Here’s the agreement that should be approved by the union on Tuesday and then the City Council may have an emergency meeting on Thursday.
This is an additional 1 year agreement. Ratification is scheduled for Tuesday September 25th from 10am to 7pm at the Local 60 office located at the Labor Temple on South Park Street.
The basis for this new Labor Agreement between the City and AFSCME Local 60 shall be the March 10, 2011 thru March 9, 2014 Labor Agreement, except for the following changes. This new agreement is not an extension, modification, or renewal of the 2011-2014 collective bargaining agreement between the parties but rather is a stand-alone agreement. (Underlined language is to be added, strikeouts are to be deleted):
Item 1:
ARTICLE XXXIV DURATION OF AGREEMENT
This Agreement shall be effective as of Barch 10, 2011 March 16, 2014 and shall remain in full force and effect until its expiration date, Barch 9, 2014 March 15, 2015.
Item 2:
The City reserves the right to reduce base wages by a maximum of 3% effective March 16, 2014. The City may also utilize alternative options for health insurance plan design, effective January 1, 2015. The City will meet and confer with the union prior to any reduction in wages.
Item 3:
Effective the last pay period of December 2014, the City will not reduce wages and may implement a wage increase not to exceed 3%.
Item 4:
The City agrees to work cooperatively and utilize the meet and confer process with AFSCME Local 60 to avoid ;ayoffs. The ability to avoid layoffs will be strengthened if the City implements furlough days. The goal of avoiding layoffs is not meant to include the elimination of any vacant positions, elimination of positions due to restructuring or creation of operational efficiencies, or termination of employees for just cause.
Just so there is no mystery. The county didn’t take time and there were a lot of misperceptions out there . . . these changes are straightforward and pretty easy to understand.
