Gilroy
– Fire Local 2805 declared an impasse in labor negotiations
Wednesday after more than six months of bargaining with city
officials, setting in motion an arbitration process expected to
last through the summer.
”
Both sides were unable to come to a happy medium,
”
said Jim Buessing, the union’s secretary and treasurer.
Gilroy – Fire Local 2805 declared an impasse in labor negotiations Wednesday after more than six months of bargaining with city officials, setting in motion an arbitration process expected to last through the summer.
“Both sides were unable to come to a happy medium,” said Jim Buessing, the union’s secretary and treasurer.
Mayor Al Pinheiro said “we certainly appreciate and respect all the work that the firefighters do, but the current financial picture within the city and state does not lend to providing the kinds of increases they’re talking about. We are the keepers of the city coffers and we must make decisions based on what the city can afford.”
The binding arbitration process involves the creation of a three-person panel made up of one representative each from the city and the fire union, as well as a third “neutral” arbitrator that heads the panel and serves as a tie-breaker. Each side must select a representative by Friday. City officials predicted the entire arbitration process would last at least six months.
A union letter declaring impasse arrived at City Hall less than a week after Feb. 17, the last time union and city representatives sat down at the bargaining table. City officials had expected to receive the notice, according to Gilroy Human Resources Director LeeAnn McPhillips.
“We just came to a joint realization during that meeting that we’re just too far apart,” she said. “What they’ve got on the table is just too expensive.”
City officials estimate the fire union’s various demands would amount to a 26 percent increase in their total compensation over three years. More than 20 percent of that figure would come from wage increases and an expensive retirement package, according to city officials. The remainder would come from requests for increased health care benefits, paid leave for union-related business, and a $300 per month post-retirement bonus for meeting certain career milestones.
Buessing said he could not comment on the estimate “either positively or negatively without seeing how they came up with it.”
The 36-member fire union has said it simply wants its benefits to match those of police, who now get a retirement package that allows them to retire after 30 years of work with 90 percent of their salary. The program is known as “3 at 50” because it provides three percent of the last year’s salary for every year worked, and allows eligible employees to retire as early as age 50.
Police have received the 3 at 50 benefits since their last union negotiation in 2001. Since the program took effect, the city’s public safety retirement budget, which includes both firefighters and police, has spiked from nearly $900,000 in 2001 to more than $3.2 million for the next fiscal year, according to figures provided by the city.
Extending the 3 at 50 program to fire union members would amount to a 10.5 percent increase in their current compensation, according to McPhillips. Firefighters currently receive a retirement package that allows them to retire after 36 years of service with 90 percent of their pay. It remains unclear how much the benefit increase would inflate the city’s overall retirement costs.
In addition to the retirement package, firefighters are asking for:
• a 5 percent salary increase by July, as well as the promise of a future increase in line with other fire departments in Santa Clara County. The wage hike would depend on the results of a survey of county firefighting agencies in 2007. Gilroy officials predicted the raise would come in at 4 percent or more.
• a post-retirement cash bonus topping out at $300 per month, based on fulfilling certain career milestones such as number of years in service. The cash benefit, which the police union currently receives, would be in addition to any monthly retirement payments.
• the ability to have two firefighters take vacation at the same time at any given point in the year. Currently, union contract only allows members to take vacation simultaneously during five “non-peak” months
• paid leave for union-related business
McPhillips said the city offered to compromise on the union’s top priority – the retirement package – with a 3 at 55 program, allowing firefighters to retire by age 55 with 90 percent of their last year’s pay. The 3 at 55 solution translates into a 5.6 percent increase in total compensation. But the union representatives “weren’t willing to pull those other items off the table,” McPhillips said.
The city’s list of demands included a request to cap the city’s share of the bill for health care premiums, zero wage increases, and a rollback of the requirement to have at least four firefighters staffing an engine at all times.
The union won the minimum staffing requirement, which meant hiring nine additional firefighters, during the last binding arbitration process in 2000.
As part of the city’s 3 at 55 offer, the fire department would have to give up the mandatory four-person requirement and allow flexible scheduling, according to McPhillips.
“It’s not our intention to reduce any fire positions,” McPhillips said. “We just think we can deploy differently and more efficiently.”
But Buessing disagreed.
“We justified four-person staffing at that time based upon safety considerations,” he said. “We feel that we should not give up a safety requirement for our members.”
The binding arbitrator must pick one of two final settlement proposals from each party, taking into account wage considerations, the city’s financial situation, and other factors. The arbitrator cannot modify either offer and must select the proposal judged to be most equitable.
The city and union can continue to negotiate as arbitration proceeds, even during a 10-day window after the arbitrator chooses a final settlement. But neither side expected the other to budge.
Buessing declined to expand on the details of the fire union’s requests, saying they “would not negotiate through the press.”
Speaking of the looming arbitration and the fire department’s request, Councilman Bob Dillon said “We find we’re at odds with people we admire. Nonetheless, the city can’t afford it. It simply can’t be done.”
Firefighter’s demands, city’s counter
Officials estimate the total package requested by Fire Local 2805 adds up to a 26 percent increase in their current wages and benefits.
A union spokesperson declined to comment on that figure, but confirmed the following positions:
• The “3 at 50” program, which allows retirement at age 50 with 90 percent of salary (amounts to a 10.5 percent increase in current compensation, according to officials)
• Wage increases of 2, 3, and 4* percent, respectively, by 2007
• Fully paid health-care premiums for Kaiser and Delta dental; percentage paid by union members in the future
• A post-retirement cash benefit** of $200 per month, with an increase to $300 in July
• More discretionary vacation
• Paid time off for union-related business
The city has put the following counter offers on the bargaining table:
• The “3 at 55” (versus “3 at 50”) program (amounts to a 5.6 percent increase in current compensation, according to city officials)
• Zero increase in wages and other benefits
• A cap on city contributions to health-care premiums
• Roll back mandate won by firefighters in binding arbitration that requires the city to staff each engine with four firefighters
*an estimated figure
**a monthly cash payout in addition to retirement benefits for union members who meet certain criteria, such as number of years in service
SOURCES: City Administrator Jay Baksa, City Human Resources Director LeeAnn McPhillips, Local 2805 Secretary Jim Buessing
Binding arbitration process
City officials expect the binding arbitration process to last at least six months. They hope the first hearings will take place by summer.
• The city and Local 2805 will each appoint a representative to an independent arbitration panel
• The city and union representatives will select a third, neutral arbitrator to serve as chair of the panel within 10 days of the final impasse
• If the representatives fail to agree on a third member within 10 days of the impasse, then they can ask the state Conciliation Service for a list of seven independent arbitrators
• If the representatives cannot agree on an arbitrator from the state list, each side will alternately strike a name from the list until only one remains
• Once formed, the panel sets deadlines for each side to submit a last offer of settlement
• The arbitration panel will select one of the two plans based on wage considerations, the city’s financial status, and other factors
• The arbitration panel will mail the settlement it selects to both the city and union, which will have 10 days to review the decision and negotiate a different settlement
• The 10-day review period can be extended at the request of both parties, otherwise the agreement takes effect and becomes binding
At any time during the arbitration process, the city and union may resume negotiations in hopes of achieving a settlement
