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Minutes 12-03-04MINUTES OF THE BLUE COLLAR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING SESSION BETWEEN THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF FIREMEN & OILERS AND THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH HELD ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2004 AT 1:00 P.M. IN CONFERENCE ROOM B, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present For NC F&O: For the City: Sharon Munley, Trustee, Local 1227 Bob Kruper, Union Steward Mike Osbom, Union Steward Jeff Mark, Union Steward Don Roberts, Union Steward Rick Smith, Union Steward Wilfred Hawkins, Assistant City Manager Jeff Livergood, Public Works Director John Jordan, Assistant Director of Human Resources Call to Order Mr. Hawkins called the meeting to order at 1:20 p.m. A sign-in sheet was circulated. The minutes of November 18 and 23 were reviewed. Ms. Munley gave Mr. Hawkins a Union Counter-Proposal on Article 13, Basic Work Week and Overtime, Article 15, Work Breaks, and Article 28, Vacation. Blue and White Collar Units Ms. Munley advised of a meeting held the night before with the Blue and White Collar bargaining units. The Blue Collar contract was reviewed and with only few exceptions, the White Collar unit was agreeable to the Blue Collar language. Ms. Munley asked if the White Collar unit could be brought in along with the Blue Collar unit at the next bargaining date. The Union did not want to talk about wages until the White Collar was in attendance. Mr. Hawkins preferred to dedicate the next meeting to the White Collar bargaining unit by itself. This was unresolved and will be discussed later. Article 13, Basic Work Week and Overtime Ms. Munley referred to the Union's first proposal from November 18 on this article. The language she submitted to the City today was revised. A new section, section 9, was added regarding payroll errors. The Union wanted these errors corrected and the money given to the affected individual within 48 hours of his or her bringing it to the manager's attention. The mutual responsibility for responding to payroll errors was discussed briefly. Meeting Minutes NCF&O/City of Boynton Beach Blue Collar Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2004 In discussion it was discovered that not all payroll clerks (or people acting as payroll clerks for a department) were having the employees sign off on the payroll before it was submitted to Finance. All agreed that having this done would go a long way towards eliminating payroll errors. Mr. Hawkins did not disagree with the intent of Section 9, but believed that the language needed some work. Article 15, Work Breaks The Union presented new language to the City reading, "Employees who work through their lunch period shall be paid at time and one half for the lunch period time worked each day or be allowed to leave early during the week one and one-half times the actual time worked through the lunch period(s) regardless of the number of hours actually worked in the week." Ms. Munley stated that they wanted this or to be able to leave 1.5 hours early. Mr. Hawkins thought that this is what they should say if that was what they wanted. Mr. Hawkins said that if management asked an employee to work through his lunch break, the employee should get time and a half for that time period. He suggested that this issue be put in a separate article. Ms. Munley will work on the language. Mr. Livergood wanted to clarify work breaks from the standpoint of Public Works. He wanted confirmation in the bargaining contract about who receives what. The language in Section l, "Employees shall receive...." was not optional and would apply to everyone in the unit. They had initially tried to have Solid Waste employees take a break and the argument against that was that Task was treated separately. In his opinion, if Task were to be treated separately, and was in conflict with anything else in the agreement, it needed to be specifically mentioned. If something did not apply to Task in the Labor Agreement, it needed to say so, throughout the Agreement. Otherwise, it would apply. All parties understood with Mr. Livergood's comment. Ms. Munley offered to go through the contract and say what applied to Task employees and what did not. Mr. Livergood did not believe that an employee should be in a truck for upwards of ten hours without taking a lunch break. That was a safety issue for the employee and the public with whom he came in contact. Mr. Kruper felt there was plenty of time to take a lunch break while sitting in line at the dump. Policing this was seen to be a problem by both sides. Ms. Munley inquired whether the City had ever had a safety problem that could be attributed to a lack of work breaks. Mr. Hawkins responded that the City was being proactive; however, they had employees who had accidents. Ms. Munley stated her belief that drivers of public transportation buses did not take lunch breaks and they were transporting people. She thought that there was too much caution being expressed. Meeting Minutes NCF&O/City of Boynton Beach Blue Collar Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2004 Ms. Munley suggested language such as, "Employees MAY take a half hour rest period and that would be included in the Task Assignment - a person would not have to work a half hour over. The issue on the Union's side was that people were working past a ten- hour shift and not getting paid overtime since the manager was deducting a half hour pay for a lunch break that they were not even taking. Ms. Munley then suggested, "Employees MAY take two fifteen-minute breaks or put those breaks together..." Mr. Kruper said that this was being done now and had been since he had been at the City. Article 28, Vacation The Union's counter proposal on this article said, "Vacation shifts of three shifts or less must be requested and approved or denied prior to the end of the work shift preceding the time being requested off. Vacation requests of four shifts or more must be requested and approved or denied 48 hours prior to the time being requested off. Employees shall be allowed to take up to 40 hours of emergency vacation leave annually, without explanation to their supervisor." Ms. Munley stated that the City's proposal called for approval or denial of vacation requests in 30 days, and she felt this was much too long. In the emergency vacation leave, the intention on the part of the Union was not to have to explain the reason for the leave. This is because the Union did not want management deciding whether the employee requesting emergency leave really had an emergency. Mr. Hawkins confirmed with Ms. Munley that the emergency leave 40 hours would be coming out of the vacation to which the employee was already entitled, but that he or she did not have to justify or explain the reason for taking it. The method of notice and timing of it (to the manager) on requests for leave was discussed. It did not seem to the City that an answering machine request for time off was appropriate. After discussion, Mr. Hawkins agreed to the 40 hours of personal time as requested. He wanted, however, hourly increments and was not interested in increments less than that. In regard to the emergency leave requests, Mr. Livergood suggested language as follows: "Such leave shall be acknowledged by the supervisor in advance of the normal start time for the employee's shift." The Union agreed that it was only fair to notify your supervisor before your shift that you would not be coming in. He was not in favor of answering machine notifications. The issue of supervisors not answering their phones was a problem. Mr. Hawkins stated that the Union had the City's word that this would be fixed. He would not tolerate supervisors not answering their phones. Someone in a department had to be willing to be awakened at 3:30 a.m. if necessary for this purpose. Possibly more than one person would have to be designated as the department contact point. Meeting Minutes NCF&O/City of Boynton Beach Blue Collar Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2004 Since a time/date stamp was applied to answering machine calls, it was envisioned that an employee could possibly leave word on the machine. The City will develop language with an A and a B choice for employees to notify their supervisors. A joint written procedure had to be developed and agreed to by both parties. Tentative Agreement Issue Mr. Hawkins raised a concern with the concept of Tentative Agreement to articles. He stated that the way this was interpreted the previous time to mean that the articles were finalized, and he did not want to run into that issue again. Ms. Munley said that the parties could agree about this. Normally, articles given tentative agreement were final unless the parties agreed to go back to them for a particular reason. Mr. Hawkins wanted to establish an understanding that as long as the negotiations were still underway, language could be brought back up for future discussion. He understood that when the negotiations were completed and the agreement had gone out for ratification, there could be no changes. Ms. Munley did not agree with this concept and said that if they had that, either party could do it and the negotiations would never be concluded. Both parties agreed that before finalization, all parties should be brought together to finally agree to the language in each article. Mr. Hawkins wanted to call it "Accepted Language" instead of "Tentative Agreement." Ms. Munley referred to "447" and stated that she believed it had language stating that the parties were required to tentatively agree on specific items. Ms. Munley stated that the word "tentative" implied the ability to change. Both parties agreed that either party had a right to change the language in any given article to which T.A. had been given, as long as the negotiations were still ongoing and it was prior to ratification. One Contract with White Collar Section Ms. Munley suggested that having one contract covering both bargaining units could work, with a separate section pertaining only to the White Collar workers. Mr. Livergood noted that the Union had not responded to a number of the articles in the City's proposal and he asked if the City could assume that there had been no change from the Union's last submittal. Ms. Munley said the City could probably assume that. At the meeting the night before, there was some movement and those articles were presented to the City at this meeting. The Union was also ready to talk Wages. The Union wanted the White Collar bargaining unit in the room when Wages were discussed. Mr. Hawkins wanted the bargaining sessions to be separate - Blue and White. Ms. Munley thought that Meeting Minutes NCF&O/City of Boynton Beach Blue Collar Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2004 Benefits, Vacations, Holidays, Uniforms and Wages were common and should be discussed jointly. Mr. Hawkins agreed that Wages and Benefits could be conducted at the same time, but not other articles. Agreement was reached that at the next meeting, Vacation, Holidays, and Wages would be discussed in the presence of the Blue and White Collar bargaining units. Tentative Agreement on Specific Articles Both parties gave Tentative Agreement (T.A.) to the City's language in these articles: Working in a Higher Class, Article 21; Employees Assigned to Training Duties, Article 22; Military Leave, Article 32; Jury Duty, Article 35; Tuition Assistance Program. Insurance Ms. Munley mentioned that they were close on some other articles, especially Insurance. She asked why the City had stricken "Hospitalization." Mr. Jordan explained this and Ms. Munley was not comfortable with deleting the word. Mr. Hawkins reiterated that the coverage included hospitalization. She asked that the word be left in. Uniforms The City asked for a second opinion, a verification of the diagnosis, if an employee's physician declared that an employee was unable for physical reasons to wear the City's uniform. The Union did not want the City's physician to be able to overrule the employee's physician. Mr. Hawkins declared that the City would not accept a prescription note pertaining to a diagnosis. The doctor would have to actually fill out a form. An incident occurred in which a doctor's note was presented, but it was determined that the doctor had not signed it, the nurse had signed it. This was acceptable to Ms. Munley. Mr. Hawkins asked that the language be changed to reflect, "...on a form prescribed by the City." The City will devise a form a present it to the Union for their concurrence. The City needs to keep a larger supply of hats and get the workers jackets with a zip-out lining. Tool Replacement The current allowance is $750. There was discussion about the current contract being silent as to when it was paid. Some employees were reportedly paid incorrectly. Ms. Munley suggested that the Union discuss this off line. The City wanted to do this on a reimbursement basis so it could justify to the public that the money actually went to tools. Meeting Minutes NCF&O/City of Boynton Beach Blue Collar Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2004 Safety & Health Article The Union wanted to have the sunglasses allowance increased to $150, especially for the lifeguards who needed to be able to see under water. Mr. Hawkins thought that it would be possible to get very adequate sunglasses for much less than that. Mr. Jordan will check into the deal that the Police supposedly have with Oakley on sunglasses. Ms. Munley suggested raising the sunglasses allowance to $135. It would be paid out six days after ratification. The shoe allowance would go to $190. The City had stricken the part about more shoes for the sanitation workers, water plant operators, and meter readers, and she asked why. Mr. Livergood believed that it was more safety shoes and not regular shoes. She wanted that language kept in the contract. A lengthy discussion about the shoe allowance ensued. On of the options mentioned was a $240 shoe allowance for the workers in the section stricken by the City (sanitation workers, etc. as listed in the previous paragraph). The Union wished to have all shoe allowances paid within six days of contract ratification. Mr. Livergood quantified the situation by saying that about a dozen people came in during the year to ask for extra shoes. Mr. Hawkins proposed a shoe allowance of $190 with an option to get more twice a year upon return of the old shoes for the individuals in the groups mentioned. Mr. Hawkins further proposed that the replacement shoes would be for the exact same shoe that was pumhased originally. The City will m-write this language and present it to the Union. The parties took a break at 3:09p. m. The meeting resumed at 3:25p. m. Grievance Procedure (Form) Mr. Hawkins asked Ms. Munley if she had received the City's new proposal on the grievance form. Ms. Munley said she had received it. Mr. Hawkins commented that this still needed to be closed out. Holidays Ms. Munley asked to move the section stating that a person's birthday was really a vacation day and move it to the Vacation article, as opposed to striking it. Mr. Hawkins was agreeable to that, but felt that the employee could take his or her birthday as a vacation day, period. Ms. Munley asked if this included "without prior notice." A vacation day still has to be approved, but it would fall under the new language of "if requesting time off of less than three shifts, it could be asked at the end of the work day prior to the time being requested." Mr. Livergood suggested language stating, Meeting Minutes NCF&O/City of Boynton Beach Blue Collar Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2004 "Employees shall be allowed to take birthdays off and the day shall be charged as a vacation day, subject to all rules regarding vacation times referenced in Article 28." Ms. Munley agreed. Vacation conflicts were discussed two employees could approach the supervisor, one with a regular vacation request and one with a request for which they had already made a commitment (cruise tickets for example). Mr. Livergood felt that the supervisor and the employee with the cruise tickets should make an agreement ahead of time pertaining to what would happen if the City had an emergency that required the employee's services. Trip cancellation insurance was suggested. This item was left open. Bonus Day Ms. Munley stated that the Union did not want to "do the 8 hour thing." The Union wanted people to get what they had always gotten. Mr. Hawkins suggested saying, "you would receive a bonus day based on your shift hours." If you work a ten-hour shift you would get a ten-hour bonus day and the same for an eight-hour shift. According to Mr. Livergood, the point was to reward employees who did not abuse sick time. Regardless of whether a person gets 32 hours a year (8 hour employee) or 40 hours (10- hour employee), they are still getting one day off. Light Duty Ms. Munley asked why the City had made a change about light duty. She did not understand why the City wanted the sole discretion of deciding whether an employee was able to do a certain job without risk of further injury. She felt that the doctor's note should be the governing principle. If an employee was following the instructions in the doctor's note or certificate, there should not be a problem. Mr. Kruper said that some people could hurt themselves outside the line of work and work on light duty and others could not. Mr. Hawkins stated that the City sometimes did this (offered light duty positions to persons injured off the job), but it was not required to do so. There was a difference between Workers Comp and private injury and Mr. Hawkins thought that it might require two separate sections in the contract. The City would take a look at this. Meeting Minutes NCF&O/City of Boynton Beach Blue Collar Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2004 Wages, Article 18 Ms. Munley stated that the Union would like: 3% on market adjustment 5% on passing evaluation Re-development of Pay for Performance instrument Quantitative goals to be established at beginning of performance period A 3-year contract Ifa salary survey were done, implementation would be negotiated The point of quantifying the goals was to let each employee know how he could get the best possible raise, specifically, tied to his work product. The re-development of Pay for Performance was at the peak of the Union's priorities. Ms. Munley stated that everyone had a two-tier system: market adjustment and merit. The merit piece needs some work. The workers were not happy and were demoralized. Mr. Livergood asked if the market adjustment at other places was based on actual market conditions and salary surveys. Ms. Munley said the market adjustment runs at 3%. The merit is normally 0 - 5%, except in Palm Beach Gardens, where the figure is 10%. The Union wanted to have the money locked in because if the City did not fix the performance evaluation system, the workers would at least come out of it with the money they needed. The City mentioned that it was doing a salary survey in January. Ms. Munley said that when she was given the City's wage proposal, she was not told about the survey. Mr. Livergood asked if the City could index the increases to the increase given to the taxpayers in property or user fees. He asked how the Union proposed that the City pay for the increases it was seeking. Eighty per cent of the City's expenses were labor. The property taxes were limited to a 3% increase each year by State law. The City was not going to raise the property taxes 8.15% or the water rates by 8.15%. Ms. Munley asked the City to offer a counter proposal. Mr. Hawkins said that it must be understood that the philosophy of the Commission was not to raise taxes. The City had not raised the ad valorem tax rate in this City for the past eight years. They did a rollback the previous year, in fact. Ms. Munley thought that the property values were rising and this would help. Mr. Hawkins referred to the 3% cap per year. The valuation of the properties in Delray Beach was much higher than that of Boynton Beach due to the beach property in Delray Beach. Just because property values rise, it does not mean that the City will collect more property taxes. Meeting Minutes NCF&O/City of Boynton Beach Blue Collar Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2004 When the salary survey comes back, the Commission can see how Boynton Beach stacks up against other cities and where it needs to be in certain job classes. The Commission will have to decide, based on this information, how it wants to pay people. The Commission wanted to hire 10 new Police officers and add a fifth fire station. Mr. Livergood said that the solid waste division wanted to stay in business. People already complained that garbage pickup was more expensive in Boynton Beach than in surrounding towns. An 8% increase in salaries would translate to a $10.50 residential rate for solid waste. While he wanted to see employees paid well, he thought everyone should remember where the money comes from to pay people. Ms. Munley said if they had the money they asked for and a 3 year-contract, perhaps the City could make adjustments in salaries after the salary survey had been reviewed. Mr. Hawkins said the City would come back with a counter offer. The City just wanted the Union to understand that it was not that simple, and Ms. Munley acknowledged that she understood. Pay for Performance Discussion Mr. Jordan mentioned that a program had been put together. The Union wants to be involved in it. Mr. Jordan said there were some Union people that participated in this. A manager told Bob Kruper that if some progress were not made, he was going to stop going to the meetings. Mr. Hawkins thought that success with Pay for Performance was largely a training issue with the managers. He did not, however, want to "throw the baby out with the bath water." He sought agreement on mutually finding ways to change Pay for Performance to make it work. Some members related "war" stories of their performance evaluations and their managers and their managers' attitude toward them and their appraisals and about the appraisal process in general. Supervisors were still telling people they could not get a "4." Tentative Agreement Tentative agreement was reached on Working in a Higher Class, Employees Assigned to Training Duties, Military Leave, Jury Duty, and the Tuition Assistance Program. The comment was made that if meetings were cancelled, especially on the City's side, all participants needed to be informed in a timely fashion. There being no further discussion, the meeting duly adjourned at 4:33 p.m. 9 Meeting Minutes NCF&O/City of Boynton Beach Blue Collar Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida December 3, 2004 Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (12/6/04) 10