prior notice. If taken, the birthday wi//be charged as
a vacation day was struck. In Section 3, this was added: "San/tat/on workers
shall receive their normal shift hours at time and one half when required to work
on a ho#day. Should they be required to work beyond the number of hours
included in a normal shift, those hours shall a/so be paid at time and one half."
In Section 4, "In this connection" was struck and after scheduled off, the words
on a holiday are added.
On page 37, Article 20, Vacation, the two-tier system was struck. The proposal
is to only have one plan (current Plan A) that would apply to all full time
employees regardless of employment date. ]~n the first paragraph on page 38, if
an employee has more vacation time on the books on September 30 than he can
legally have, he or she will be paid for those hours rather than having to forfeit
them. In the next to the last paragraph on page 38, the "for emergencies or
extraordinary cases of hardshilY' restriction was removed.
8
Meeting Minutes
Blue Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
August 7, 2003
On page 40, Article 21, Wages, Ms. Munley commented that the Union did not
have a submission for wages yet.
On page 42, Article 22, Safety and Health, the proposal is that safety boots and
shoes may be replaced more than two times a year, if necessary and the City will
pay the entire cost of specialty boots. The limit of $75 on boots was removed
and the City will pay the whole amount.
On page 43, Article 23, General Provisions, the following was added:
"Employees who are required to furnish tools to provide a service to the City
shall receive a ¢1500.00 too/allowance annually. The too/allowance shall be
paid on the first pay day of October each year."
On page 44, same Article, the following was added: "Each employee shall receive
a free £/ty of Boynton Beach beach pass and shall receive a pass to utilize the
City boat ramp free of charge."
On page 46, Article 25, Dues Deduction, the City would be required to deduct a
voluntary COPE deduction for union members and send it to the Union under
separate cover. Ms. Munley would be willing to pay a small fee for the
administration of this COPE account. The authorization for COPE would have to
be added to the deduction form.
On page 49, Article 27, Uniforms, Ms. Munley stated that the uniforms should be
issued not only thirty days after starting work but each year thereafter and one
jacket every other year. Also, the Department personnel should be able to
determine the color of the uniform to be worn. Some discussion ensued about
why this requirement had been made. Mr. Stone stated that this was a
particularly big issue with the employees, who had been very unhappy when this
choice was taken away. Mr. Hawkins stated that many of the employees wore
matching colors in a way that was not appropriate. Mr. Stone said that the
problem was that the City had never enforced it. Mr. Hawkins did not deny that.
Tn Section 3, the Union is asking that people who wear uniforms be given a
stipend for cleaning and laundry of the uniforms.
On page 56, Article 32, Longevity Benefit, a 25th anniversary lump sum bonus of
$2500 was added and a 30th anniversary lump sum benefit of $3000.
On page 51, Article 28, Substance Abuse, more discussion ensued. Ms. Munley
asked the City of they had posters on display and the City will check on that.
She stated that having posters up displaying the City's expectations and
consequences of failing to meet them would be very much in order.
9
Meeting Minutes
Blue Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
August 7, 2003
Ms. Munley stated that they had not mentioned a term for the contract because
that depended upon the results of the bargaining sessions and the wage
package. This ended the Union's presentation.
Mr. Stone suggested not deducting taxes from bonus checks. Some had heard
that the tax bite could be lessened by including the bonus check in a regular
payroll check, which is taxed at a different rate than a bonus. Mr. Hawkins
stated that the City had looked into this but decided against it because they had
so many complaints from people who felt that this would put them in a higher
income tax bracket. Others suggested that if the bonus was for $~.,000, the
check could be cut for $1,000 plus taxes.
There being no further business, the bargaining session concluded at 3:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Collins
Recording Secretary
(080703)
10