Minutes 09-01-11
MINUTES OF THE WHITE COLLAR BARGAINING SESSION
BETWEEN THE SEIU FLORIDA PUBLIC SERVICES UNION, CTW, CLC
AND THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH
HELD IN CONFERENCE ROOM B, 2ND FLOOR CITY HALL, AT 3:00 P.M.
ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2011, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
PRESENT:
For the City of Boynton Beach:
For SEIU:
Julie Oldbury, Human Resources Director
Arleen Barton, Project Manager, Human Resources
Michael Low, Deputy Director, Utilities
Tim Howard, Deputy Director, Finance
Joseph Brenner, SEIU
Rob Eichorst, SEIU
Skip Lewis, SEIU
Julie Oldbury, Human Resources Director, opened the bargaining session at 2:59 p.m.
and advised a meeting was called in response to a request to negotiate an agreement
for the White Collar Bargaining Unit. Self-introductions were made.
Mr. Brenner advised that the Union decided to wait and see what the City wanted to
change in the Contract before a proposal was submitted. It was hoped the City would
provide a proposal at this meeting.
Ms. Oldbury also advised that the City wanted proposals from the Union before
negotiations were started. The City wanted to review the changes, if any, and perform
an analysis to determine what was feasible.
Mr. Brenner said the Union recognized the City was in the middle of a budget crunch
and many things had to happen before the next year was determined. One of the
reasons the Union decided to wait for a negotiation proposal, was based on budget
reviews and where that would lead. He inquired of Mr. Howard regarding the budget's
undesignated reserves and if the amount of $611,000, after the emergency funds were
entered was a correct figure. Mr. Howard indicated that was an estimated amount
because the year would not end until September 30th but that figure would be feasible.
Mr. Brenner asked for confirmation that there was a typical monthly summary that went
to the City Manager from Finance, outlining where the City was for the year. Mr. Howard
indicated it was a Budget Status Report that goes to the Commission and showed a
comparison budget to actual for the General Fund and the Utility Fund.
Mr. Brenner further stated that both sides were in limbo. In reviewing previous years'
budgets, for example, in 2005/2006, there was $21.4 million in reserve funds. Mr.
Howard explained that in 2005/2006, Boynton Beach had a healthy fund balance that
had accumulated over the years. As the real estate market dropped, Boynton Beach,
Meeting Minutes
SEIU White Collar Negotiations
Boynton Beach, FL
September 1, 2011
among other cities, made the decision to use that fund balance to maintain taxes or for
minimal increases. From 2006 to now, it had been used up and what was left was a
10% reserve of the upcoming year's budget that the Commission puts aside in case of a
catastrophic event. The 10% was an estimated 2.5 months worth of expenses.
Ms. Old bury inquired if the Union was able to provide any indication of what some of the
concerns were that might be brought forth so the City could be better prepared for either
budget or operational issues. She wanted to get something on the table so the research
on the City's part could begin. Mr. Brenner expressed his desire for the same. He
indicated he had some thoughts he wanted to discuss with his team and asked for a
caucus.
The meeting recessed for a caucus at 3:08 p.m.
The meeting reconvened at 3:34 p.m.
Mr. Brenner advised there were proposals the Union would submit to get the process
started.
Article 12.5, Riqht to a Pre-determination Hearinq
Mr. Brenner advised in Article 12.5, the Union wished to change the top sentence to
read "Prior to the effective date of any suspension without pay of one (1) day or
more......changed from three (3) days or more.
Article 13. Grievance Procedures
13.2 The change was at the last sentence, striking the words "and performance
evaluations" to give the employee the right to grieve performance evaluations.
Article 16.0 Waqes
16.1 Change "Wages shall remain at their current level and shall not increase for the
duration of the agreement"; to say "All bargaining unit employees will receive a one-time
bonus of $500 for Fiscal Year 2011-12 to be paid the first pay period following the
ratification of the collective bargaining agreement."
Ms. Oldbury inquired on 12.5, Right to a Pre-determination Hearing, if there had been a
problem in the past with three days versus the one day being requested. Mr. Lewis
advised that with White Collar there was not much, possibly three or four with a
grievance. However, Mr. Brenner advised in other municipalities there could be a
proliferation of one day suspensions based on issues that mayor may not warrant them
and, the way it was written currently, an employee in a one or two day suspension that
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Meeting Minutes
SEIU White Collar Negotiations
Boynton Beach, FL
September 1, 2011
had a grievance would not have a say. The Union simply wanted to give the employee
an opportunity to speak, if there was an issue.
Ms. Old bury wanted to confirm that Article 13 was to allow the employee to bring
performance evaluations to the grievance proceedings. Mr. Brenner stated that
currently, there is so much shuffling of managers, employees, and different
departments. A manager could typically tell what type of job an employee was doing, a
good job or a bad job, based on the performance evaluation. With so many managers
moving around and people shifting departments, there may be an employee who may
be getting "4s" across the board; then a new supervisor comes in and states that they
do things differently. If an employee can prove the same job was being done, the same
work was being produced, the same attendance record was being exhibited, and still
had the same attitude but does not receive the proper evaluation, the intent was for the
employee to be allowed to grieve that. Mr. Lewis advised there probably would not be
much activity on this as performance evaluations were not tied in monetarily any longer.
The Union wanted this in place for back up protection in case the monetary tie in
returned.
Ms. Oldbury said being new and not familiar with the history of things or underlying
concerns, she would look at these suggestions and determine what could be worked
with operationally. She wanted to approach things fairly for the employee and take
evaluations seriously and that process should have true value and meaning and real
feedback that could help an employee and remain a fair system.
Mr. Brenner assured that if there was a way to remedy with other suggestions, the
Union would be open.
Mr. Lewis expressed concern on the layoff situation, especially in the White Collar area.
Many jobs were lost in different departments. His concern was with seniority and he
provided an example: if Code Enforcement were to be taken out of Police and put into
the Building Department, Code Officers would lose the seniority built up with one
department going into the next. If cuts were made in the new department, Code Officers
would be laid off first regardless of seniority. The wording in the section of the current
contract leaves the employee unprotected. Mr. Brenner advised there would a
proposal regarding this issue.
Ms. Brenner commented on Article 16, Wages. He stated with the current budget
situation, this was up in the air, but in costing it out, there are approximately 119 people
in this particular White Collar Bargaining Unit. The total cost of the proposal in this
section would be approximately $59,000 to the City. While it was recognized that this
was a sensitive time, there were people who were being told to do more with less and
had workloads increase. The Union's goal was for the City to find a way to let
employees know that they were not forgotten and possibly the $500 bonus would be
enough for the time being.
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Meeting Minutes
SEIU White Collar Negotiations
Boynton Beach, FL
September 1, 2011
Ms. Oldbury advised that due to recent legislation passed, the City would be bringing to
the table the issue with pension requirements. Mr. Howard added, it would be reviewed
by the Pension Boards and adopted into the contracts. The way the law reads "at the
end of the current union contract, it must be negotiated into the next one". Because the
contract year would expire on September 30, it had to be negotiated into the next
contract. It was required by the statute.
There were no further comments among the participants and time and location for the
next meeting were discussed.
The next meeting date would be September 14, 2011 in the Utilities Division
Conference Room, 124 E. Woolbright Road. Ms. Oldbury thanked all for attending the
meeting and the meeting was closed at 3:56 p.m.
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Ellie Caruso
Recording Secretary
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