Minutes 07-22-08
MINUTES OF CONTRACT NEGOTIATION SESSION BETWEEN IAFF LOCAL 1891
AND THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, HELD ON WEDNESDAY,
JULY 22, 2008 AT 9:30 A.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
Sharyn Goebelt, Director Human Resources
Dean Kinser, President
Robert Kruse, Vice President
Larry Lederhandler, Treasurer
Tom Murphy, Secretary
Miguel Reyes, Executive Board Member
Adam Turey, Executive Board Member
C. J. Julia, Business Agent
Opening
Bill Bingham, Boynton Beach Fire Chief, opened the session at 8:36 a.m.
Chief Bingham advised he created an activity summary and recapped approximately 21
Interest Based Bargaining forms (IBBs) were logged, and two or three were on hold. He
requested if any changes needed to be made to let him know.
Dean Kinser, Local 1891 President had requested a copy of the legislative format for
the collective bargaining agreement. Chief Bingham explained not everything had been
captured in the document, but it would be updated as needed as there were many date
changes, language changes and deletions.
Chief Bingham distributed the draft document and explained it was with the
understanding it was RGW entire document and at the end, all the addendums were
attached. The Career Ladder and the Tuition Reimbursement had not been changed.
A change had been made to Addenda D changing the word "course" to the word
"program" in the Career Ladder "Required to be promoted to Battalion Chief' section.
Another change made in Addenda C pertained to Post Secondary Education to ensure
the programs were accredited, which now read "... as approved by the U.S.
Department of Education. Office of Postsecondary Education." He also announced the
old pay scale was there as well. He thought they could start to tie up some of the loose
ends with the IBBs. The City had no IBBs to present except for two openers which
Chief Bingham would complete later in the day.
Mr. Kinser announced the Union was finished presenting. He reviewed the pay scale
information and explained he took the salaries and formulated minimum and maximum
ranges based on the City's data dated July 9, 2008. He sorted the information in
descending order and reviewed it. He explained paramedic pay was not included.
1
Meeting Minutes
IAFF Negotiation Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
July 22,2008
Chief Bingham expressed he thought they had enough salary information to start putting
a package together.
Article 12, Section 1.A Medical Insurance was discussed and it was noted there was a
counterclaim submitted on June19, 2008 which was not captured on the worksheet. Ms.
Goebelt advised commencing October 1, 2008, the City would begin tracking the
medical claims for firefighters. The Union had proposed going to self-insurance but the
City had a counter proposal. Chief Bingham inquired about the status of the article. Mr.
Kinser explained this time around they would not be withdrawing from the insurance
pool. The Union members explained the article language the City put forward waived
their right to impact bargain. The City was moving to one insurance plan, and the issue
was down the road the insurance could be changed and out-of-pocket expenses raised.
The Union was amenable to discussing the issue at any time. There was an opener
under Section 2 of the contract which provided the opportunity to bargain.
Discussion followed about any language that took away the right to impact bargain. Mr.
Kinser explained in the current contract there was language that indicated the types of
benefits currently in effect shall not be reduced. Chief Bingham felt the language was
there as a just-in-case situation, if there was a possibility the rates would increase. The
City set a threshold of 15% before impact bargaining occurred. The current contract
kept the rates the same. Mr. Kinser read from the contract "Types of coverage currently
in effect shall not be reduced. All policies shall be reviewed annually and modifications
to the insurance plans may be made which benefit both the City and the employees." If
there was a major impact, the City and the Union have to sit down and review.
It was pointed out the 15% increase was for dependent coverage, it did not address the
employee coverage. Mr. Kinser explained half of his membership had dependent
coverage. A discussion ensued about the definition of reduction in coverage. If
someone went to the doctor and had a higher co-pay for the same service was it a
reduction in coverage?
It was suggested tying the language together so one could not occur without the other.
As an example, the coverage could not be changed without the two parties meeting to
discuss the impact and develop a solution. The City believed that was already implied
in the contract. It was thought if the coverage was reduced, they would be bordering on
an Unfair Labor Practice. Mr. Kinser explained it created an impact. He expressed the
paragraph in Section 8 had to be consensual. Chief Bingham thought they should work
on the current language and the City's language to develop and define the issue and
what would require impact bargaining. The parties agreed to work on Article 12,
Section 1.A Medical Insurance.
It was noted the insurance issue was on the City Commission Agenda for August 5,
2008. The new plan would be the 1748 Standard plan which was still the richest plan
Blue Cross offered. It was noted; however; every year the firefighters incur a 10%
increase in insurance. The concern was if insurance increased to 14%, the Union could
2
Meeting Minutes
IAFF Negotiation Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
July 22, 2008
not bargain and it equated to $37 deduction per paycheck. There was agreement the
intent needed to be clearly defined and the Union agreed to work on language that
would carry through into the future. There was also agreement, moving forward, the
Fire Department claims would be tracked separately.
Chief Bingham reviewed the following articles:
Article 1, Recognition, Section 2 had changes, which were to delete section A.
Articles 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 had no changes.
Article 7, Rules and Regulations, had changes which were to identify the members of
the Executive Board.
Article 8, Hours of Work, and Article 9, Working Conditions, had no changes
Article 10, Uniforms and Safety Equipment, had changes which deleted Section 2.B and
had clarifying language regarding Special Operations Uniforms
Article 12, Group Insurance/Drug Free Workplace ,and Article 13, Operators Insurance,
had no changes; however, Article 12 was pending.
Article 11, Physical Exams and Immunizations, was reviewed later in the meeting.
Article 14, Wages, and IBB 12 was a request for special operations pay and IBB 22 was
a request to increase paramedic incentive pay. The City requested a language change
to make the language consistent with the Performance Appraisal handbook and both
the contract and Performance Appraisal were in sync, defining unsatisfactory as both
low scores and sick occasions. This article was pending on the wages and the two
incentives.
Article 15, Overtime and Call Back, Article 16, Exchange of Time, had no changes.
Article 17, Sick Leave, and IBB 10 requested a two tiered system and a payout based
on usage and a more recent request for 36 hours instead of the 24 for not calling in sick
for six months. IBB 10 was deleted.
Article 18, Compassionate Leave, and Article 19, Vacation, had no changes.
Article 20, Personal Time, had clarifying language for a two hour minimum and two hour
maximum increments.
Article 21, Holidays, was reviewed and had no changes.
3
Meeting Minutes
IAFF Negotiation Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
July 22,2008
Article 22, Court, Article 23, Working out of Classification, Article 24, Education had no
changes.
Article 25, Educational Incentive, had changes which were adjusted dates and a
sentence deleted at the end. There was discussion when it pertained to Paramedic and
Special Operations that it would be made an incentive pay and include it there as
opposed to the Wage article. Chief Bingham explained the issue arose with the IBB for
the Honor Guard incentive, if they considered they needed a new place to put it
because the other two positions were in wages. It was not an educational incentive.
The Union suggested including it under Article 14, Wages and putting it in a separate
Certification Pay with the language in Section 1.A that "Employees assigned to a
technical rescue team would receive $1,872 per year, equating to an hourly rate of
seventy-five cents per hour over and above the base rate of pay which will not be
included in the employees maximum." That was how it was applied, but after additional
discussion, it would be included under Article 26, the Medical Certification Article and
renamed to Certification Incentive. This article would include Paramedics, Special Ops
and Dive members.
Article 27, Licenses and Registration Fees, Article 28, Seniority List, Articles 29,
Vacancies and Promotions, Article 30, Longevity, Article 31, Bulletin Boards, and Article
32, Notifications and Distributions all had no changes.
Article 33, Grievance, had changes to reflect the Union Grievance Committee was
changed to the Union Executive Board.
Article 34, Prevailing Rights, Article 35, Savings Clause, Article 36, Appendices,
Amendments & Additions, Article 37, Successors, had no changes.
Article 38, Compensatory Time. Chief Bingham explained he had asjed twice for a Fair
Labor Standards Opinion but has not received one. The Union advised they would
obtain one. Chief Bingham's notes indicated the Union wanted compensatory time to
be contributed to the Union Time Pool each September 30th, provided each employee
agreed to it. The Union explained there was no draft on that, due to them awaiting the
information on the Fair Labor Standards Act. It was noted the tallies for comp time were
done manually. There was also a change to change to the cap of 144 hours.
Article 39, Management Rights, had no changes.
Article 40 Supplemental Retirement Insurance, had a change to the dates. The
numbers were not yet added. If the article moved forward the contribution would be
increased .4% in 2009, the second year of the contract, and an additional .5% on the
third year of the contract in 2010 which would total 3%. A spelling correction changing
the word retiree to retire was made. The City would present the package back to the
Union.
4
Meeting Minutes
IAFF Negotiation Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
July 22, 2008
Article 41, Duration, would have date changes. Mr. Kinser inquired where the language
would be inserted for the reopener. Chief Bingham believed the reopener should be in
the article it pertained to. The only reopener the Union would have was under Group
Insurance, Section b, Article 12 and that language would be used for other reopeners.
The City had a reopener because of the Fire Assessment and there might be a
summary judgment. There were no other changes under duration other than the date.
Article 12, Group Insurance, Section 5.B was discussed. There were changes revising
the Florida Statute numbers. There were two sections in the contract that referenced
the statute during the duration of the contract. This pertained to Article 11 as well.
Article 11, Physical Exams and Immunizations, Section 1A had changes that ensured
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1582 standard was the most current
edition, as approved by the Labor Management Team, had been revised. Also IBB 4
referenced Section 4 to clarify Hepatitis A vaccine was addressed in Section 3C and to
add "3C" to the last sentence in Section 4. IBB 16 referencing Section 1 A, Band
Section 4 had revisions regarding additional testing under NFPA 1582 regarding fitness
for duty; addressing Fire Department physical criteria during conflicting opinions; and a
proposed language change regarding exposures.
Discussion followed with the City's position being there would be no need to go to a
third opinion as long as the exams are given without pretenses. Since 1582 specifically
addressed that, the provision would apply and the City was agreeable to it because they
had already done it. The Union thought with the new language "the current edition" and
the "as approved by Labor Management" would be acceptable to both parties. It was
noted 1582 was 200 pages. If the City put the sections of 1582 that applied and the
notation the most current edition of 1582 was used, the Union indicated that it may be
acceptable. The Union would review the provision and draft a proposal.
There was an additional change to the article which would be to add Section F to
request a full body CT scan every five years. The only cost provided for the service was
through Palm Beach County. It was assumed the City would obtain the same rate
through a piggyback. Ms. Goebelt explained the City was going out to bid for the clinic,
and she would check on the matter. Normally it was covered by insurance if a
prescription was given for it you have a condition. This was not the same and it was
preventative. The County's cost for the test was between $600 and $700. The
recommendation was not to have the test done more than every five years and it would
be voluntary. Mr. Kinser would draft language to implement the test and how it would
be implemented, so it would not have a huge impact. The County had a contract for
$800 for the PET/CT Scan and they used a center on Congress in Lantana.
In Section 4 of Article 11, the Union inquired if they needed to address anything it
pertained to recordkeeping with the current edition of F.S. 95.286, 1995. Chief Bingham
suggested going by Florida Statute Title and it would be part of the final review.
5
Meeting Minutes
IAFF Negotiation Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
July 22, 2008
The outstanding items were Article 11, 12, 14, 17, 26, 38, 40 and two addendums.
There was discussion plugging the minimum and maximum ranges into the Wage
Article. They also needed the most current testing facility if the provider changed, then
it would affect the language in the document because it was outlined where the facility
was. Chief Bingham would walk it over to Risk Management.
The Union agreed those ideas were outstanding and the next session was scheduled
for August 20, 2008 at 8:30 a.m.
Catherine Cherry
Recording Secretary
080408
6
MINUTES OF CONTRACT NEGOTIATION SESSION BETWEEN IAFF LOCAL 1891
AND THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, HELD ON WEDNESDAY,
JULY 22, 2008 AT 9:30 A.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
Sharyn Goebelt, Director Human Resources
Dean Kinser, President
Robert Kruse, Vice President
Larry Lederhandler, Treasurer
Tom Murphy, Secretary
Miguel Reyes, Executive Board Member
Adam Turey, Executive Board Member
C. J. Julia, Business Agent
Opening
Bill Bingham, Boynton Beach Fire Chief, opened the session at 8:36 a.m.
Chief Bingham advised he created an activity summary and recapped approximately 21
Interest Based Bargaining forms (IBBs) were logged, and two or three were on hold. He
requested if any changes needed to be made to let him know.
Dean Kinser, Local 1891 President had requested a copy of the legislative format for
the collective bargaining agreement. Chief Bingham explained not everything had been
captured in the document, but it would be updated as needed as there were many date
changes, language changes and deletions.
Chief Bingham distributed the draft document and explained it was with the
understanding it was RGW entire document and at the end, all the addendums were
attached. The Career Ladder and the Tuition Reimbursement had not been changed.
A change had been made to Addenda D changing the word "course" to the word
"program" in the Career Ladder "Required to be promoted to Battalion Chief' section.
Another change made in Addenda C pertained to Post Secondary Education to ensure
the programs were accredited, which now read "... as approved by the U.S.
Department of Education. Office of Postsecondary Education." He also announced the
old pay scale was there as well. He thought they could start to tie up some of the loose
ends with the IBBs. The City had no IBBs to present except for two openers which
Chief Bingham would complete later in the day.
Mr. Kinser announced the Union was finished presenting. He reviewed the pay scale
information and explained he took the salaries and formulated minimum and maximum
ranges based on the City's data dated July 9, 2008. He sorted the information in
descending order and reviewed it. He explained paramedic pay was not included.
1
Meeting Minutes
IAFF Negotiation Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
July 22, 2008
Chief Bingham expressed he thought they had enough salary information to start putting
a package together.
Article 12, Section 1.A Medical Insurance was discussed and it was noted there was a
counterclaim submitted on June19, 2008 which was not captured on the worksheet. Ms.
Goebelt advised commencing October 1, 2008, the City would begin tracking the
medical claims for firefighters. The Union had proposed going to self-insurance but the
City had a counter proposal. Chief Bingham inquired about the status of the article. Mr.
Kinser explained this time around they would not be withdrawing from the insurance
pool. The Union members explained the article language the City put forward waived
their right to impact bargain. The City was moving to one insurance plan, and the issue
was down the road the insurance could be changed and out-of-pocket expenses raised.
The Union was amenable to discussing the issue at any time. There was an opener
under Section 2 of the contract which provided the opportunity to bargain.
Discussion followed about any language that took away the right to impact bargain. Mr.
Kinser explained in the current contract there was language that indicated the types of
benefits currently in effect shall not be reduced. Chief Bingham felt the language was
there as a just-in-case situation, if there was a possibility the rates would increase. The
City set a threshold of 15% before impact bargaining occurred. The current contract
kept the rates the same. Mr. Kinser read from the contract "Types of coverage currently
in effect shall not be reduced. All policies shall be reviewed annually and modifications
to the insurance plans may be made which benefit both the City and the employees." If
there was a major impact, the City and the Union have to sit down and review.
It was pointed out the 15% increase was for dependent coverage, it did not address the
employee coverage. Mr. Kinser explained half of his membership had dependent
coverage. A discussion ensued about the definition of reduction in coverage. If
someone went to the doctor and had a higher co-pay for the same service was it a
reduction in coverage?
It was suggested tying the language together so one could not occur without the other.
As an example, the coverage could not be changed without the two parties meeting to
discuss the impact and develop a solution. The City believed that was already implied
in the contract. It was thought if the coverage was reduced, they would be bordering on
an Unfair Labor Practice. Mr. Kinser explained it created an impact. He expressed the
paragraph in Section 8 had to be consensual. Chief Bingham thought they should work
on the current language and the City's language to develop and define the issue and
what would require impact bargaining. The parties agreed to work on Article 12,
Section 1.A Medical Insurance.
It was noted the insurance issue was on the City Commission Agenda for August 5,
2008. The new plan would be the 1748 Standard plan which was still the richest plan
Blue Cross offered. It was noted; however; every year the firefighters incur a 10%
increase in insurance. The concern was if insurance increased to 14%, the Union could
2
Meeting Minutes
IAFF Negotiation Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
July 22, 2008
not bargain and it equated to $37 deduction per paycheck. There was agreement the
intent needed to be clearly defined and the Union agreed to work on language that
would carry through into the future. There was also agreement, moving forward, the
Fire Department claims would be tracked separately.
Chief Bingham reviewed the following articles:
Article 1, Recognition, Section 2 had changes, which were to delete section A.
Articles 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 had no changes.
Article 7, Rules and Regulations, had changes which were to identify the members of
the Executive Board.
Article 8, Hours of Work, and Article 9, Working Conditions, had no changes
Article 10, Uniforms and Safety Equipment, had changes which deleted Section 2.B and
had clarifying language regarding Special Operations Uniforms
Article 12, Group Insurance/Drug Free Workplace ,and Article 13, Operators Insurance,
had no changes; however, Article 12 was pending.
Article 11, Physical Exams and Immunizations, was reviewed later in the meeting.
Article 14, Wages, and IBB 12 was a request for special operations pay and IBB 22 was
a request to increase paramedic incentive pay. The City requested a language change
to make the language consistent with the Performance Appraisal handbook and both
the contract and Performance Appraisal were in sync, defining unsatisfactory as both
low scores and sick occasions. This article was pending on the wages and the two
incentives.
Article 15, Overtime and Call Back, Article 16, Exchange of Time, had no changes.
Article 17, Sick Leave, and IBB 10 requested a two tiered system and a payout based
on usage and a more recent request for 36 hours instead of the 24 for not calling in sick
for six months. IBB 10 was deleted.
Article 18, Compassionate Leave, and Article 19, Vacation, had no changes.
Article 20, Personal Time, had clarifying language for a two hour minimum and two hour
maximum increments.
Article 21, Holidays, was reviewed and had no changes.
3
Meeting Minutes
IAFF Negotiation Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
July 22, 2008
Article 22, Court, Article 23, Working out of Classification, Article 24, Education had no
changes.
Article 25, Educational Incentive, had changes which were adjusted dates and a
sentence deleted at the end. There was discussion when it pertained to Paramedic and
Special Operations that it would be made an incentive pay and include it there as
opposed to the Wage article. Chief Bingham explained the issue arose with the IBB for
the Honor Guard incentive, if they considered they needed a new place to put it
because the other two positions were in wages. It was not an educational incentive.
The Union suggested including it under Article 14, Wages and putting it in a separate
Certification Pay with the language in Section 1.A that "Employees assigned to a
technical rescue team would receive $1,872 per year, equating to an hourly rate of
seventy-five cents per hour over and above the base rate of pay which will not be
included in the employees maximum." That was how it was applied, but after additional
discussion, it would be included under Article 26, the Medical Certification Article and
renamed to Certification Incentive. This article would include Paramedics, Special Ops
and Dive members.
Article 27, Licenses and Registration Fees, Article 28, Seniority List, Articles 29,
Vacancies and Promotions, Article 30, Longevity, Article 31, Bulletin Boards, and Article
32, Notifications and Distributions all had no changes.
Article 33, Grievance, had changes to reflect the Union Grievance Committee was
changed to the Union Executive Board.
Article 34, Prevailing Rights, Article 35, Savings Clause, Article 36, Appendices,
Amendments & Additions, Article 37, Successors, had no changes.
Article 38, Compensatory Time. Chief Bingham explained he had asjed twice for a Fair
Labor Standards Opinion but has not received one. The Union advised they would
obtain one. Chief Bingham's notes indicated the Union wanted compensatory time to
be contributed to the Union Time Pool each September 30th, provided each employee
agreed to it. The Union explained there was no draft on that, due to them awaiting the
information on the Fair Labor Standards Act. It was noted the tallies for comp time were
done manually. There was also a change to change to the cap of 144 hours.
Article 39, Management Rights, had no changes.
Article 40 Supplemental Retirement Insurance, had a change to the dates. The
numbers were not yet added. If the article moved forward the contribution would be
increased .4% in 2009, the second year of the contract, and an additional .5% on the
third year of the contract in 2010 which would total 3%. A spelling correction changing
the word retiree to retire was made. The City would present the package back to the
Union.
4
Meeting Minutes
IAFF Negotiation Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
July 22, 2008
Article 41, Duration, would have date changes. Mr. Kinser inquired where the language
would be inserted for the reopener. Chief Bingham believed the reopener should be in
the article it pertained to. The only reopener the Union would have was under Group
Insurance, Section b, Article 12 and that language would be used for other reopeners.
The City had a reopener because of the Fire Assessment and there might be a
summary judgment. There were no other changes under duration other than the date.
Article 12, Group Insurance, Section 5.B was discussed. There were changes revising
the Florida Statute numbers. There were two sections in the contract that referenced
the statute during the duration of the contract. This pertained to Article 11 as well.
Article 11, Physical Exams and Immunizations, Section 1A had changes that ensured
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1582 standard was the most current
edition, as approved by the Labor Management Team, had been revised. Also IBB 4
referenced Section 4 to clarify Hepatitis A vaccine was addressed in Section 3C and to
add "3C" to the last sentence in Section 4. IBB 16 referencing Section 1 A, Band
Section 4 had revisions regarding additional testing under NFPA 1582 regarding fitness
for duty; addressing Fire Department physical criteria during conflicting opinions; and a
proposed language change regarding exposures.
Discussion followed with the City's position being there would be no need to go to a
third opinion as long as the exams are given without pretenses. Since 1582 specifically
addressed that, the provision would apply and the City was agreeable to it because they
had already done it. The Union thought with the new language "the current edition" and
the "as approved by Labor Management" would be acceptable to both parties. It was
noted 1582 was 200 pages. If the City put the sections of 1582 that applied and the
notation the most current edition of 1582 was used, the Union indicated that it may be
acceptable. The Union would review the provision and draft a proposal.
There was an additional change to the article which would be to add Section F to
request a full body CT scan every five years. The only cost provided for the service was
through Palm Beach County. It was assumed the City would obtain the same rate
through a piggyback. Ms. Goebelt explained the City was going out to bid for the clinic,
and she would check on the matter. Normally it was covered by insurance if a
prescription was given for it you have a condition. This was not the same and it was
preventative. The County's cost for the test was between $600 and $700. The
recommendation was not to have the test done more than every five years and it would
be voluntary. Mr. Kinser would draft language to implement the test and how it would
be implemented, so it would not have a huge impact. The County had a contract for
$800 for the PET/CT Scan and they used a center on Congress in Lantana.
In Section 4 of Article 11, the Union inquired if they needed to address anything it
pertained to recordkeeping with the current edition of F.S. 95.286, 1995. Chief Bingham
suggested going by Florida Statute Title and it would be part of the final review.
5
Meeting Minutes
IAFF Negotiation Session
Boynton Beach, Florida
July 22,2008
The outstanding items were Article 11, 12, 14, 17,26,38,40 and two addendums.
There was discussion plugging the minimum and maximum ranges into the Wage
Article. They also needed the most current testing facility if the provider changed, then
it would affect the language in the document because it was outlined where the facility
was. Chief Bingham would walk it over to Risk Management.
The Union agreed those ideas were outstanding and the next session was scheduled
for August 20, 2008 at 8:30 a.m.
~CkJJLUWY\L QLAUL/
Catherine Cherry /,. - - "0
Recording Secretary
080408
6