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Minutes 12-03-03 MINUTES OF THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING SESSION BETWEEN THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF FIREMEN & OILERS, WHITE-COLLAR WORKERS, AND THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, HELD ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2003 AT 9:00 A.M. IN CONFERENCE ROOM C, WEST WING, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present For NCF&O For the City: Sharon Munley, President, Local 1227 Michael Ricard, Steward, Building Division Wilfred Hawkins, Assistant City Manager Arthur Lee, Director of Human Resources Opening Remarks Mr. Lee called the meeting to order at 9:25 a.m. and distributed an updated matrix. Approval of Minutes of October 30, 2003 Mr. Lee had the following changes to the minutes: Page 2, fifth paragraph, 5th line the word "cold" should be changed to "could." Page 4, third full paragraph, that reads: "The City wants the grievance procedure to be included in the discipline procedure so that a manager or an employee reading it would be able to see the entire procedure in one place, from start to finish. The City would also like a separate grievance article for non-discipline matters, even though the language might be the same." Mr. Lee was not certain if this was actually said. Ms. Munley recalled the discussion that this might be confusing. Mr. Lee stated from the City's perspective, the City would like to have the grievance procedure and the discipline procedure included in the same section. They would be separate procedures, but would be in the same section. Mr. Hawkins stated that the City would like to include a grievance procedure up to arbitration within the progressive discipline article. It should be in one place because there are grievance procedures in other places in the contract, but there was no specific grievance procedure included with the progressive discipline. The City would like to have progressive discipline in one place. It would still be feasible to have a grievance procedure in other articles. Meeting Minutes White-Collar Bargaining Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2003 Ms. Munley felt that the index to the School District contract might be what the City is looking for. Mr. Lee requested that Ms. Munley furnish him with a copy and she will have it faxed to him. On page 7, fifth full paragraph, seventh line, the word "diversity" should be changed to "diversify." There were no other changes to the minutes. Job Postin.q Ms. Munley thought it might be a good idea to form a committee comprised of blue- collar, white-collar and management representatives to determine how jobs should be posted. She suggested that language to this effect could be placed in the contract itself or that they could come up with a MOU to be voted upon separately. Ms. Munley noted that the City wanted to remove this from the contract, and she did not think that the Union would agree to that. Mr. Hawkins noted that there are actually two processes; there is the selection process and the posting and how someone is selected for the position. Mr. Hawkins said that the City did not want to be bound to language in a contract involving this process, since the process is always evolving. He did think that certain criteria should be developed for certain positions, which could be included in the contract. He also thought that a person must be able to demonstrate certain skills that apply to certain jobs. Mr. Lee noted that testing and assessment are very technical and if the testing is not done correctly, people challenge that. He also thought that many people are not adept at this and need to be trained to do testing properly. Because of this, many organizations have gone to behavioral interviews, which can be defended better, since they are based upon content and what the person does on the job. Ms. Munley inquired if there was a process to review the interview scores and Mr. Lee responded that there was and explained the process to her. Mr. Ricard asked if the City would agree to put some language in the contract regarding forming a committee and what would happen after the committee comes up with a determination. Mr. Lee said that whatever the committee comes up with, it should be Citywide and go into the PPM. Ms. Munley pointed out that if there were any changes, the Union would be able to impact bargain. Mr. Hawkins recommended that the Union review what had transpired during the blue- collar negotiations yesterday and determine if any of the language could apply to the white-collar contract. Ms. Munley requested to caucus at 9:55 A.M. The Meeting reconvened at 10:45 a.m. Meeting Minutes White-Collar Bargaining Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2003 The following Articles were TA'd by the Union and the City: · Compensatory Time · Management Rights · Leave of Absence · Seniority & Layoff & Recall Ms. Munley stated that three Articles that were TA'd by the blue-collar could be cleaned up and TA'd for the white-collar as follows: Union Representation, *Collective Bargaining and *Union Time Pool. Union Representation Mr. Lee pointed out that there would be a different number of stewards for the white- collar contract, and Ms. Munley stated that there would be four (4) stewards. Mr. Hawkins inquired if the number of hours would remain the same. Mr. Lee thought that there were fewer hours. Mr. Hawkins stated that it was 100 hours. After these three Articles were cleaned up, the Union and the City TA'd them and furnished copies to the Recording Secretary for inclusion in the City Clerk's records. With regard to Work Breaks, it was decided not to include this Article in the white-collar contract, since the white-collar employees are more flexible than the blue-collar employees. *Longevity Benefit, *Bonus Days, *Tuition Reimbursement and *Posting of the Agreement Articles were also TA'd. Copies were furnished to the Recording Secretary for inclusion in the City Clerk's records. Ms. Munley did not find the Insurance Article in the packet and Mr. Lee stated that this was included under General Provisions and the Insurance provision was also TA'd. Ms. Munley inquired about the City Manager's Incentive Program, and Mr. Hawkins stated that this was in the PPM. The City was not agreeable to changing this. With regard to the City Manager's Incentive Program, Mr. Ricard inquired if this was going to be funded. Mr. Hawkins explained that some departments put money into their budget for incentives and some do not. The City Manager does not object if a department wants to have an incentive program, but the department director has to budget for this. Mr. Ricard said that the wording states that the City Manager would do it. Mr. Hawkins responded that it is up to the department to do an incentive program, not the City Manager. Mr. Ricard felt that since this was not funded that it should not be included in the contract. 3 Meeting Minutes White-Collar Bargaining Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2003 Mr. Hawkins also did not think that the Incentive Program should be included in the contract since it is based upon budget availability. Mr. Lee noted that there is a provision that provides for a $500 bonus in the "Bonus Increases" ,Article. Military Leave Article was next TA'd. Ms. Munley remarked about the Unauthorized Absence from Work Article and said that there was an additional sentence that needed to be added. The sections will be renumbered and language will be added to state, "An employee who is absent for three days without notice will be deemed to have abandoned his job." The Article will be TA'd at the next meeting. Ms. Munley requested to address Job Posting and Bidding again. She felt that they could get through Job Posting and Bidding. Recruitment and Selection might need more discussion. Mr. Hawkins said that these topics should be discussed separately. Ms. Munley felt that if and when there was going to be a reduction in the workforce, job openings should not be posted to avoid having employees apply for them because those jobs are filled by employees whose jobs were being eliminated. Mr. Hawkins agreed with this. Ms. Munley also pointed out that the Union is supposed to be notified whenever there is going to be a layoff. Ms. Munley requested that there be language added to state that the process would not be interrupted by other events, such as reduction in the workforce and layoffs. This would allow employees an opportunity to bump if they were going to lose their jobs. Ms. Munley asked the City if they would agree to add language to accomplish what she just discussed. She suggested adding some language that would set out how to handle situations "when non-bargaining unit workers are being placed in the bargaining unit." Mr. Ricard did not think that this happened very often. Mr. Lee stated that in his 16 years of service, there have only been about five employees that were laid off. This year department heads were asked to cut their budgets in order to get their budgets to the level that the City Manager requested. This was done mostly through reorganization. Mr. Lee was agreeable to adding some type of language that the City would notify the Union in the event of a layoff before going through the process to fill a position. The parties TA'd Job Posting and Bidding. It was agreed that some language would be added to the Recruitment and Selection that would address layoffs, but that it needed to be discussed further. Dues Deduction. Language has been added to state, "COPE deductions will be remitted to the Union in a separate check on a quarterly basis beginning April 2004." The Article was TA'd with the addition of this new language. 4 Meeting Minutes White-Collar Bargaining Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2003 Uniforms Ms. Munley said that the female civilian employees in the Records Section of the Police Department are uncomfortable in their new uniforms and feel they are not safe outside because they look like policemen. They would like to wear polo shirts and slacks. Mr. Hawkins noted that they would be the same slacks because the same supplier that supplies the uniforms to the Police Department furnishes them. Ms. Munley pointed out that the employees in the Fire Department wore polo shirts. Mr. Hawkins said that he would have to discuss this with Chief Gage. He was under the impression that the employees wanted to wear uniforms. Mr. Hawkins also requested that Ms. Munley speak with these employees to determine what they would like to wear and bring it back to him. With regard to uniforms, Ms. Munley pointed out that in the blue-collar contract, employees receive 10 shirts and 5 pairs of pants. She would like some kind of provision for white-collar employees as well. She was referring to Code Compliance and the Building Inspectors. Mr. Hawkins pointed out that the Code Compliance employees chose their outfits, which are polo shirts with kaki pants. Mr. Ricard would like it set out in the contract how many shirts and pants they would be entitled to each year. Mr. Hawkins said that a department should decide whether they are going to wear uniforms and not have some employees wear uniforms and others who do not. If a department decides to wear uniforms, then everybody should participate. He wanted to avoid a mishmash in a department. Mr. Ricard said that he would speak to the other building inspectors to determine what they would prefer. Mr. Ricard would like to have jackets furnished as well. Mr. Hawkins stated that the City would be providing jackets once the blue-collar contract is passed because that contract provides that jackets would be provided bi-annually. Mr. Hawkins was agreeable to adding jackets to the white-collar contract as well. Ms. Munley asked Mr. Ricard to speak with the Code Compliance employees to determine if they were pleased with the uniform situation. Holidays Ms. Munley said that the language that states an employee can take their birthday off, but would be charged with a vacation day should be deleted. The City was not willing to add an employee's birthday as a paid holiday. Since the City would not agree to this, she felt that the language was no longer applicable. After discussion, it was decided to leave the language in the Article as currently written to avoid any confusion. The Holiday Article was TA'd. With regard to safety shoes, Ms. Munley noted that the language in the white-collar contract would be the same as in the blue-collar contract. A person would receive $160, 5 Meeting Minutes White-Collar Bargaining Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2003 $180 and $200 during the first, second and third years of the contract. If a person does not use all the money for shoes, they could receive the money at the end of the year. Also the City would pay for specialty shoes. This language needs to be cleaned up. Bonus Increases Article providing that an employee would receive up to $500 for exceptional work was TA'd. Mr. Ricard asked about increasing the automobile allowance and stated what they currently receive does not cover the expenses for his automobile. Currently they receive $425 a month, and they are required to carry business insurance, which is expensive. Mr. Hawkins requested that the Union propose a figure. Ms. Munley stated that a figure had been proposed and was included in Article 11 of the Union's proposal. Mr. Hawkins pointed out that managers who receive a car allowance do not receive as much as the Union is proposing; however, Mr. Hawkins would speak to the City Manager about this. Next Meeting Date The next meeting is scheduled for December 16th at 1:30 p.m. There will be no meeting on December 18th. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 12:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (December 10, 2003) 6