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Minutes 08-21-03 MINUTES OF THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING SESSION BETWEEN THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF FIREMEN & OILERS WHITE COLLAR WORKERS AND THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, HELD ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2003 AT 9:30 A.M. IN CONFERENCE ROOM B, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present For NCF&O: Sharon Munley, President, Local 1227 Debbie Lytle, Chief Steward, Utilities Michael Ricard, Steward, Building Division For the City: Wilfred Hawkins, Assistant City Manager Arthur Lee, Director of Human Resources Mr. Hawkins began the negotiations at 9:45. He asked whether everyone received the previous set of minutes and everyone said they had. All of the individuals in attendance introduced themselves. Everyone reviewed the August 7, 2003 minutes. It was noted that on page 12, "interspace" should be changed to "interest based." This occurs twice on page 12. There were no other corrections to the minutes. The City Clerk's Office will send a corrected page 12 to Ms. Munley. Mr. Lee distributed a list of positions, with employee names, in both the White Collar and Blue Collar Unions as had been requested. He also distributed a list of job titles that were approved by the last unit clarification. He said that there would probably be another unit clarification. Ms. Munley asked whether any positions had been removed. Mr. Lee did not believe so. Ms. Munley said that Anne Smith was concerned because her name was not on the list. Mr. Lee explained that Administrative Secretaries were removed at the last unit clarification. Mr. Lee also indicated that Dorothy (from Human Resources) would electronically transmit job descriptions. The Union had asked for strike-throughs and underlines and that was done. There had been a question regarding the Preamble and the Recognition because there was no language in the Preamble. On the strike-throughs, there is some language for the Preamble and it still exists as a separate article from the Recognition. Mr. Lee distributed a matrix to track the status of the various articles. He said that he attempted to list all the articles with no numbers. There may be one that is not on the matrix dealing with Personnel Files. This was inadvertently left off. On the matrix, he listed the City's position, the Union's position and said that as items are reviewed, they can enter the status and any associated cost. Items on the matrix that have the word "Deferred" are items that are being held until a later time unless a decision is made to proceed. Meeting Minutes White Collar Collective Bargaining Session Boynton Beach~ Florida August 21~ 2003 Mr. Hawkins said that as the talks continue, the City will provide a summary in the Status column. Also, a column will be added for any item that is TA'd (Tentatively Agreed). Ms. Munley said that the City will have all the Union proposals today. The Union needs to see the City's proposals to see where they envision going. They do not have a concern regarding repositioning items in the contract; however, they want to see the City's entire proposal. The Union does not want to lose anything that they fought for previously. Ms. Lytle thought it was unfair that the City would propose drastic changes so late in the negotiations process. If the City had intentions of revising the Union's entire contract, they should have met with the Union months ago. Mr. Lee said that he has had to administer these contracts over the years and there have been problems with the contracts being ambiguous and not clear in some areas. He said that he had reviewed some contracts that the NCF&O put together for our neighboring communities where there is a lot more clarity. He felt that would work in favor of the employees. Mr. Lee said that he understands that there will be some problems with the interpretation of any contract. However, he believes now is the time to put a good, clear contract in place. As far as the technical issues, such as wages, he realizes that the City and the Union will have to sit down and talk and come to a mutual understanding. He believes that a clear contract will help with the grievance process. Mr. Hawkins said that it was not the City's intent to be unfair. Everyone should be familiar with this contract since it has been here for so long. The City is looking at contracts that the Union has with other cities and they are far better than what we have. Mr. Hawkins stated that the City is trying to move through some simple issues first. It is not the City's intent to be unfair or to wait until the last minute to spring something on to the Union. Ms. Munley said that this really scared her because it does not look like anything she has seen before. There are no article numbers and there were no strike-throughs and underlines. Mr. Hawkins said that now there are strike-throughs and underlines and he agreed that should have been done previously. The City is trying to make it uncomplicated. He said that when wages and benefits are discussed, that will take some time. It is not the City's intent to take away any benefits. He said that they are looking at issues like clarifying overtime and that type of thing. As far as the two-tiered vacation system, he felt that was probably something they can work with. He said that the .City is coming to 2 Meeting Minutes White Collar Collective Bargaining Session Boynton Beech~ Florida August 21~ 2003 the table with an open mind and hoped the Union was too. As the matrix develops, it will put a clear picture in everyone's mind. Mr. Hawkins said that he was hoping that some items could be TA'd this morning. Mr. Lee said that all the City wanted to do with the Savings Clause was move it to a different section. Ms. Munley said that in regard to Articles 3 (Rights of Employees), 4 (Strikes) and 5 (Non Discrimination), the document that is being developed is for the people that read it. She felt that they need to know these things. Messrs. Hawkins and Lee agreed. They will insert references where the information can be found. Ms. Munley asked whether the City would like the Union's other proposals. Mr. Hawkins said that he would. He stated that the City's attorney is working to put the City's full proposal together and as soon as it is completed, they will present it. In Section 5 of Union Representation regarding releasing stewards to do their jobs, Ms. Munley said they felt that collective bargaining should be there because 200 hours could easily be eaten up at the bargaining table. She moved it from the second paragraph into the first paragraph. That is their only change. Ms. Munley presented the Union's second Grievance proposal. The change in this one from the previous one is that she added Section 10 "Termination shall be grieved, beginning at the City Manager's level." She did not believe it made any sense to go to the supervisor. Ms. Munley and Mr. Hawkins agreed that this should not go below the director's level. Ms. Munley would like to set up an expedited grievance procedure. It would be quicker and cheaper. Mr. Hawkins liked the expedited grievance idea. However, he wanted to clarify what level of discipline should be grieved. Ms. Munley said that was open for discussion. What they are saying is that discipline may be appealed through the expedited grievance and arbitration process. Ms. Munley also said they changed the mediation to FMCS (Federal Mediation and Consultation Service) because that is who the Union uses. They are better and it is cheaper to get a panel. She said that she had also tried to identify what a class action grievance was. Mr. Lee said that in most practices, terminations are arbitrated, rather than grieved. Ms. Munley said that in a lot of other places, they go through the hearing processes and then grieve after the termination happens. Mr. Hawkins felt that if a person knows that they are in trouble and have been written up, we should try to minimize the process and get some resolution as soon as possible. Termination comes from a department director to the City Manager. The City Manager 3 Meeting Minutes White Collar Collective Bargaining Session Boynton Beach, Florida August 21~ 2003 either says yes or no. If no, there usually is some mitigation of what was recommended. He thinks that once the City Manager determines the outcome, the next step should be arbitration. Ms. Munley said that this is where she had a dilemma. During the last two proceedings that led to terminations, there were no grievances filed because the employees had not yet been harmed. Then, they were terminated. She was not sure what the process should be then because they cannot arbitrate without a grievance being filed since the arbitrator would want to see that file. Mr. Hawkins understood Ms. Munley's point. He just felt that it was a hardship and a lot of uncertainty for the emplo~yee to spend a lot of time messing with the City regarding their job. Even after the arbitrator is finished, the employee has some rights and processes that they can pursue outside of the City. In fairness to the employee, red tape should be avoided. If an employee is being terminated, it is the City's job to prove that person should be terminated. He did not know what else could be accomplished by going through the process again. Ms. Munley explained that if an employee was being investigated and has not been harmed yet, a grievance is not triggered. If, at the end of that process, the City terminates an employee, there has to be some language that says a grievance would be filed and immediately processed to arbitration or something like that. Mr. Hawkins thought that maybe they could come up with some language that recognizes that this person has been harmed and here is what that person can do. Parameters could be set where there are so many days to pick an arbitrator and arbitration shall be held by a certain time. Once there is a hearing and unless some unknown facts surface during the hearing process, the City's case is made and the arbitrator should have a clear picture. Ms. Munley felt that if new evidence does come forth, they may want it to go back to the City Manager before an arbitrator is involved. Mr. Hawkins agreed. Ms. Munley proposed that there be a panel of arbitrators. The City and the Union could jointly pick a rotating panel to arbitrate. She said that there are some really good ones that live between here and Orlando. Mr. Hawkins agreed. Mr. Lee said that he has had some concerns regarding the grievance process and discipline. His problem has been trying to discern where the grievance process stops and the disciplinary process takes over. He has found that they exist together in the contracts. When people have concerns or disputes regarding conditions of work or whatever, that is where the grievance procedure is there to deal with those things. Discipline is when they are actually administering a penalty. The two kind of co-exist together. He is trying to determine where the discipline process actually comes into play. 4 Meeting Minutes White Collar Collective Bargaining Session Boynton B=.-ch, Florida Au.qust 21~ 2003 Ms. Munley would like an expedited arbitration process and forget the two tiers of arbitration and grievance. It is cheaper, quicker and better. When the City was doing the investigation, the Union was following and then at the end, they were not ready to file a grievance yet. Usually what happens is that someone comes in and gets interviewed with their Union representative, the City conducts an investigation and there is a determination regarding discipline, at which time it triggers the Union because now the person has been harmed. It seems logical that way because the Union would not be triggered to have a grievance process until that person was actually harmed. The level of harm would determine what level of process the Union would initiate. Mr. Hawkins said that a determination would need to be made regarding at what level an arbitrator would be required. He knew it would be required for termination. Ms. Munley said that the Union would want to have one for any written discipline at least. If the Union does not have the ability to remove a written document from a file, she wondered what would preclude the City from putting a lot in the file. Then, by the time an arbitrator got involved, he would see everything in the file and would not be surprised that this higher discipline occurred. Bob Ensler arrived at the meeting at 10:30 a.m. Mr. Hawkins understood Ms. Munley's premise and did not disagree. He felt that a written reprimand should not stay in someone's file for a long period of time and there is a time frame in the contract now. He was uncertain about arbitrating a written reprimand. Maybe the time the reprimand stays in the file could be reduced. To him, what is extremely serious is when an employee loses money (out of work on suspension). He had no problem looking at arbitration for serious suspensions. Mr. Lee clarified that written reprimands could be applied against the employee for only two years per the contract. However, there are State requirements for record retention in terms of the file itself. That does not mean that they would be used, though. Ms. Munley said that what is in the contract now is that verbal and written warnings would not be grievable and the employee could put some written response in the file. After 24 months, they could not be used for progressive discipline. She struck all this wording. Mr. Hawkins said that the White Collar Union adopted PPM's progressive discipline policy and the City should be held to that. That policy outlines what happens. Documentation is necessary, not only to build a case but to ultimately help the employee do better. Ms. Munley next discussed the Basic Work Week and Overtime. On the 2nd page, Section 9, she increased the non-job required certificate to $1,000 so' it coincides with 5 Meeting Minutes White Collar Collective Bargaining Session Boynton Beach, Florida August 21, 2003 what was proposed in the Blue Collar contract. Under Section 10 Standby/Call- out/Beeper Pay, the language was changed to be the same as proposed for Blue Collar. Her understanding is that there are a lot of ways that people are paid when they are called out or are on call. For instance, Crime Scene people get more than some and she would like to make it standard. Ms. Lytle said that the fire inspectors have been held down in comparison to industry standards of what call-back pay is and also within the City when Crime Scene is very similar in the type of job. There is a huge disparity in how they are paid for those hours. Mr. Hawkins asked whether they were using Crime' Scene as the standard. Ms Munley said they were using Blue Collar as the standard. Ms. Munley next spoke regarding the Holidays proposal, Section 3. When there are holidays on the weekend, they are observed on Friday or Monday. She spoke to an employee who actually worked the holidays on the weekend but the City observed them on Friday and Monday, so this person did not get additional pay. That is why the language is added "or on the day the holiday is observed." Mr. Hawkins understood her point. Ms. Munley also struck the portion regarding an employee birthday charged as a vacation day because if the birthday is a holiday, she questioned why it would be charged to vacation. Mr. Hawkins said it was not the City's intent to increase the number of holidays. He did not think there was any reason that birthdays are even included. Ms. Munley said it was her intent to make this a real holiday. Ms. Munley distributed the Wages preposal. She understands that there is already an agreement for wages with another bargaining group. She took those ideas and incorporated them into this wage preposal. They are proposing that each year the maximum salary range would increase by 5%. They are also preposing a 5% across the board wage increase. Then, on the anniversary date of each employee, there would be a performance evaluation and upon receiving a score of "Meets Standards," the employee would receive an additional 5%. They are asking to return to the previous "Pass/Fail" system because this last year's evaluation was unfair and a fiasco. Ms. Munley encouraged the City to talk to the City of Riviera Beach about the new system they are implementing there. It removes the bias because supervisors must enter notes year round. Employees there know what to do to meet standards. They are also adding another piece into the program where employees can report about their supervisors. Ms. Munley thought that it was a wonderful system. Ms. Lytle noted an example in the City where an employee was asked to set a goal and the employee felt they accomplished it. The supervisor did not like the outcome and said they needed to get the consensus of co-workers to see if that goal met their 6 Meeting Minutes White Collar Collective Bargaining Session Boynton Beach~ Florida August 21~ 2003 criteria. The idea of Pay for Performance was not to base performance on co-workers' standards. She questioned how an employee could set a goal and the supervisor could say it does not meet standards after the fact. Mr. Ricard asked whether the City could return to the Pass/Fail system and then look into Riviera Beach's system and institute a policy later. Mr. Hawkins said that Mr. Lee has spoken with Riviera Beach. What they are doing is a form of Performance Measurement. The premise is the same. Where they are going with the technology is where the City intends to go. Mr. Hawkins said the City has already surveyed the supervisors and determined what they thought the problems were as well as the good points. There is a new person on board, Assistant Human Resources Director John Jordan. He implemented the same thing that Riviera Beach is doing when he worked for Motorola. It is computer technology. He is working on that process. The City's Intent is to bring this process on board not this year but the following year. Before that, the City will form a supervisor advisory panel to revamp those things in the performance evaluation process that need to be worked on. Then all supervisors will be retrained and will be held more accountable. He said that the City is in the process of making needed improvements. Ms. Munley said that the main thing that employees say to her is that pay for performance must go. Ms. Lytle felt that the evaluations were not working. She did not feel comfortable including a document that is not perfected into the contract. She believes that the membership will have a problem adopting something that is not tested and proven. Mr. Richard agreed that the membership was not happy with the system in place now. Mr. Lee said that there is no perfect evaluation system. There is a degree of subjectivity in every system. Since he came to the City, there have been three systems in place. There will always be bugs in any system and he felt that they needed to be worked on over a period of time. He said that we must start somewhere. He went thru 800-900 evaluations and read everyone's comments. He did not think that the system could be corrected by returning to a former system. Mr. Ricard said that the system is complicated and the employees do not trust it or the way it was implemented. It affects morale and performance. Ms. Lytle felt that the new system should be tested with management and not with the employees. The issue regarding raises is still not settled. The employees are still waiting for their money. Mr. Hawkins agreed that the City needs to get the money to the employees. He also felt that the City has to do a better job of showing that this evaluation works. More time must be spent with the supervisors and they are working on that now. He thought that 7 Meeting Minutes White Collar Collective Bargaining Session Boynton Beach, Florida August 21, 2003 Riviera Beach was a good example. They threw out their old process and started from scratch. They hired someone there to fix the process and so has Boynton Beach. Ms. Munley said that Riviera Beach had a union representative involved from the beginning. The Union had no input with Boynton. There must be safeguards. Riviera Beach's supervisors' performance appraisals are affected by what they do with their subordinates' appraisals. Mr. Hawkins agreed that the City needs to do a better job of holding supervisors accountable. They will be doing that and in a couple of weeks they will be rolling out how it will be done. Ms. Munley stated that the Union's position is to return to the old system until this is worked out. Mr. Ricard asked whether the front line people are working with management on this. Mr. Lee said they will be. Mr. Hawkins felt that it would be regressing to go back to the Pass/Fail system. There has been a lot of work done. He said that he could accept everything that was being said and take responsibility for the way employees feel. But he would like to work together on ways the process can be fixed. It is not prudent to throw the whole process out. Ms. Lytle said that it was published in the newspaper that the City Manager just had his performance evaluation and scored a 4.2. That exceeded the range of 4%. She only knew of four to six people who got a 4% and she did not think one of them was in a bargaining unit. She did not believe this was fair and equitable treatment. Mr. Hawkins did not know how the newspaper arrived at that figure. However, the City Manager answers to a Commission. There is a distinction and employees need to understand that. Ms. Munley said that the employees should know what the supervisors expect them to do to meet their expectations. They should know up front. And words such as "acceptable" should be avoided. Mr. Hawkins agreed that the expectations should be clear. They should be developed jointly by the employee and the supervisor. Mr. Lee explained that one of Mr. Jordan's focal projects at Motorola was the Performance Management system. Their system is totally electronic. A lot of things in the Riviera Beach system were also in the Motorola system. Mr. Jordan has reviewed our performance evaluation system and has ideas to improve the program. 8 Meeting Minutes White Collar Collective Bargaining Session Boynton B=ach, Florida August 21~ 2003 The Union representatives and president caucused at 11:14 a.m. and the negotiations reconvened at 11:34 a.m. The Union and the City TA'd the following items: 1. Recognition 2. Representation of the City 3. Bulletin Boards 4. Jury Duty 5. Pension 6. Probationary Period Mr. Hawkins said that the City would need to look at the Union change regarding Bonus Days. It was determined that this could be done at the next meeting. Mr. Lee made copies of the six items that were TA'd and distributed them to the Union. It was noted that the City team would not be able to meet on August 28th. After discussion, it was agreed that the next meeting of the White Collar would be held on Thursday, September 4~, at 9:30 a.m. The Blue Collar will meet the same day at 1:00 p.m. Ms. Lytle said the Union had planned final proposals for August 28th but will move them to September 4th. The meeting properly adjourned at 11:45 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Glinski Deputy City Clerk (8/26/03) S:\CC\WP~MINUTES\NCF&O Negotiation Sessions~2003\082103 White Collar.doc 9