Minutes 09-04-03 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,
SEPTEMBER 4, 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 Richard, Steward, Building Division
For the City: Wilfred Hawkins, Assistant City Manager
Arthur Lee, Director of Human Resources
John Jordan, Assistant Director of Human Resources
O~)enin~
Mr. Hawkins called the meeting to order at 9:40 a.m. and asked everyone present to
identify themselves for the record.
Approval of Minutes (August 21, 2003)
There were no corrections or additions to the minutes. Mr. Hawkins requested that the
record reflect that the minutes stand approved as presented.
Discussion
Mr. Hawkins distributed an updated matrix.
Mr. Hawkins stated that they had intended to hand out the City's proposal today, but he
only received it this morning and has not had an opportunity to look at it. After Mr.
Hawkins and Mr. Lee have an opportunity to review the proposal, they will send a copy
to the Union representatives.
Mr. Hawkins reported that John Jordan would be joining the meeting. Mr. Jordan has
been looking into the City of Riviera Beach's performance appraisal system and will be
reporting on this.
Mr. Lee noted that an updated matrix will be distributed at each meeting that will show
the status of the various articles. Mr. Lee reviewed the updated matdx as follows:
Meeting Minutes
White Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
September 4, 200
Preamble
Recognition
Rights of Employees
Strikes
Non-Discrimination
Union Representation
Open for discussion. There has been no
agreement reached on this Article as the Union
indicated they wanted to do a further review of
this Article
This was TA'd
There has been no agreement on these three
Articles. The Union would like to keep the same
language and the City would like to delete this
language. The City noted that this language is
already in the statutes and there is no additional
need to include it in the contract. The Union
wants to include these Articles so that members
would have a place to read them.
Open for discussion. Both the City and Union had
some modifications on the language and this
could be discussed today.
Bulletin Board This was TA'd
Progressive Discipline These Articles are deferred.
Grievance Procedures
Basic Work Week & Overtime This Article is deferred
Compensatory Time
Sick Leave
Funeral Leave
Leave of Absence
Collective Bargaining
Work Breaks
Transfers
Sick Leave Donations
Reclassification & Wage Adjustment
Jury Duty
These Articles have been deferred and will be
discussed at a later date
These are new Articles and are open for
discussion. The City would like to defer work
breaks to a later date
This was TA'd
Maintenance of Conditions The City would like to defer this Article
Seniority, Layoff & Recall
Job Posting & Bidding
Recruitment & Selection
Holidays
Vacation
Wages
Safety and Health
The City indicated no change. The Union had
some language modifications and this is open for
discussion
These two Articles were deferred
Both the City and the Union would like to modify
the language and this is open for discussion
The City requested no change on this Article and
the Union wants to modify the language. This
Article is open for discussion
Deferred to a later date
Open for discussion
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Meeting Minutes
White Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
September 4, 200
General Provision
Savings Clause
Dues Deduction
Pension
Uniforms
Substance Abuse
Management Rights
Deferred to a later date
No change, but the City wanted to move the
Article to the end of the contract and this is open
for discussion
The City wanted to remain with the current
language and the Union would like to modify the
language. This is open for discussion
This was TA'd with no changes
Deferred to a later date
There was no discussion and the parties could
decide on this Article today. Ms. Lytle stated that
the Union requested a copy of Ordinance No. 92-
51 dealing with Substance Abuse. Mr. Lee will
)rovide this and the Article will be deferred
Deferred to a later date
Probationary Period This was TA'd
Bonus Increase Deferred
City Manager Incentive Program
Bonus Days
Deferred
No change, but remains open for discussion.
Longevity Benefit Deferred to a later date
Duration Both the City and Union would like to modify the
language of this Article and it is open for
discussion
Ms. Munley pointed out that the Union would like the Article "Maintenance of
Conditions" to remain status quo.
Report on Riviera Beach
Mr. Jordan reported that he spoke with Aaron Fields, who is revising the performance
evaluation system for the City of Riviera Beach and currently it continues to be a work in
progress. They are purchasing an on-line base system and are looking at different
ways that they are going to tie in merit increases with the performance evaluations.
They also have to determine how employees, who do not have access to a computer,
would be able to utilize this system.
Ms. Munley suggested that Mr. Jordan attend the meetings at Riviera Beach to
determine what is taking place. Also, staff is participating and this is a negotiated
expectation. Ms. Munley noted that on October 1st, employees would know what
"meeting your expectation" is. Mr. Jordan will continue to work with Mr. Fields to see
how Riviera Beach is progressing.
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Meeting Minutes
White Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
September 4, 200
Mr. Ricard inquired when the new system could be implemented in Boynton Beach. Mr.
Jordan stated that it would be unrealistic at this point for the City to change systems
mid-year and they are looking at having this in place next year. Employees will also be
included in the development of the new system.
Mr. Hawkins reported that he would be making a presentation to senior management on
Friday about the process that will be undertaken to re-train supervisors, which will be
mandatory. Also they would be speaking with Department heads to go over their
understanding of how the process is supposed to work and their responsibilities in
holding supervisors accountable for conducting department evaluations. This will take
place on September 11th. There will be two dates for re-training supervisors on how to
do evaluations and how to work through the current evaluation procedure.
Ms. Lytle thought that there had been discussion about pulling this from the contract
because they would not agree to a work in progress. Ms. Munley did not think this was
possible. She pointed out that it was in the contract and the contract stated when it was
supposed to be implemented, and it never happened. Ms. Munley did not think that Mr.
Hawkins could unilaterally decide what is going to happen after September 30th when
the current contract expires. Ms. Munley said that they would not be guinea pigs for
another year. Ms. Munley would like to see an across-the-board increase while the
changes in the performance evaluation system are being developed.
Mr. Lee did not think that the City's current performance system compared to others is
lacking that much and what is needed most is proper training of the people doing the
performance evaluations.
Ms. Munley read from the contract that stated, "employees would be evaluated in an
unbiased and fair manner." She felt that a minimum of 15% of City employees will
never recover from not getting a fair appraisal or receiving an equitable raise. Ms.
Munley stated that anyone who received a "did not meet standards" evaluation should
have something in their file indicating that they were informed why they were falling
behind and what was expected of that employee to bring his or her standards up to par.
Mr. Hawkins noted that the City needed to have a performance instrument to evaluate
employees' work and the one the City has can work, but it does need improvement
through proper training of supervisors. With regard to documentation of employees'
performances, he felt that most departments could produce this documentation. Mr.
Jordan agreed that to throw the current system away is totally unrealistic. Ms. Munley
totally disagreed with this assessment.
Ms. Lytle pointed out that of the raises given out, only four people received a score of
"4" and they were all non-Union employees. There were no Union employees that
received a "4." Mr. Jordan pointed out that employees that fall into the category of
"meets expectations" would receive a "2%" raise. Ms. Munley questioned how it was
possible that the largest percentage of employees of the City belonging to bargaining
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Meeting Minutes
White Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
September 4, 200
units, not one person received a "4." Ms. Munley felt that it was time for the Union to
start pulling the information from employees' files to determine why their performance
appraisals were so Iow.
Ms. Lytle stated that the Fire Department employees received an across the board
"pass or fail" score. Mr. Hawkins pointed out that the Fire Department employees
received a merit percentage of 0 to 5. Mr. Hawkins was not certain if this could be
applied to the general employees. The Fire Department wage adjustments were done
in two phases. The first phase was a tiered system of a performance evaluation of 0 to
5. All Fire Department employees did receive an across the board market adjustment
built in.
Mr. Hawkins stated that if the Union was seeking a guaranteed, across the board,
market adjustment, this is a wage situation that was agreed to be discussed later on.
The issue of doing away with the performance system is not the same. Ms. Lytle would
like to have the supervisors totally trained before there are any more performance
appraisals done. Mr. Hawkins also noted that next time some of the supervisors that
did the evaluations might not be doing them. Ms. Lytle said that the Union last time
recommended that a panel be used to do the evaluations to avoid favoritism and Mr.
Hawkins stated that they would be looking at this. Mr. Hawkins noted that the
supervisors that did not perform the evaluations properly are known and this is being
addressed.
Ms. Munley requested that Mr. Hawkins bring something to the next meeting to show
how the City is addressing this. Mr. Hawkins said that he would be able to show the
City's plan to deal with this particular issue. Ms. Munley stressed that they needed a
safety net, and Mr. Hawkins acknowledged this.
Mr. Lee noted that the Fire Chief was the first department head to institute the
performance evaluations in his department. In order to make it work, he sat down with
each of his supervisors every time that supervisor evaluated a firefighter to make sure
that it was done properly. However, the City has 900 employees, and this kind of
involvement by the other department heads would be very difficult.
Mr. Hawkins noted that this would be an ongoing discussion and he understands what
the Union is looking for from "the salary and compensation" portion of the agreement
and he would like the Union to think of this as a tiered-type scenario.
Mr. Jordan left the meeting
Recess was declared at 10:35 a.m.
The Meeting reconvened at 10:45 a.m.
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Meeting Minutes
White Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
September 4, 200
Ms. Munley said that they were willing to defer further discussion on the performance
appraisals until the next meeting. Ms. Munley requested to provide an update on the
information that had been previously furnished to them.
In Article 11, the section dealing with "Transfers", the second paragraph has
been deleted. Ms. Munley asked about the status of this paragraph. Mr. Hawkins
responded that this would become a separate article. Ms. Munley pointed out
that the paragraph dealing with how an employee gets paid would still be
needed.
2. Sick Leave Donation - they would like all language dealing with sick leave to be
in one article.
The Article dealing with Holidays comes from the Blue Collar contract. Mr.
Ricard stated that a lot of information provided came from the Blue Collar
contract. Ms. Munley pointed out that White Collar holidays are different from
Blue Collar holidays.
The Insurance Article is okay. Ms. Munley noted that this came out of General
Provisions. Even though Insurance would become a separate article, Ms. Munley
would not like the General Provisions Article totally eliminated.
5. With regard to Dues Deduction, they would like to include COPE as well.
6. Substance Abuse - after they see the Ordinance, Ms. Munley felt that they would
agree with this.
7. Duration - they want to wait to see what happens with the remainder of the
contract.
8. Posting of the Agreement - Ms. Munley did not think it was necessary to place
the agreement on the web.
9. Maintenance of Conditions - they would like that to remain status quo.
10. Work Breaks - this language is also from the Blue Collar contract.
11. Collective Bargaining - this is the same language in Article 7 and the remainder
of Article 7 is missing, which is Union Representation.
12. Union Representation - they were not agreeable to decreasing their numbers or
the time that they are allowed to do Union business. Mr. Hawkins stated that
they were going to explore setting up some kind of pool for people to donate
time.
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Meeting Minutes
White Collar Collective Bargaining Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
September 4, 200
13. Personnel Files - Ms. Munley stated that this was okay, but they would like to
see the strikes and underscores.
Summary
Mr. Hawkins noted that the Work Breaks Article needs work and requested that the
Union provide language on this.
Ms. Munley stated that she will be in Washington, D.C. on Monday and requested that
Ms. Lytle and Mr. Ricard be furnished with copies of the City's proposal.
Next Meetin_q
It was agreed that the next session would be held on Thursday, September 11th at
10:00 a.m. A tentative date for the Blue Collar would be the same date at 1:30 p.m., but
this will be confirmed at today's Blue Collar session.
Adjournment
There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 11:10 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara M. Madden
Recording Secretary
(September 5, 2003)
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