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Minutes 04-12-05 (2) CORRECTED CONTRACTURAL NEGOTIATION MEETING BETWEEN IAFF LOCAL 1891 AND THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH HELD ON TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2005 AT 1 :00 P.M. IN THE FIRE/POLICE TRAINING ROOM, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present: For the City: For the Union: Bill Bingham, Fire Chief Ray Carter, Deputy Chief of Operations John Jordan, Assistant Director of Human Resources Lt. Dean Kinser, President Lt. Robert Kruse, Vice President Lt. Larry Lederhandler, Treasurer Lt. Thomas Murphy, Jr., Secretary Firefighter J.C. Julia, Business Agent Firefighter Barclay Garnsey, Information Command Coordinator Call to Order Chief Bingham called the negotiation meeting to order at 1 :07 p.m. A sign in sheet was circulated and provided to the Recording Secretary for inclusion with the records of the meeting. Summary or Prior Meeting Lt. Kinser noted that not all the Articles were reviewed. The Union had presented a packet with various Articles and Union Articles 1 and 3 were reviewed, along with Article 38 that was presented by both parties. Chief Bingham inquired about Article 4. Lt. Kinser noted this Article had been discussed briefly. This Article had two issues. Chief Bingham pointed out that this Article dealt with Union time off being treated as any other time off and FLSA time at time and one-half. Article 18 - Compassionate Leave Chief Bingham noted that this has been redefined to include stepfathers, stepmothers, and stepchild as family members. Chief Bingham felt there was an error in the Union's proposal. He pointed out that foster parents were not included and they had been included in the prior contract. Lt. Kinser stated this was a typographical error and foster parents should be included. Mr. Jordan inquired if the Union wanted to specifically state foster parents because other people could act as a "foster parent," such as an uncle, aunt, etc. He Meeting Minutes IAFF Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2005 Since they are using the IBB worksheet process that allows the parties to use the drafted language directly from the contract, Lt. Kinser pointed out the advantage to both parties would be if an Article were TAS, TA'dthey would use this language to ensure nothing was being deleted. Chief Bingham agreed to this, but felt the parties were not at this point in the negotiations. Lt. Kinser noted that if an Article was prepared in administrative leqislativeformat it would show if something was deleted. Chief Bingham responded that he was preparing the contract in legislative format and he has already made some of the changes that have been discussed. He pointed out that he kept foster parents in the Article, because he assumed that this was an error. If he finds anything that appears inappropriate, he will bring it to the Union's attention and requested that the Union do the same thing. Hurricane Emergency Designation Status Emerqencv Phone Numbers Lt. Kinser noted this is a new item being brought to the table. Chief Bingham was not certain if this should be part of the Union Contract, but it does need to be resolved. He felt that the Fire Department had a right to call its members to duty in the event of an emergency. Chief Bingham was not certain if the current list of telephone numbers for members was accurate. He would like to have a process in place to maintain reliable telephone numbers and to place some responsibility upon employees to report any change in their telephone numbers and to provide a contact number as well. He also recommended that the list be updated monthly or bi-monthly. Lt. Kinser noted this had been addressed in the past, but was never put into an operational guideline. Anytime an employee changed his address or telephone number they are supposed to fill out a PA Form and furnish it to Administration. He was not sure if this was ever put forth in writing. Chief Bingham inquired if the City had a policy regarding this and was it necessary for any other Departments, other than the Fire Department, to have these numbers. He inquired if HR required all employees to provide a contact number and how does that information get updated. Mr. Jordan responded that the City's policy is that all information on file is supposed to be current. If anything changes, an employee is supposed to report the change within 10 days on a PA Form. This policy can be found in the PPM, and maybe in the APM as well. Chief Bingham also inquired if employees had to provide a contact person and how is this kept track of. Mr. Jordan stated it is the employee's responsibility to update their information and employees' information is verified annually when the W-2s are sent out. Deputy Chief Carter inquired if this was addressed in the hurricane SOG and was informed it was. 2 Meeting Minutes IAFF Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2005 Mr. Garnsey inquired how this could be addressed if it were not included in the contract. Chief Bingham stated it could be included in the Rules and Regulations or the Standard Operating Guidelines. Mr. Garnsey recommended keeping the telephone numbers in the new 911 reverse system that is being budgeted for by ITS. The new system will allow departments to put their own information into the system. Staff could periodically call the numbers to determine if they are correct. Chief Bingham inquired if this would apply to cell phones and Mr. Garnsey stated that it could include cell phones as well. Deputy Chief Carter thought that they should at least quarterly verify phone numbers and then a report could be generated that would list who is or is not in compliance. Lt. Lederhandler stated there are State guidelines for members who have medical certifications and whenever a member changes his phone number, it must be reported to the State. He felt that this could be incorporated into the SOG. Chief Bingham offered to draft an SOG and present it at the next meeting. Article 4 - (SOG A-14) - Union Business (Union Time Pool) Lt. Kinser had some questions regarding the time and one-half and the FLSA. SOG 15 provides that Union time pool and Union business is addressed under vacations in SOG 15. This had been worked through in a Labor-Management forum. The City in past practice required that Union business be identified as Union business and the conference and location of the Union business be revealed. Usually this information is provided on a PA Form where a member would state they are attending a specific convention, etc. Lt. Kinser questioned why using Union time pool for administrative proceedings is being brought up since it is already in effect and there have been no problems. Deputy Chief Carter thought Chief Ness had an issue regarding the timing of the paperwork when a Union rep walks into work and tells his supervisor he needs time off. It is important the Department has sufficient notification so they could determine if this would be an overtime issue that would shift it over to the Union pool and if there are sufficient people to cover that person on his shift. Lt. Kinser explained that the Union time pool was put into the contract three years ago because there was not enough time in the Union business bank to perform duties and related functions. Lt. Kinser felt what Deputy Chief Carter referred to was a one-time issue that happened two months after the Article was adopted. He explained that the only time they use time pool is when there is no Union business time available. If an individual took a Union business day, this would take a vacation day off the books, which does not increase the number of days off. Lt. Kinser noted that they did go to Boston and used Union time pool and administration had a problem with this because it occurred during hurricane season. Whenever Union 3 Meeting Minutes IAFF Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2005 time pool is used, the appropriate paperwork gets prepared and signed off by the Union President. The paperwork is then given to the Battalion Chief and the fill in procedures for that person has been made. Lt. Kinser explained how this entire problem surfaced and how it was addressed. Deputy Chief Carter will speak with Chief Ness regarding this situation about people requesting a day off without doing the paperwork ahead of time. Lt. Kinser pointed out that the have used Union time pool only three times in three years. Deputy Chief Carter felt the issue here was that administration wanted to have a tracking mechanism so they can plan when someone takes time off and make sure they are administering it properly. SOG A-15 is supplemental to Union business/Union time pool and sets out the provisions for submitting paperwork. Mr. Garnsey did not see the link between authorized leave and Union business. Deputy Chief Carter felt that Chief Ness would like to have authorized leave requested in a timely manner. Lt. Lederhandler pointed out regarding the Boston trip, the problem was they were over their 240 hours allowed under the Union contract and the people who were coming in for Union time pool were sent home because operationally there were enough personnel on duty. Lt. Kinser inquired if administration wanted them to fill out authorized leave paperwork to inform administration what they are doing. Deputy Chief Carter did not think Chief Ness' intent was for people to fill out authorized leave papers, but there needs to be some paperwork generated when a person is doing Union business and would be using Union time pool so it could be tracked. Lt. Kinser pointed out that a place entitled "Union business/Union pool" was added to the PA form. Lt. Kinser recommended deferring the Article at this time. Mr. Garnsey was not certain if FLSA overtime rules applied to this and the language that was used was modeled after another department that used straight time. Deputy Chief Carter felt that it does apply and if a firefighter works more hours than he was supposed to work, he should be paid time and one-half, regardless of where the funds come from. The City called for a recess at 1 :39 p.m. The Meeting reconvened at 1 :43 p.m. Deputy Chief Carter stated the IBB worksheet was correct in making it apply to authorized leave; however, it is not the Department's intent to do that and he does not think it is necessary. Lt. Kinser noted the Union would be willing to strike the language "no later than the preceding corresponding shift" in the current Contract. Deputy Chief Carter requested that the Union provide the City some language with strikeouts to show what is being deleted. Deputy Chief Carter offered to pull the FLSA language dealing specifically with time and one-half and Lt. Kinser stated this was not necessary. 4 Meeting Minutes IAFF Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2005 Lt. Kinser stated whenever there is a problem with Union business or Union time pool, it could be dealt with through a Labor/Management instrument and any changes made could be done in SOG format. Chief Singham inquired what the Union's exact change would be to Article 4. The Union is proposing that the language reading "no later than the preceding corresponding shift" at the end of the sentence beginning with "Five of the ten shift days" be deleted. Lt. Kinser pointed out in Section 3 of that Article, there is a duplication of language that reads "requests to use this time are subject to daily staffing requirements and must be approved by the Shift Commander" since this same language is in Section 1. Lt. Kinser pointed out that Section 1 applies to Union business; Section 2 applies to Union time pool; and Section 3 ties into Section 2. Chief Bingham recommended making this language Section 2(a) and he will clean up this Article. CBA Article 16 - Labor/Management Next Article addressed was Article 16. This Article provides that the Union supports the City in allowing staff to make sure that shift swaps are done with comparable levels of expertise. The City does not feel that any shift swaps should generate overtime and whoever fills in for another firefighter must be able to fulfill the requirements of that day. The Union should not be allowed to have a firefighter have a person fill in for him that does not meet the requirements, resulting in the City having to pay overtime. Chief Bingham felt that the Contract language that states "Shift officers of the employees who are exchanging time shall not permit the exchange if it affects the normal operation of work, if call back is required, or if step-up pay is required" is clear. Chief Bingham inquired if this is being complied with. Deputy Chief Carter reported Chief Ness had an issue with this because there have been some occasions where an employee asked for a shift swap approval two or three months ahead of time and the approval was granted; however, the shift swap employees went on light duty, making those employees unavailable for the shift swap. As a result, the Department had to hire employees on overtime to perform the shift swap. The Department would like to know how they could deal with this without putting a timeframe when an employee could apply for a shift swap. Chief Bingham stated currently only 24-hours advance notice would have to be given and there is no maximum when a request for a shift swap could be submitted. Lt. Murphy was not certain if there were many problems with shift swapping, because personnel could be moved around on a daily basis. Chief Bingham noted that supervisors check the daily rosters to determine if there was unnecessary overtime or unnecessary step ups. Sometimes, these things do not get caught in enough time. 5 Meeting Minutes IAFF Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2005 Deputy Fire Chief Carter pointed out that the Department has to deal with daily assignment issues and certifications for certain units. Administration was asking if something occurred between the time the shift swap was approved and the time when the shift swap occurred, that resulted in overtime, how is this addressed? The Union requested to caucus at 1 :56 p.m. The Meeting reconvened at 2:00 p.m. Lt. Kinser asked the City what specifically they were looking for. He stated that they would come back to the table on this issue. Chief Bingham stated that the Battalion Chiefs have to be able to exercise discretion when it comes to staffing, since that is their job. Lt. Carter recommended that the language be made consistent because in one section of the Article it provides for 24 hours notice to the shift officers and in another section it states that Lieutenants and Captains would be referred to as officers. He felt for consistency, 24-hour notice should be provided to the Shift Commanders. Chief Bingham felt the term Battalion Chief should be used. Deputy Chief Carter stated administration does not want to place a hardship on employees because they did their due diligence and planned ahead of time for the time they needed off and arranged for a shift swap six months ahead of time; administration was okay with this. However, if something occurred that put the Department in an operational situation that would result in hiring overtime personnel two months before the swap occurs, administration would want to be able to tell that person that his shift swap can no longer be honored. Deputy Chief Carter noted they do not want to be unfair to employees that make plans ahead of time since they did what they needed to do to get the time off. Therefore, it needs to be determined what the appropriate time would be when administration could tell that employee that operationally there is a problem with the swap and to be able to deny it. Lt. Kruse asked what time the Department was looking at. Chief Bingham noted it was difficult to plan things months in advance, but they are willing to give a tentative approval to a swap, but at some point in time, at a time to be determined, the employee would receive final approval. After final approval, the Department would deal with whatever surfaces after that. However, prior to the time of final approval, the Department would like to have the ability to make a change. The Union will bring something back on this Article. Article 14, Section 3B - Sick Leave Chief Bingham requested that this Article be deferred. He will have some language at the next meeting. 6 Meeting Minutes IAFF Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2005 Article 11 - Physical Examinations Chief Bingham reported that there have been occasions when employees do not show up for their physicals. As a result, when employees fail to keep their appointment, the City has no idea whether that employee is fit for duty while he/she continues to work. This results in the Department assuming a tremendous amount of liability by having someone working that may not be fit for duty. Therefore, the City would like to have some appropriate language to address this situation. The City is proposing tho follo\\'ing options has offered the followinq options: ~ Employees who fail to fulfill their physical exam requirements will receive leave without pay status until such time as they complete their physicals. ~ Should an employee complete their physical exam requirements and then be found to be unfit for duty, that employee will be placed on administrative leave or light duty (based on the recommendation of the clinic physician). ~ In order to facilitate keeping their appointments, employees will be given opportunities to schedule those appointments and/or medical tests while on duty. ~ These additional tests can be performed by the employee's own physician (at their own expense) provided the results of those tests are approved by the clinic physician. He pointed out that there was one employee who had been working for several months and had been deemed unfit for duty, pending subsequent testing. Chief Bingham did not see where this was addressed anywhere in the contract. He requested that this be added to Article 11, as Section 5. Lt. Kinser recommended adding this language under Section 1 of the Article where Section 1 would become Section 1 (a) and the new language would become Section 1 (b). Chief Bingham agreed to this. Chief Bingham inquired about the next time the parties would meet. Because the Union members would be in class during the last week of the month, they would not be able to meet until the first week in May. This will be further discussed at the close of the meeting. Article 8 - Section 2 - Kelly Day Deputy Chief Carter stated they wanted to make sure that no one went longer than three weeks without a Kelly Day. They were getting into situations where people selected a new Kelly Day, and there was a problem in trying to migrate from one day to another and still make certain that they worked the right number of hours and still have Kelly Days within three weeks of each other. Administration feels that this concept does not work. They have to draw the line based on the work cycle and pay cycle so that they match up every six weeks. 7 Meeting Minutes IAFF Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2005 Chief Bingham felt that the issue has become far too complex and it has cost the Department a lot of money. He did not think that employees felt this was an opportunity to make more money, but are victims of the policies that the Department put in place. It has, however, worked in favor of employees because over a certain period of time, employees were being paid more money. The Department would like to make the process simpler and the City should not have to pay employees between $8,000 to $10,000 to do Kelly Days. The Department would like to publish a shift calendar that would be far enough ahead that would mark the Kelly Day cycles, pay cycles and how they match up. This way, everyone will know what day is their Kelly Day. The way it will work is that every six weeks they will match up; there will be a three-week work cycle and a two-week pay cycle. This way, employees will receive equal paychecks comprised for 96-hours every two weeks. Lt. Kinser requested that a shift calendar be brought to the next meeting so they look at this. Deputy Chief Carter stated they would do a presentation at the next meeting. Deputy Chief Carter pointed out that what was happening was employees were trying to change their Kelly days and phase them in over a period of time. This resulted in people getting paid for 24 hours that they did not work and this cannot continue. In Article 8, Section 2 third line, the language would be changed from the current language of "Kelly Day off every three (3) weeks" to "Kelly Day off during every 21-day schedule." This is the only change necessary to clarify this language. Lt. Kinser distributed a new matrix to the City that included updated comparables on wages since the last collective bargaining agreement was negotiated. Chief Bingham asked where the information came from and was informed it came directly from the contracts and they are available if anyone in the City would like to see them. Mr. Jordan inquired why the figures went down for the City in the first line since the last com parables. Mr. Garnsey stated that these figures do not reflect paramedics that resulted in a reduced figure. Mr. Garnsey went over the comparables in the matrix and explained how it was designed to show different departments and different firefighter categories. The com parables for each city listed have a minimum and a maximum for the various firefighter categories. Chief Bingham inquired if the contracts were one, two or three year contracts. Lt. Kinser stated 2004 contract years have expired; 2005 will expire this year; and 2006 will expire in that year. Chief Bingham inquired if longevity was factored into the figures, and Mr. Garnsey stated they did except for Boynton Beach that does not have longevity. Boynton Beach pays longevity in one lump sum at one time. Chief Bingham inquired if paramedic vvas factored in and was informed it was fletlonqevity was factored into the fiqures, and Mr. Garnsey stated they did, except for 8 Meeting Minutes IAFF Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2005 Boynton Beach that does not have the same lonqevity formula. Mr. Garnsey stated the information they received did not include paramedic. Some departments pay an additional 15% for paramedics so the maximum would be higher than the City's maximum. Deputy Chief Carter inquired if it were possible to determine what departments pay a percent or lump sum for paramedics. Lt. Kinser will provide this information at the next meeting. Chief Bingham inquired if the Articles that are attached tho to to the matrix relate to salaries in one way or another. Lt. Kinser stated that those Articles are the Articles that were presented at the first meeting and the Union stated they would provide some IBB worksheets at this meeting. Chief Bingham stated that he would like to look these over and bring them back to the next meeting. Article 14 - Wages The Union has added a $1,000 lump sum to the initial starting pay for firefighters that could be considered a market adjustment and from that point on the plan would adjust. The City will review the Article. Article 38 - Compensatory Time Lt. Kinser noted the Union had concerns regarding the limit of comp time that would be available and administration was concerned about people going over the maximum amount allowed. They have brought back language to address both concerns. The Department has no problem with 24-hour increments. Chief Bingham noted that under the Tentative Agreement Statement a similar format that the Department provided was used, but the numbers were changed. The City's proposal was for a 60-hour cap and the Union raised it to 120 hours. Chief Bingham stated their main concern is that comp time does not get out of control and that an already existing position would not be aggravated without a mechanism for tracking. Mr. Jordan noted that the Finance Department does not want to keep comp time on the books more than 60 days. If left on the books longer than that, it would be paid out as overtime. Lt. Kinser stated this could be a problem for members because they can only take comp time when time is available and is dictated by operational levels. Chief Bingham added that administration monitors comp time. For the record, Lt. Kinser stated the Union furnished the City with the following Articles: · Article 12 - Group Insurance · Article 14 - Wages · Article 25 - Educationallncentive · Article 26 - Medical Certification 9 Meeting Minutes IAFF Negotiations Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2005 · Article 30 - Longevity . Re-submittal of Article 38 - Compensatory Time · Other Issues . The Union submitted a new Article 3 entitled "Union Dues" and inquired if the City had any problems with this Article. The Article dealt with payroll deduction of payroll dues. The only change was a language change. Chief Bingham was agreeable with this change. Lt. Kinser reported the Union is working on a new Article dealing with health insurance for retirees. They are looking at the City supplementing monetarily health insurance for retirees when they leave the City. This is permitted under 501 c(9) of the Internal Revenue Code. They are also working on beneficiary language and preparation of a plan. They anticipate bringing to the table the negotiating aspects of the plan, and Lt. Kinser felt that after this is presented, everything else would fall into place to establish the plan. They expect to introduce this at the next negotiation session. Chief Bingham inquired if the City would be required to contribute to the plan. Lt. Kinser stated they are looking at a City match. Mr. Jordan pointed out that the City does not contribute anything towards retirees' medical insurance. Mr. Jordan explained the new Vantage Care Plan that was just adopted by the City. Once an employee puts money into the Vantage Care Plan the funds are invested. Lt. Kinser pointed out that many cities, as well as the County, have some kind of subsidized retiree health insurance plan. Approval of Minutes The minutes were accepted as presented. Next Meeting: Tuesday, May 3, 2005 at 1 :00 p.m. - Place to be announced. There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 3:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (April 14, 2005) 10