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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 08162011 - D.1RECOMMENDATION(S): ADOPT Resolution No. 2011/345 to implement the County’s Last, Best, and Final Offer covering wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment for those employees in bargaining units represented by Professional & Technical Engineers, Local 21, AFL-CIO (Local 21), as follows: 1. Reduce by 5% the base rates of pay of all classifications represented by Local 21. 2. State the specific dollar amounts for the County’s monthly premium subsidies for the various employee health and dental plans, and modify the definition of “eligible family member” used for health and dental plan coverage to conform to the new federal health care laws. 3. Increase the amount the employees pay for their pensions. Effective September 1, 2011, require employees to pay eighty percent (80%) of the employee share of the basic retirement benefit contribution determined annually by the Retirement Board. Specify that safety employees also pay nine percent (9%) of their retirement base toward the employer’s cost of the Safety Tier A pension benefit. APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 08/16/2011 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS Contact: Ted Cwiek, (925) 335-1766 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: August 16, 2011 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: , Deputy cc: Ted Cwiek, Human Resources Director D. 1 To:Board of Supervisors From:David Twa, County Administrator Date:August 16, 2011 Contra Costa County Subject:Resolution to Implement County's Last, Best and Final Offer for Terms and Conditions of Employment - Professional & Tech. Engineers Local 21, AFL-CIO 4. Reduce the Vacation Buy Back RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D) benefit for current employees to allow only one sale every thirteen months and then eliminate the benefit on June 30, 2012. Eliminate the Vacation Buy Back benefit for new employees hired on and after August 1, 2011. 5. Add three new lower cost health plans, contingent upon participation by other bargaining units. 6. Adopt four Tentative Agreements agreed to by the representatives of the bargaining parties during the course of bargaining in 2011. FISCAL IMPACT: The terms and conditions set forth above are estimated to save the County $5.5 million in FY 2011/12. The savings will help to alleviate the fiscal impact caused by reductions in property values and the related decline in property tax revenues and the on-going structural deficit in the County’s budget. BACKGROUND: On or about March 24, 2011, County representatives and Local 21 representatives initiated negotiations for a successor Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to the MOU that expired on June 30, 2011. The parties met and conferred in good faith over seventeen (17) collective bargaining sessions between March 24, 2011 and August 8, 2011. On July 18, 2011, the County presented Local 21 representatives with a letter setting forth the County’s explanation for its belief that the parties were at impasse. Attached to that letter were two options of the Last, Best and Final Offer, Offer A and Offer B. The letter provided a deadline to respond by the close of business on July 25, 2011. On July 19, 2011, Local 21 presented the County with a package counter proposal. On July 25, 2011, the parties continued to meet and confer over the Local 21 package counter proposal. The Local 21 package counter proposal did not provide the needed structural changes the County has been seeking and was rejected. At the end of the bargaining session on July 25, 2011, the parties agreed to extend the time for Local 21 to respond to Friday, July 29, 2011, to allow adequate time for the Local 21 membership to consider the positions of the parties at its membership meeting on Wednesday, July 27, 2011. The County confirmed the above understanding on July 26, 2011 with written correspondence. On Friday, July 29, 2011, the County received written correspondence from Local 21 representatives stating the County letter dated July 26, 2011 provided a new “very short deadline.” The letter further states “We will not be able to respond by that time. We will, however, be able to respond by Monday, August 1, 2011.” The County agreed in writing to extend the deadline to August 1, 2011, for a response to the July 18, 2011 Last, Best, and Final Offer A and B based on Local 21’s membership meeting held on July 27, 2011, and to clarify some issues raised in the Local 21 letter. On August 1, 2011 the County received further written correspondence from Local 21 by which Local 21 rejected Last, Best, and Final Offers A and B. The Letter went on the make yet additional information requests and included continued disputes regarding the County position on several items. The letter did not move the parties any closer to an agreement. The Local 21 letter dated August 1, 2011 did confirm the additional bargaining date of August 8, 2011. On August 2, 2011 the Local 21 representatives and various employees were present at the Board meeting to present their point of view directly to the Board during the open comment period on the Agenda with the prevailing theme being for the parties to continue to negotiate. On August 8, 2011, the parties were scheduled to meet at 9:00 a.m. to continue negotiations. The Local 21 bargaining team was not prepared to meet until 10:30 a.m. During the entire course of the bargaining session, which lasted until 3:00 p.m., Local 21 presented no new proposals to allow the parties to break the impasse. On August 9, 2011, the Board of Supervisors met and determined that it was appropriate to provide a further opportunity to negotiate a solution to the impasse. The Board continued the agenda item to implement new terms and conditions of employment for Local 21 until August 16, 2011. After the Board meeting, representatives of the County approached Local 21 representatives in order to secure bargaining dates. Local 21 representatives indicated that they were unable to schedule, however, they would provide dates by the close of business on August 9. At 4:55 p.m., Local 21 representatives called, still unable to schedule and promised further scheduling information in the morning of August 10, 2011. On August 10, 2011, the County received written correspondence from Local 21 proposing to meet in the afternoon on August 11. The County confirmed with Local 21 that another bargaining session will take place at 12:00p.m. on August 11. The County has, and will continue to meet and confer in good faith with the Local 21 representatives over the wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment covering the employees represented by Local 21. The County representatives sincerely hope the parties will be able to reach a tentative agreement at the next bargaining session on August 11, 2011, to capture the additional cost savings needed from this bargaining unit. However, at this time, the parties remain about 2.9 million dollars apart on the key issues facing the County due its structural imbalance. This is the same position the parties found themselves at during the July 19, 2011 meet and confer session. Since the correspondence from Local 21 in response to the County’s July 18, 2011 Last, Best, and Final Offers A and B do not provide any proposals for breaking the impasse and closing the gap between the parties, the parties remain at impasse. If there is no significant movement to close the 2.9 million dollar gap between the parties’ positions on or before Monday, August 15, 2011, to deal with the structural changes the County continues to face, then County representatives believe the parties will remain at impasse. The parties have completed the impasse procedures set forth in Chapter 34-16 of Resolution No. 81/1165, as amended, the County Employer Employee Relations Resolution. The parties are at impasse and the County representatives are now prepared to recommend to the Board of Supervisors implementation of the terms set forth in Offer B of the County’s Last, Best, and Final Offer dated July 18, 2011. DISCUSSION As we approach what is likely to be one of the most fiscally challenging years ever for Contra Costa County, we continue to take a hard look at our cost of doing business. The County’s largest cost is that of compensating our employees. Due to the significant structural imbalance in the County budget and the structural changes that are needed, County representatives pursued concessions from the Local 21 for reductions in labor costs. The County’s Last, Best, and Final Offer B represents structural changes in the relationship between the County and the members of Local 21 that will help the fiscal viability of the County. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: The County will not realize $5.5 million in savings. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: None. CLERK'S ADDENDUM CON TINUED to September 13, 2011. ATTACHMENTS Resolution No. 2011/345 ATTACHMENT A-1. County letter 7-18-11 ATTACHMENT A-2. LBFO Offer A ATTACHMENT A-3. LBFO Offer B ATTACHMENT B. L-21 Counter 7-19-11 ATTACHMENT C. Health Plan info. ATTACHMENT D. Pension Contribution ATTACHMENT E. Vacation Buy-Back ATTACHMENT F. Lower Cost Health Plan ATTACHMENT G. TA list ATTACHMENT G-1 Automated Timekeeping TA ATTACHMENT G-2. Days & Hours ATTACHMENT G-3. Vacation TA ATTACHMENT G-4. Leave of Absence TA