Loading...
Minutes 12-21-11 MINUTES OF THE WHITE COLLAR BARGAINING SESSION BETWEEN THE SEIU FLORIDA PUBLIC SERVICES UNION, CTW, CLC AND THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH HELD AT FIRE STATION NO. 5, CHIEF'S CONFERENCE ROOM , AT 3:00 P.M. ON DECEMBER 21, 2011, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: For the City of Boynton Beach: For SEIU: Julie Oldbury, Human Resources Director Joseph Brenner, SEIU Arleen Barton, Project Manager, Human Resources Rob Eichorst, SEIU Michael Low, Deputy Director, Utilities Skip Lewis, SEIU Tim Howard, Deputy Director, Finance Julie Oldbury, Human Resources Director, opened the bargaining session at 1:09 p.m. and advised the purpose of the meeting was to review each Article. Since the last meeting, Ms. Oldbury had received further direction, and she stated any issues that would arise would be addressed. Self- introductions were made. Joseph Brenner, SEIU Representative, stated the Union brought some proposals with them, to which Ms. Oldbury responded the intent of the discussion was to have results by the next meeting. Ms. Oldbury stated the following Articles may have grammatical changes, but the intent would remain the same: Article 1, Preamble Article 2, Recognition Article 3, Rights of Employees Article 4, Management Rights Article 5, Strikes Article 6, Non - Discrimination Article 7, Representation of the City Article 8, Union Representation Article 9, Collective Bargaining Article 10, Union Time Pool Article 11, Bulletin Boards Article 18, Standby Pay Article 19, Emergency Pay Article 21, Employees Assigned to Article 22, Working in a Higher Class Training Duties Article 24, Workers Compensation Article 27, Bonus Hours Article 30, Military Leave Article 32, Unauthorized Absence Article 35, Recruitment & Selection Article 39, Tuition Assistance Program Article 42, Pension Article 43, Substance Abuse Article 46, Bonus Increases Article 48, Savings Clause Article 49, Maintenance of Conditions Article 51, Collateral Documents 1 Meeting Minutes SEIU White Collar Negotiation Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 21, 2011 Article 12, Progressive Discipline. Ms. Oldbury proposed to change the organization of the Article. The chart listing Misconduct Offenses on page 21 would be moved directly under the definitions to make the Article more user - friendly. Extreme Misconduct, Item 2 on page 22, dealing with possession of a firearm or concealed weapon on City property or while working, had to be changed due to recent legislation. Ms. Oldbury proposed to add language that would not override the State's authority. The same changes would be applied to the charts. Item D, Demotions, would be clarified. It was pointed out these were disciplinary demotions compared to a reorganization or an employee request. Ms. Oldbury recalled there was discussion about performance evaluations and consistency with them at the last meeting. She proposed to approach performance management from a different aspect and preferred to see problems addressed when they occurred, versus reporting them a year or six months later on one's performance evaluation and then reducing it to a form Skip Lewis, Union Steward, commented the rating scale and other documents associated with evaluations were time consuming for supervisors. Previously, employees were rewarded based on performance score, but there were no raises during the last three years. If there was a problem, progressive discipline was used, and if there were no problems, the employee was doing his /her job. Ms. Oldbury agreed and sought to remove references to the evaluations and approach discipline from the standpoint that procedures were outlined, and they were the performance component. While some employees may be poor performers, employees going above and beyond the call of duty should also be recognized. Real -time feedback would be more valuable to employees and management. The City was in a financial crisis and it was recognized some employee goals could not be obtained due to lack of funds for training or degrees; however, some individuals were upset after viewing printouts of other employee evaluations. Mr. Brenner had also learned some supervisors were instructed not to give too many high evaluations and it was arbitrarily decided that a department had too many high achievers. Ms. Oldbury was proposing to remove references to the evaluations and have an understanding that performance was dealt with through the progressive discipline process. Misconduct was a performance issue. Ms. Oldbury clarified verbal warnings were not disciplinary; they were instructional for minor items. Written counseling was when discipline comes into play. A written verbal warning was actually written counseling. For something more substantial, warnings would be written and the supervisor may or may not document any verbal warnings. Ms. Oldbury proposed to move Voluntary Demotions, on page 27 of Article 12, to Article 17 because they were not disciplinary. Item E of Article 12 discussed Dismissals and specified a written notice of recommended termination shall be given to the employee in person. With two unsuccessful attempts, it shall be mailed via U.S mail. Ms. Oldbury did not like putting anyone in the position of having to deliver a notice in person. If 2 Meeting Minutes SEIU White Collar Negotiation Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 21, 2011 dismissal was recommended prior to anyone going on leave, the notice could be delivered; however, if the employee was already on leave, Ms. Oldbury proposed to send the notice via a traceable means, such as FedEx. Ms. Oldbury would bring back language to this effect. Ms. Oldbury also proposed to change references to Predetermination Hearings in Article 12.5 to Predetermination Conferences, as the term was more appropriate. She commented the City was looking for predetermination hearings of any suspensions without pay of one day or more, versus three days or more. She requested allowing the Human Resources Director to conduct the Administrative Review for Article 12.6.3 as she sought to obtain a sense of what was occurring. Mr. Brenner expressed concern, that while Ms. Oldbury's proposal could work, once the contract was signed, the practice would continue for the duration of the contract. Mr. Brenner thought a pilot program for the next year may work, at which time, after consultation with the members, the Union would come back with the consensus of its members. Ms. Oldbury also proposed information gathered before, during, or after a predetermination conference constitutes part of the City's investigation or an act of omission that can result in discipline. She proposed splitting the sentence in two with the first one ending after the word "investigation." Mr. Lewis indicated they could try and come back with language as the Union had discussed employees should be given two weeks afterward to collect their information. Ms. Oldbury proposed to delete any reference to "evaluations." Article 13, Grievance Procedures. The only recommended change to the Article was from the Union's proposal to strike "performance evaluations cannot be grieved," meaning they could be grieved. Ms. Oldbury suggested removing the reference to performance evaluations. Section 13.8 clarified a day meant a calendar day, Monday through Friday, exclusive of the holidays. She suggested moving that language to the beginning of the Article and then striking everything about business days because it was already defined. Mr. Low noted different employees work four and five -day work weeks. Ms. Oldbury agreed to review the timeline to file a grievance. There was concern that grievances may not be able to be filed timely because City Hall may not be open. A suggestion was made there could be a grace period to accommodate difficult schedules and a few days could be added to each of the steps. Article 14, Basic Work Week and Overtime. Section 14.4 stated all authorized and approved work performed in excess of 40 hours shall be considered overtime. Ms. Oldbury suggested striking authorized and approved, because overtime will be paid whether it was authorized or not. That is the law. She would like to discuss this further in Section 14.9, that employees cannot be in a work status more than seven minutes prior to or after the scheduled workday, unless they have approval to be in that status. 3 Meeting Minutes SEIU White Collar Negotiation Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 21, 2011 Mr. Lewis pointed out his department has a new work schedule. One employee worked 10 days straight and another worked 7 days straight. He noted the employees were working in excess of 40 hours, and there was discussion whether that constituted overtime. Ms. Oldbury agreed to review the matter. Employees in Code Compliance had to pick a schedule. Previously, the work was spread out and rotated, but the department now operated under the Police Department. Article 14 of the contract specified the City Manager had to approve the change in schedules based on the Evaluation and Appraisal Report. The Union also noted some unclassified, hourly positions that were non -union received comp time. Ms. Oldbury commented the Personnel Policy Manual should be conformed to the contract to make the practice uniform across the Board. Ms. Oldbury was also given direction about comp time. Ideally, the City would like to pay overtime and not have to offer comp time as it created a cycle because the department had to obtain someone to cover the employee who was using their comp time. The City also needed to ascertain the manpower it needed to operate. With overtime, it could be easily identified, but it was not helping the budget. The Police used comp time or overtime and has provisions to pay it out or use the time. This was actually city -wide, but not everyone who took comp time had their shift covered. Ms. Oldbury agreed to develop language about comp time and turnaround time. She preferred to see comp time used within a month. Ms Oldbury discussed flex time and inquired if the Union would be agreeable to a supervisor suggesting an employee leave earlier or come in later the next day to offset extra hours worked. There was discussion it was not fair across the Board. Ms. Oldbury noted some positions were more unique than others and she requested the flexibility to let it work. The Union suggested if the worker agreed to it and it should not be considered mandatory, it may be acceptable. Ms. Oldbury thought the City should be afforded the ability to use flex time when practical. Some departments utilized the practice and Ms. Oldbury wanted to conform the contract to the practice. She agreed to develop language to this effect. It should be mutually agreeable to use flex time and when the employee would take the flex time. Article 16, Wages. The City proposed a wage freeze this year, which was nearly half over. The Union said they would be submitting a "me -too" clause if there was a wage increase with any other bargaining group. The parties recessed at 2:19 p.m. and reconvened at 2:43 p.m. Article 17, Promotions, Reclassifications, Transfers & Demotions. Ms. Oldbury pointed out this was where the language pertaining to voluntary or reorganizational demotions, from Article 12, Progressive Discipline, would be located. 4 Meeting Minutes SEIU White Collar Negotiation Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 21, 2011 Article 44, Probationary Employees. Ms. Oldbury requested discussion about this Article She pointed out probationary periods were referenced in multiple places and there would be further discussion on the item later in the meeting. Article 20, Certification Pay. The City proposed to suspend this Article for the current fiscal year. There was brief discussion the Police have a State certification, which the State supplements to a certain amount. This would be clarified at the next meeting. Article 23, Sick Leave. The City proposed that employees hired on or after October 1, 2011, would not receive payout of unused sick leave upon separation of service, and it could be accomplished via ratification of the contract. The Union recognized the payout of accumulated sick time was costly due to wage increases; however, some employees do not use sick time and they were more productive as opposed to employees who used sick time and received the benefit. Ms. Oldbury explained philosophically, sick time was often part of a program to protect an employee until a disability plan commenced and the intent was to be more of an insurance benefit for the employee. She noted employees feel they have the right to use it, but there was a lot of language that was counterintuitive to using sick time responsibly, which would be made clear to new hires. Offering bonus vacation days for not using sick time was an incentive for employees to come to work sick. Ms. Oldbury thought the City had to re- evaluate employee benefits. Paid Time Off (PTO), was an option for new hires and one benefit of this method was the time off was usually scheduled. In the private sector, some companies were changing to the PTO system at a reduced rate. She noted the change could be implemented in the Personal Policy Manual (PPM), without negotiation, and Ms. Oldbury noted the PPM had a graduated scale of sick time that is paid out based on years of service. There was discussion that there were changes in benefits occurring, across the Board within private industry. The economy was a catalyst for change, but although governments had held out regarding changes in sick and vacation time, changes were forthcoming. Cashing in of sick time into DROP accounts was costly. Ms. Oldbury was also cognizant that individuals earning more money in the private sector with less benefits were leaving the private sector for government service specifically for the benefits. After lengthy discussion, both parties agreed to think of ways to receive eight hours of vacation time as opposed to coming to work sick. It could be for an employee to attend a wellness fair, or get a physical. Ms Oldbury discussed Restricted Sick leave in Section 23.9 and preferred the contract be silent on the issue. If someone was abusing sick time, it was a performance issue. Further discussion followed about Section 23.7 regarding a doctor's note for absences of three days or more. Ms. Oldbury proposed the note be sent to Human Resources prior to returning to work. She explained when an employee was out for more than 5 Meeting Minutes SEIU White Collar Negotiation Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 21, 2011 three days, it triggered the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA.) It was the employer's responsibility to notify the employee of their rights under FMLA and manage the paperwork. The other component was supervisors are not supposed to receive the notes. Human Resources had a need to know, whereby supervisors do not have the same level of need. As to returning to work restrictions, there was a lot for Human Resources to manage, and communication to the necessary parties should flow through HR. Supervisors also need to understand what their obligations are when one of their employees is out for more than three days. Should the employee return to work and go directly to his /her work station, the supervisor should send the employee to HR. If the employee does not have a note, they should still be sent to HR. The note should be received in HR prior to reporting to work. In the alternative, a doctor faxing or emailing the note to HR was also acceptable. Ms. Oldbury agreed to submit a proposal and acknowledged there may be an occasional exception due to shift times or on -call work. Article 25, Light Duty. Ms. Oldbury acknowledged different positions have essential functions. If no light duty work was available, the employee would remain on sick leave status until work became available. She noted this language was open -ended and could be forever. She suggested striking the entire statement. The parties discussed if the employee was injured on the job, there was an obligation to work with the employee. She indicated the City had to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other legislation and was unsure of what the City's obligation was for employees injured off the job. If there was Tight duty work available, it was not an issue; however, if there was none, she had to research the matter. It was noted if the injury was permanent, the employee could stay on sick leave until disability commenced. Article 26, Vacation. Ms. Oldbury would be returning with discussion about emergency cash in of vacation and /or sick leave time. Article 28, Holidays. Ms. Oldbury explained direction was given to reduce the number of holidays from 11 to 9, and more specifically, to eliminate the Presidents' Day and Christmas Eve holidays. The Union explained they would submit a counter proposal. The City proposed employees could take the time off for the holiday, and it would be easier to schedule taking the time off. Ms. Oldbury explained the cost to pay employees for one holiday was $187,000 and the City was cash poor. There are six standard holidays the private sector observes, plus the holidays the City observes. The proposal was being submitted to all the Unions and the Personnel Policy Manual would be revised. The provision would take effect on other contracts at different times. Mr. Lewis felt the proposal, if imposed, should take effect on all Union contracts at the same time. Ms. Oldbury agreed to submit a proposal and the Union would counter. Article 29, Compassionate Leave. The City proposed to add stepparents, stepchildren and Registered Domestic Partner to this Article. It was clarified Registered Domestic Partners were couples that registered with the County that they were living together. 6 Meeting Minutes SEIU White Collar Negotiation Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 21, 2011 Article 31, Leave of Absence. The City proposed to add language requiring employees to exhaust all of their vacation and sick time prior to being put on unpaid leave. Article 33, Jury Duty. The City proposed to add a provision indicating if an employee was required to report for jury duty on a given day, they were not required to report to work on that day. The only issues there were pertained to communication and shift work. Article 34, Seniority and Layoff. Ms. Oldbury did not like the language in Section 34.2 regarding losing seniority on the basis of an unexcused absence for three or more workdays. She felt the word "unexcused" should be changed to reflect the employee was absent without leave or abandoned the job. There was brief discussion about "bumping" and an incident with a crew supervisor looking to bump into other departments, but a license was needed to perform that job. The "bump" became excessively complicated and language was added to clarify bumping could only occur within each department. It was also clarified divisions were the smaller of the two entities and departments were the larger entity. Mr. Lewis explained there was another incident where three Code Officers were laid off and the Division was put under the purview of the Building Department. This would have resulted in the Toss of seniority for Code Officers with 20 years of experience on the job compared to Building Inspectors with 10 years of time on the job. He pointed out the situation was rectified. The Union submitted a proposal adding language to Section 34.3 as follows: "No SEIU bargaining unit position may be filled with employees from any unrepresented employee group or other bargaining unit." Mr. Brenner explained in the incident referenced earlier, the Code Officer positions would have been filled with Building personnel being paid a higher rate, which would have created a budgetary deficiency. Ms. Oldbury agreed to review the matter. Article, 36, Safety and Health. The Union had a proposal to strike the following language in Section 36.2 which was, " • - - - . - - • - - - - - - - • - - -- • .'-e - - - - - - , e- -. • - . - - - - - • - e - - , tThe . .." Mr. Brenner pointed out this was more of an issue with Blue Collar and Building Inspectors, but they submitted the language to keep the provision consistent. Employees were also restricted to the style of boot. Ms. Oldbury indicated the City may come back with a proposal to go to the vendor and then Risk Management to seek reimbursement. It was subjective who determined the shoes fit properly, but if there was reimbursement, it would not exceed the City's cost Article 37, Insurance. The City proposed that effective October 1, 2012, bargaining unit members shall contribute an amount to be determined of the employee's medical premiums on a pre -tax basis. There was brief discussion about having a sliding scale of payment, contingent on salary; however, Ms. Oldbury commented it may not be possible to do so due to having to identify specific classes of employees. It was also pointed out employees do not get raises and costs were increasing. Ms. Oldbury stated 7 Meeting Minutes SEIU White Collar Negotiation Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 21, 2011 this was a measure that would be put in place to help keep costs manageable. The amount could be a flat amount per check. She had met with Willis, the City's insurance consultant, who indicated that after only two months, the City was facing a 30% increase. Discussion followed that CIGNA used a rate -pass, and had changed the design of the plan to keep the cost the same. Ms. Oldbury commented when she brings forward a proposal, she would have a figure, but opined the amount, per check, would not be Tess than $20. The idea was to have the deduction across the Board to the degree they could, commencing October 2012, which was when the Police contract would end. Mr. Brenner indicated he would request data about the insurance. He also referenced West Palm Beach had an executive insurance plan which was at no cost to higher management employees. It was noted the claims experience varied each month and Boynton Beach employees pay 100% for their dependents. West Palm Beach employees pay only a portion. Each City was different. Ms. Oldbury explained she would be approaching the City Commission about the feasibility of having a clinic in the coming months. Afterwards, an RFP would be issued. Ms. Oldbury commented this issue would be addressed in the Personnel Policy Manual. Plan design changes would be discussed with the Insurance Committee, which allows the members to share the information with their coworkers. She reviewed the changes in co -pays the current plan had, and agreed to forward the claims information for the various Unions for the last year to Mr. Brenner. Article 38, Personnel Files. Ms. Oldbury wanted to ensure all employees could receive one paper copy of their employment file per contract period. If they wanted the information on a disc or electronically, it could be accommodated. Upon the request of the employee, they shall also have the right to inspect their file, provided the employee called ahead and a member of staff was available to service the request. Article 40, General Provisions. Ms. Oldbury discussed Employee Departmental Work Files. She commented they should not exist as each employee has a personnel file in Human Resources. She commented she would be looking for these department files to incorporate them with the file in HR. Section 40.7, specified some employees receive a $300 vehicle allowance and receive mileage reimbursement in accordance with IRS regulations. The City proposed only to pay the IRS mileage reimbursement rate, and strike the vehicle allowance. It was noted the intent was for City employees to use City vehicles all along, however, there were not always enough vehicles available. As a result, mileage would be paid only if a City vehicle was unavailable. Currently, there were less than a handful of Building employees receiving the allowances. Article 41, Dues Deduction. The Union commented they had a notice issue and offered a new proposal. Mr. Brenner explained there have been varying levels of 8 Meeting Minutes SEIU White Collar Negotiation Session Boynton Beach, Florida December 21, 2011 accommodation in reference to employers providing the Union with information about wages and other items. They were trying to streamline the process regarding reports the Union needed to obtain from employers throughout the State. Article 44, Probationary Period. Ms. Oldbury pointed out there were references to performance ratings in the Article, and this was an area where employees may not be motivated to apply for a promotion due to becoming a probationary employee and thereby vulnerable to a lay -off. The City was attempting to address and distinguish between newly hired probationary employees versus internally promoted probationary employees. Additionally, there were rules and language indicating probationary employees shall not apply for another position until probation was over. Ms. Oldbury recognized sometimes opportunities arise after hire and during the probationary period that would be good for employees and that it should be addressed. Article 46, Bonus Increases. The Union inquired if any bonuses were given. Mr. Lewis responded a civilian received an award and a Police Officer received an award for being the Police Officer of the Year. Article 47, Labor Management. The Union presented a proposal. Mr. Brenner commented there were ways to address issues that arise and save the City money. The proposal would replace Labor Management. The meetings would not be a gripe session and the Council would review all kinds of issues. Ms. Oldbury did not know if some of the changes would be helpful. She inquired if the Council would determine negligence or operate like an Incident Review Board, nor did she know if the proposal would tie discipline to preventable items, or if they would turn into performance issues. Mr. Low noted the Utilities Partnership Committee had representatives that reviewed utility incidents. Article 50, Posting of Agreement. Ms. Oldbury wanted to move towards providing a hard copy book of the contract that used to be issued to the employees, and post a copy of the contract on the website. Article 52, Duration. The City proposed the contract be effective through September 12, 2012. Mr. Brenner preferred a two or three -year agreement; however, if the contracts were matched, they would not always need the "me too" clauses. White collar negotiations had historically been conducted first, and there was some reluctance to be first again, however, the proposal proffered would save a lot of time. There was no further discussion of the contract and after dates were suggested for the next meeting, Ms. Oldbury agreed to email the team with the final date to meet again. The meeting end d at 4:50 p.m. athenne herry Recording Secretary 010412 9