As most of you know, when the City took away some of our pension benefits back in 2011 in Financial Urgency, Local 2432, the PBA and IAFF Local 1375 filed unfair labor practice charges against the City with PERC to contest Financial Urgency, and ultimately, those claims ended up before the Florida Supreme Court.

The Florida Supreme Court held that the City violated the State Constitution, and ordered PERC to hold hearings to determine what remedies would be appropriate. Those hearings have now been held, and we are awaiting PERC’s decision as to whether the City will be required to restore all of the pension benefits back to what was in effect before Financial Urgency. Once the PERC process has run its course, we do not expect that the PBA, IAFF nor AFSCME will bring any additional litigation against the City regarding Financial Urgency.

During our first contract negotiations session, the City expressly stated that it recognized that it needs to treat all of its union-represented employees equitably, whether members of Local 2432, the PBA or IAFF Local 1375. Not only are we seeking to have our pension benefits fully restored, but also, to have the City address the shortcomings that we have all experienced with our healthcare coverage since the switch from Blue Cross Blue Shield to Cigna.

Please complete our online healthcare survey, if you have not already done so, at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZNLX8JQ

If you are able to attend negotiations, we would welcome your participation. The next session will be held tomorrow,  April 17th, at 2:00 PM in Room 215 in City Hall.   Also, our General Member Union Meeting is tomorrow at 6:30 PM at the Union Hall.

The Florida Public Employee Relations Commission (PERC), based upon the Florida Constitution and state laws, determines which city jobs are to be included with the General, Professional or Supervisory Units, and which must be excluded.

Last year, we filed a petition with PERC to have our units recertified, and to get clarification as to which jobs should be included within our bargaining units. Based upon this process, it became clear that over the years the City had improperly slotted several job classifications outside of our bargaining units into Managerial or Confidential positions.

We have a final hearing on May 1st, and then PERC will issue its final orders listing all bargaining unit positions, and all excluded Managerial or Confidential positions.

Once this PERC recertification process has been completed, and since we have already started contract negotiations with the City, we will also bargain hard for these additional employees.

Stay tuned.

To all members of Local 2432 – Our initial contact bargaining meeting with the City starts this Thursday. If you able to take time off to attend, please do. Do not attend without proper authorization from your supervisor, if you are working during this time.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/local2432/

AFSCME Brother and Sisters,

Our E-Board was recently notified of several part-time positions being eliminated resulting in layoffs in the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department.

We promptly filed a demand with the City to bargain over its decision, and the potential devastating impact that would have on our fellow employees.

Since we were not able to save those jobs through bargaining, we attended the City’s budget hearing this week, and made sure that the City Commissioners were aware of this situation. After nearly 1.5 tense hours of debate, the Commissioners approved the budget, but gave clear instruction to the City Manager and his staff to find a way to save these jobs.

This is exactly why we are all members of AFSCME Local 2432. This time, the City Commission heard us loud and clear. We may not always succeed, but as you can obviously see, we fight hard for our membership.

Local 2432 Brothers and Sisters,

There will be a ratification vote held on Tuesday, August 29, 2017 between 7AM – 7PM at the Union Hall – 2734 Hollywood Boulevard (parking in the rear). All employees in AFSCME covered positions are eligible to vote. Below are highlights from Memoranda of Understanding that were negotiated with the City regarding health insurance changes that will affect all three of our bargaining units.

1. Additional Cigna Health Insurance “In-Network Only” Plan Option

Extensive negotiations were conducted with the City over its interest in reducing healthcare costs. After much discussion and meetings with the City’s health insurance consultants, a third plan was crafted that provided for lower City costs, as well as lower employee up front costs, with an in-network only plan.

Through this plan, if elected, employees electing single coverage (no covered dependents) will have 100% of their premium paid by the City, and if any dependents are added, then the City will pay 90% of the premium, with the employee responsible for payment of the other 10% of the premiums.

Employee co-pays under the alternative “In-Network Only” plan are $30 for primary care visits, $40 for specialist care visits, and $75 for urgent care visits.

2. Flexible Spending Accounts (“FSA”) and Health Reimbursement Accounts (“HRA”)

During negotiations for the current collective bargaining agreement, our attorney raised questions and concerns about the City’s proposals regarding member participation in the FSA’s being offered by the City. After ratification of the agreement, and after the City changed its carrier from Blue Cross Blue Shield to Cigna Insurance, the City advised that its continued funding of the FSA benefits would violate IRS rules and regulations.

Through those negotiations, the City agreed to establish an HRA benefit ($300 – single employee only; $400 – single employee with one dependent; and $700 – single employee with two or more dependents) for employees covered by City insurance or by their spouse’s health insurance (but only through 2018).

HRA’s provide for payments to be made for IRS approved, unreimbursed medical expenses. Your benefits are provided on a “use it or lose it” basis, so if not entirely used during a plan year, the balance goes back into the general pool for ALL employees participating in the HRA benefits in subsequent years.

3. AFLAC Insurance Plan for Certain Regular, Non-Seasonal Part-Time Employees

With regard to the previous extension of the FSA benefit cards to regularly-scheduled, non-seasonal part-time employees who work 15 or more hours weekly (but less than 30 hours weekly), since the City could not legally continue to offer FSA benefit cards (contrary to IRS requirements), Local 2432 negotiated with the City for an alternative benefit, and ultimately agreed upon an AFLAC Insurance Plan that provides up to $500 annual coverage for members for certain hospital indemnity and accident benefits.

***************************************************************

We have agreed to Memoranda of Understanding with the City for all three (3) bargaining units – General Employees, Supervisory Employees and Professional Employees, regarding these changes, and are working toward holding a ratification vote on Tuesday, August 29, 2017 between 7AM – 7PM at the Union Hall.  The proposed Memoranda of Understanding is posted below for members to review.

2017-0706 – MOU – General CBA Health Insurance

2017-0706 – MOU – Professional CBA Health Insurance

2017-0706 – MOU – Supervisory CBA Health Insurance

The vote to ratify all three AFSCME contracts passed overwhelmingly and is headed to the City Commission for a vote  tomorrow (Wednesday, 4/6) @ 1PM at City Hall.  Thanks to all who’ve worked hard during this process and to everyone who came out for the vote today.

Come by the Commission Chambers tomorrow @ 1PM  in your AFSCME green as a show of solidarity if you can and thanks again to our members for your continued support.

The contract negotiations have finally been completed.  A ratification vote will be held on next Tuesday April 5th 2016 from 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM at the Union Hall – 2734 Hollywood Boulevard (parking in the rear). This is a secret ballot vote and the ballots will be counted immediately after the closing of the vote.  All employees should receive their letter explaining their classification and wage changes based on the Evergreen implementation by this coming Friday April 1st 2016. Below is the bargained contract language changes; please review them prior to casting your vote on April 5^th 2016:

• General Contract
• Professional Contract
• Supervisory Contract

Below are the new job classifications and pay grades:

• General Classifications
• Professional Classifications
• Supervisory Classifications

A brief summary of the changes can be found here:

• Summary of Changes

more »

Local 2432 Brothers and Sisters,

Below are highlights from the new contract which we’ll be bringing to you for a ratification vote soon:

EVERGREEN STUDY

The Evergreen Study will be implemented for all three bargaining units which merges pay grades (no more General/Enterprise/Tier A/Tier B). Employees have started receiving letters explaining their individual classification change and wage info.  All employees should receive their letter within the next week.

WAGES:

October 2015 :

• 2.5% Wage Increase
• 1.5% Merit Increase

October 2016:

• 2.5% Wage Increase
• 1.5% Merit Increase

October 2017:

• 1% Wage Increase
• 0.5% additional wage increase if Pension funding meets threshold

PENSION:

30 years and out for those covered under the new normal retirement date calculation. An employee would have had to work until age 60 regardless of when hired (example: 20 year old currently has to work 40 years to retire)

HEALTH INSURANCE:

No employee premium increase, FSA card was increased (ratified December 2015)

No health insurance coverage in retirement for employees hired after ratification

We are working towards a ratification date of April 5, 2016.   The proposed contracts will be posted on the website very soon for members to review.  

NEGOTIATION UPDATE:

We have reached a tentative 3-year agreement with the City after many months of negotiations.  Highlights from the proposed changes are below.  Stay tuned for more info.

Wage increases for all bargaining agreements:

A maximum of 4% in FY16 and FY17 and 1% in FY18.   In FY16 and FY17, 2.5% is COLA and 1.5% is tied to merit. FY18 is 1% COLA only, no merit.

If you are over the wage scale for your position…which is calculated on base pay (minus all longevity and any certification pay), the COLA portion will be paid as a lump sum. All wage increases will be paid on Oct 1st from now on. No more waiting until your annual review.

Also, the implementation of pay ranges and classifications based on the Evergreen Study (with additional negotiated modifications). More info will be coming out soon.

Insurance:

No change in employee contribution.  Any employee hired after ratification of this agreement will not have their premiums paid by the City in retirement.

Union and City agrees to meet to discuss alternative health care plans during the duration of the agreement.

Pension:

Change the normal retirement date from age 60 with 30 years of service to 30 years of service regardless of age.

PENSION BOARD ELECTION:

Early voting for the Pension Board is in progress, and word is that the turnout has been low.  It is important that AFSCME covered employees vote to ensure that the Board includes voices from the rank and file who will stand up for our negotiated retirement benefits.  There is currently only 1 employee on the Pension Board that is covered by AFSCME (non-management).  Please make sure to show up and make your voice heard.

more »

The FSA increase M.O.U. was passed by all three bargaining units.  Thanks to all who came out to vote and ratify this benefit increase.

Have a happy and safe holiday and stay tuned for pictures from the holiday party!

The Union and City have agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding to increase the City’s Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contribution to the following:

$300.00 – Employee only

$400.00 – Employee +1

$700.00 – Employee + 2 or more

Changes to the FSA accounts must be made by the end of each calendar year or else cannot be changed per IRS rules.  The  M.O.U  allows the increase to take effect in January  2016 pending a ratification vote by the membership and approval by the City Commission.  This vote is only for the increased FSA benefit.  Full contract negotiations are ongoing.

The M.O.U. requires an in person Ballot Vote from AFSCME covered employees to approve. Voting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 22nd from 7:00 am through 7:00 pm (updated times from previous notice) with ballot counting to begin immediately afterwards.  Voting will take place at the Union Hall located at 2734 Hollywood Boulevard  – parking located in the rear.

The M.O.U. language can be found at the links below.

If you have questions please email afscmelocal2432@local2432.com.

R-2015 Memorandum of Understanding (GE) AFSCME TASC Cards – General

R-2015 Memorandum of Understanding (PRO) AFSCME TASC Cards – Professional

R-2015 Memorandum of Understanding (SUP) AFSCME TASC Cards (1) – Supervisory

Dear Brothers and Sisters of AFSCME Local 2432

I am writing to provide you an update as to the status of our Union’s contract negotiations with the City. In the Professional and Supervisory groups, our bargaining teams have met with the City’s management team only 3 times (real negotiations) over the course of the last two months. The latest negotiations session was held last Thursday, October 8^th 2015. We were told prior to the meeting to be prepared to stay until we have an agreement, and were hopeful that we might make real progress toward a new agreement.

With that understanding, our bargaining teams presented all of our counter proposals, including a new proposal regarding our pension plan. In case you had not heard, the Police just negotiated a modified planned retirement with only a 0.5% employee contribution down from 8%, and changed the normal retirement date to 25 years of service regardless of age). We requested the same modified planned retirement with a 30 years of service normal retirement date provision, regardless of age. This was only the 4th item out of approximately 57 items that were on the table, but the meeting immediately turned negative from management’s side.  We were berated and accused of playing games.  We all took this as very condescending and disrespectful not only to our bargaining team, but to our membership as a whole.
more »

Evergreen has completed the draft compensation study for the General Bargaining Unit. The Union is scheduled to meet with the City on Thursday, September 3rd @ 2 PM in City Hall room 215 for Evergreen to present their findings.  Click here to read the draft report ->> Draft Report – Compensation Study for the City of Hollywood FL (AFSCME).

Professional and Supervisory Bargaining Units negotiation session is scheduled for this Tuesday, September 1st @ 2 PM in City hall room 215.

The City held a Joint City/CRA workshop in which the CRA has agreed to work with the City to give back money to the City’s General Fund.  Hats off to Commissioner Callari for pointing out that it is very disappointing that this offer wasn’t made during “Financial Urgency” (FU). The CRA’s response was basically – nobody asked (seriously).

Any General Bargaining Unit members who are due a FY 2015 merit increase (not topped out), but either has a past due performance review, or has received a satisfactory review but has not received their PA for the increase, please contact HR if you have not already. President Chris Cassidy has brought this issue to the attention of Tammie Hechler, HR Director,  who has sent the message to the Departments to process the PA’s per the contract.
more »

During the latest contract negotiations, Local 2432 and the City negotiated many new benefits for part-time employees.  One of those benefits entailed the City contributing $1,000 on behalf of each eligible part-time employee to a 457 Plan.  Unfortunately, given the length of negotiations, some eligible employees, whose anniversaries fell between October 1, 2013 and the ratification date of the current contract (plus the 60 day waiting period), will miss out on receiving that $1,000 contribution until their next anniversary date.

This M.O.U. corrects that unintended result by changing the effective date for those regularly scheduled part-time employees (as defined in Section 2 and Section 3 of Article 52) employed as a regularly scheduled part-time employee on the ratification date of this M.O.U., so that the City shall make the new $1,000 contribution to the 457 Deferred-Comp Plan of those regularly scheduled part-time employees who had an anniversary date that occurred on or after October 1, 2013, through May 4, 2014, within thirty (30) days of the  ratification date of this M.O.U. which you are voting on.

This change requires a ratification vote from the members.

Voting begins Tuesday, July 8, at 7:30 am and goes until 5:30 pm at the Union Hall. This a secret ballot vote and the ballots will be counted immediately after the closing of the vote.

Our new contracts have been signed and stamped and sealed and made all official like. We’ll be adding digital copies to the site soon and hard copy books will be available shortly after that.

In the mean time, if you have any questions just ask your Steward.

Ratification Vote, Tuesday Feb 4, at the Union Hall.

Click to enlarge.

Contracts for your review. The links below are to PDF versions and they will take a moment to download or open. If you just want to see the short list of changes then click on the Fact sheet link for your particular contract.

Your steward should have a hard copy available for review on Friday and they will also be available at the Union Hall.

We are scheduling a vote on next Tuesday, February 4th, to ratify these contracts. More information on that will be posted shortly.

The Contracts:

General

General Contract Fact Sheet

General Contract

Strike-through Version

This version includes the markup of all changes. 

Professional

Professional Fact Sheet

Professional Contract

Strike-Through Version
This version includes the markup of all changes. 

Supervisory

Supervisory Fact Sheet

Supervisory Contract

Strike-Through Version
This version includes the markup of all changes. 

Edited – links are fixed and go to correct contracts.

Contract Negotiations, all three CBA’s.

Tuesday, January 21st, 10:00 am

City Hall, Room 215

This meeting will include all three bargaining units, General, Professional, and Supervisory.

And wear your green!

Yes, we are going back to the Negotiation table. The reason specifically is some language the City insists be included in the contract:

Sec. __. The Union agrees for itself and for all bargaining unit employees to waive, renounce, and forgo any and all remedies and payments whatsoever related to the modifications to the Collective Bargaining Agreement or the Pension Ordinance made by the City pursuant to financial urgency to which it or they are or may become eligible to receive, whether resulting from an award by a tribunal or through settlement of any matter related to such changes. The Union also agrees to withdraw with prejudice immediately all grievances related to such changes.

This will be in the articles regarding Pensions, in the General CBA that would be Article 18.

Two specific points for your consideration:

The Fiscal Urgency and all the related legal bits have all been settled and none of them in our favor. We don’t have any standing for more law suits of any kind regarding the FU.

This waiver language was not included in the negotiations at any point, nor was it implied it would be included because it was never mentioned. At all.

If you need more details, talk to your Steward and they can help. If they can’t, they at least know who to ask.
more »

Waiting on Management….. again…. still.

It seems the City is demanding we include some more bits of language in the contract that weren’t part of the negotiations. They are, to mix a metaphor, trying to move the goal line while the ball is in play.

We’ll keep sharing more information as we get it.

“Where’s the contract?”

Indeed…. where is the contract?

The back and forth of the process of ‘finalizing’ the contract is stalled on the City’s side for the moment. Now that the holidays have passed the process should be back on track, at least that is what we are being told.

There are still some things to schedule, and still some things to review, but the tentative plan is to have the contract ready for review later this week, the ratification vote by the members in about two weeks, and the ratification vote by the Commission and Pension Board by the end of the month.

We’ll update everyone as we get more information here and through the Stewards.

The Negotiation Team is working diligently to get the contract language clean, correct, and ready for review. You are welcome to stop by the Hall and watch. Fair warning, it is important, but not exciting.

And tonight, of course, is the monthly General Meeting. Short agenda so it should be a quick meeting.

One step forward….. a small step….

We received the first draft of the Contract for the General CBA. To put it bluntly, it’s a mess. The Negotiation Teams are getting together next Tuesday to try and get it in shape enough to share.

What does this mean?

There won’t be anything ready for review and ratification next week.

We’ll keep you updated as we have information to share.

Still waiting…..

We came to a verbal agreement, everyone shook hands and breathed a sigh of relief. After all of this, we find ourselves once again waiting on the City to give us the information we need to move forward.

We’re still waiting.

We’re waiting on the City to provide the final language of the contract.

We’re waiting.

La la la……..

We’ll share more as we get it. Whenever that might be.

Success! We have a contract!

Well, almost… we have to finish dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s. And then considering the time of the year we have to check it twice to make sure who’s naughty and nice.

The very highest of the highlights:

4% increase for General Funded Employees, 2.5% increase for Enterprise Funded Employees in this fiscal year.

Flexible Spending Account (Health Spending Account? Still unclear what it is ‘officially’ called) to help offset healthcare costs.

Pension contribution reduced to 8% in 2015. This is basically a 1% increase in pay.

There is more! Lots and lots more…..

The schedule is to complete the actual language of the contract this week, post notices and meetings for the members to review the contract the following week,  a ratification vote sometime the week after that….

Basically stay tuned to this site and your Union Bulletin Board for more details.

Thank you to everyone who made it out last night. Great crowd, nice to see the Hall full for a meeting.

Lots of questions about the negotiations, lots of questions about what-if and how-abouts…. all of them good questions. The one thing we all agreed upon was Management doesn’t seem to have a good grasp on reality.

By the time you are reading this the negotiation teams will be at the Hall working on the latest information provided by the City. At the briefest of glances it looks like the City is moving in our direction. The Negotiation Team will share more as they have more.

And a few reminders…..

Union Meetings are on Tuesdays. First Tuesdays is the Executive Board, Second Tuesdays is the Stewards, and Third Tuesdays is the General Members.

Scroll down to the very bottom, there is an area to enter your email so you can receive the newsletters and email updates. If you get unlimited text messages on your mobile you can sign up to get text updates as well.

Thank you again to everyone who made it out. We as a Union are nothing without our members. United We Stand!

The City has presented a summary of their latest proposal (attached below) to AFSCME. It covers all three Units and our summary of their summary is this:

The Good:

• 7 % wage restoration over 2 years (4.5% to Enterprise).
• Longevity raises at 10, 15, and 20 years. If you missed your longevity during the F.U., you will get it now going forward.
• 2.5% Merit increase for everyone not maxed out in the second year of the contract (2015). While technically that isn’t a merit, it’s still good for us.
• Employee Pension Contribution going down to 8%.
• Tuition Reimbursement returns (maximum return of $1,800 annually).
• Improved Benefits for Part Timers (see attached).

The Bad:

• Wage restoration still does not equal what was lost during F.U.
• “Salary Survey” may result in more wage freezes or possibly wage cuts.
• No Merit Increases. That means no raises until you hit a longevity date.
• Probationary period for all new hires or promotions is one year. This applies to all full and part-time employees.
• Pension benefits being reduced to 2.5% multiplier for everyone. The Police and Fire both got 3% or better.
• No Cola in the pension plan. Ever.
• If you bump down in pay grade and your  pay drops to the lower level. This is an attempt by management to get rid of bumping rights.
• Assignment pay does take effect until 40 hours (now 4). You cover the shift for 4 days, Bob over there will cover the fifth, none of you get assignment pay.

more »

Today’s spotlight comment from the negotiations was Management saying “We don’t want to pay more to the employees.”

2:30 – Update

We’re in a side-bar caucus at the request of Management.

So far its an interesting meeting:

• Cathy made it to this meeting, which is her first.
• The City’s proposal is actually worse than the last meeting.

3:00 – Update

Sneaky…. They are trying to get rid of bumping and hoping we don’t notice.

3:15 – Update

No merits. Just a one-time merit for anyone who isn’t already maxed out. Just once, not a repeating thing. Doesn’t matter how good a job you do, no raise for you. No more pay for performance.

3:30 – Update

Back from side-bar. Cathy didn’t make it back.

No change to the recall process, if you don’t accept recall you get cut (grade AND pay) to the lower grade.

Done for now.

Thank you to everyone who made it out for today’s meeting. Having an audience was really great considering this is the first time the City Manager has bothered to join us.

Lets see if the City actually has information, and people, for this meeting. Maybe, just maybe, we can get the deal made….

Contract Negotiations, all three CBA’s.

Monday, November 4th, 1:30 pm

City Hall, Room 215

This meeting will include all three bargaining units, General, Professional, and Supervisory.

We have our numbers, maybe this time the City will actually have theirs. And  we asked Mr Cassidy to send Mrs Swanson-Rivenbark a work release so she can join us too.

And wear your green!

No, we don’t know what anybody’s ‘getting’ because we are still at the negotiation table.

No, we haven’t finished negotiating because we are waiting on the City to get back to us on the latest contract offer.

Why is it taking so long?

Ask the City Manager, she is the one that is directing the City’s Negotiation Team.

The City Manager is also the one who hasn’t attended a single meeting yet so maybe you shouldn’t ask her… she might not actually know what’s going on.

eq·ui·ta·ble (ˈekwitəbəl), adjective

1. fair and impartial.

synonyms: fair, just, impartial, even-handed, unbiased, unprejudiced

The City keeps saying they want equity in all the different CBA’s but when they make their offer it always seems as if they are trying to bring everyone down to the lowest possible level, that everyone has to lose something.

Well, the City gains everything we lose so I guess on a cosmic level it is equitable.

At tonight’s meeting we had on display a little comparison of AFSCME’s current contract offer compared to PBA and IAFF. Here is what it looked like, more or less….

This is not everything on the negotiation table, just the stuff that is most important.

Watch this space, more as it is available.

mer·it (ˈmerit), noun

1. the quality of being particularly good or worthy, esp. so as to deserve praise or reward.

synonyms: excellence, quality, caliber, worth

The City used to have a system of Merit  in the pay scales. The better you do at your job the more you get paid. It would seem that mediocrity is the new standard our leaders are aiming for because they no longer want a merit based pay scale.

Join us at tonight’s regular monthly meeting and share your opinion…. is a Merit System important to you? Or is a simple raise every two years regardless of performance a better idea?

What do you think… One year contract or two?

Let’s see what the City has to say today at negotiations.

Please join us if you can, 2:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Lets try this again….

Contract Negotiations, all three CBA’s.

Monday, October 14th, 2:30 pm

City Hall, Room 215

Please join us as we continue to negotiate with the City, this meeting will include all three bargaining units.

We have our numbers, maybe this time the City will actually have theirs.

Wear your green!

bar·gain (ˈbärgən), verb

1. negotiate the terms and conditions of a transaction.

You can’t really negotiate a deal for  pay and benefits if the City is unwilling to bargain in any meaningful way. Saying you are trying to bargain a deal is not the same as actually sitting down and bargaining a deal.

deal (dēl), noun

1. an agreement entered into by two or more parties for their mutual benefit, esp. in a business or political context..

The key word is “mutual.”

You can’t really reach a deal regarding pay and benefits if the City is demanding all the benefits.

com·pro·mise (kämprəˌmīz), noun

1. an agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions.

Sometimes it is called the “Middle Ground.”

And in dealing with the City this area in the middle seems kind of lonely. We’ve been waiting around here in the middle but the City is nowhere to be found.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to join us in the audience. It makes a difference when Management sees a bunch of members taking part in the process.

And then, the meeting….

The meeting got off to a late start and most of the meeting was us presenting our current contract offerings to them. The highlights of our current proposal are:

Wages – Oct 1 we get a  6% to Enterprise Funded Employees, 9% to General Funded Employees. Next year 4% and 6%. Over the two years that would bring everyone back up in the pay scales to where they would have been if the City didn’t take anything back during F.U.

Pension – Everyone hired before July 2009 will go to a 2.75% multiplier (27 years for full benefits) with an 8% contribution. Everyone hired after July 2009 goes back to the 2.5% multiplier with the 9% contribution.

Health – Switching everyone to a $30 co-pay plus accepting the City’s offer of the Flexible Spending Account in the amount of $200 for you, $300 for you plus 1, $500 for you plus 2.

Those are the most important items of our proposal, the ones that everyone wants to know right now. There were many more items in our offer that will be under discussion and we will share them with you soon.
more »

All of your Negotiation Teams are working like mad to put together something that gets us back to getting paid what we are worth. We are trying to reconcile the difference between the 3.3 Million dollars in lost wages and the City’s paltry offer to return 1.7 Million.

Want to see first hand how we did? Join us at 1:00 pm in Room 215 at City Hall.

Lets try this again….

Contract Negotiations, all three CBA’s.

Tuesday, September 24th, 1:00 pm

City Hall, Room 215

Please join us as we continue to negotiate with the City, this meeting will include all three bargaining units.

We have our numbers, maybe this time the City will actually have theirs.

Wear your green!

This came through today….

> Subject: Employee Pensions Information from FRS

> Union Representatives,
>
> We have received notification from the Florida Division of Retirement that they will be issuing election ballots to impacted employees of Municipalities providing non-FRS pension benefits.  Specifically, employees impacted by the Consolidated Regional E-911 Communications System will be provided a one-time irrevocable option to remain in their Municipality’s pension plan or to elect participation in the Florida Retirement System.  These ballots are time sensitive and must be returned by the deadline provided. No ballots will be provided or are needed for employees of Municipalities providing pension benefits solely with the FRS system or of Municipalities offering no pension program.  If employees have any questions, please have them contact the pension plan administrator in your Municipality.

 

We have put the questions to our pension coordinator already so don’t call her just yet.

More as information becomes available.

Thank you again to everyone who made it out last time, it was a sea of green and it  made them pay attention!

And it’s time to do it one more time….. The Second Budget Hearing is  Monday, September 23, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Please be there so we can keep the message going that we are here and are still waiting for some real effort from the leaders of this fine City regarding pay restoration for the AFSCME employees.

This goes for you too, Non-Reps. Your pay and benefits are based loosely on our Contracts so the more you help us the more you help yourself!

Show your solidarity! Wear your green! 

Again, thank you very much to those that took the time to join the negotiation meeting yesterday. The City Manager was going to join us, but apparently she had rehearsals to attend to ahead of the Budget Hearing.

We are still sifting through all the different bits of the latest proposals to see what is actually being offered and what is being taken away. The proposals have the removed or changed language in strike through so we have to carefully read everything  so we don’t lose something by accident. The three proposals were posted yesterday if you want to see for yourself.

During the negotiation meeting the City changed up a few things verbally that sound good but need careful comparison against what we would give up in the process. The verbal proposal was to change the wage offer to 4% restoration staring October followed by a 3% COLA next October. That *does* sound good, but many other things in the proposal are going to make those amounts turn out not so great, things like increased health care costs, decreased health benefits, decreased pension benefits, and no merit increases.

And then the Budget Hearing….

This is page 37 of the City Manager’s presentation last night. This page specifically is interesting for two reasons:
more »

Thank you to everyone who made it out to the Budget Hearing last night! It may not seem like much but it makes a huge difference!

First, thank you to everyone who made it out to watch this mornings meeting. It wasn’t the most exciting of meetings, but  you did get to see first hand how absolutely crappy Management is trying to treat the AFSCME employees.

Then….

Yesterday we shared the General Contract Proposal. Today we have the Professional and Supervisory Proposals to share.

AFSCME General – City Proposal 09-10-2013

AFSCME Professional City Proposal 09-10-2013

AFSCME Supervisory – City Proposal 09-10-2013

Both are in PDF format, it is best if you right-click and choose save-as.

And Then…

We will have a lot more updates over the next day or three as we continue to evaluate and discuss what the City is offering for our contracts.

And Then….

Tonight at 5:30 is the First Public Budget Hearing. If you can make it please wear your green and ‘remind’ the Commissioners and, more importantly, the Public that we are here and we are professionals and we are tired of being treated like an ATM.

Finally! The City has made their first formal offer of the AFSCME Contracts. Well, at least for the General Employees we have something in writing.

Keep coming back to this article throughout today and tomorrow, as we go through and figure out what the City is offering we will update it here.

And don’t forget…. tomorrow, Thursday Sept 12th, the negotiation meetings begin at 9:00 a.m. in room 215. You are welcome to sit in the audience, no that’s not quite right…  You are encouraged! to sit in the audience and see first hand what the City is offering as they offer it.

First Item of Interest:

Article 10 – Wages:

Starting October 2013, 2.5% for everyone.

Starting April 2014, 3% for all non-enterprise funded employees.

AND in April 2014, a possible wage re-opener.

What this means for you:

For the year, 2.5% for enterprise employees, 4% for everyone else, with chance of having the wages dropped again in April because of the re-opener.

Edit – Sorry for the confusion…. the proposal includes a 3% starting in April, which is effectively 1.5% because it is only for 6 months. 2.5% and then effectively 1.5% makes 4% for the year. The following year it works out as 5.5%.

Second Item of Interest:

Article 11 – Assignment Pay:

Assignment pay will no longer be available for any period of work less than 40 hours.

What this means for you:

You will only be eligible for Assignment pay if you work MORE than 40 hours. That means if you cover for your boss for only a week you get nothing in return for working in the higher responsibility level.

Third Item of Interest:

Article 17 – Performance Review:

Probationary periods are increasing to 12 months. The two possible outcomes of any review is Unsatisfactory or Satisfactory. Part-timers probationary period is expanding to 2080 hours.

What this means for you:

If you are a part-timer it will be twice as long before you are eligible for any benefits. And there are NO MERIT INCREASES! Ever! You do your job, you pass or fail, and maybe if your boss likes you they can give you a raise. If they feel like it or something. So much for the Pay-for-Performance idea the City was promoting to improve our City for our residents.

Fourth Item of Interest:

Article 21 – Voting Time:

Removed.

What this means for you:

No leaving early or arriving late to cast your vote in elections.

Fifth Item of Interest:

Article 24 – Life and Health Insurance:

This one has a lot of If-Then-Before-After Clauses so it will be best to be addressed in its own topic.  The very short version is Everyone’s Co-Pays will be $40, the amount your insurance costs you is going up, and Hearing and Vision are gone.

What this means for you:

More expensive insurance with less coverage. Some comments regarding the Affordable Care Act, more commonly called Obama-Care, that will be addressed by those more knowledgeable than me.

Sixth Item of Interest:

Article 36 – Anniversary Milestones (Formerly Longevity):

Again with some if-then-before-after clauses…. At the 5 year mark you get a one-time check for $500. At the 10 year mark you get a one-time check for $1,000. At the 15 Year mark you get 5% raise. At the 20 Year mark you get a 3% raise.

What this means for you:

You make it to the five-year mark, here’s a check. Make it five more years and here’s another check. While being handed $1,000 is pretty cool, it really pales in comparison to what the 5% raise would have been over the course of a year for most employees. In other words, here’s a nice token of our appreciation for working so hard for so long, don’t spend it all in one place kid.

Seventh Item of Interest:

Article 51 – Volunteer Day:

A pilot program allowing you take one paid day per year and volunteer somewhere approved by the City.

What this means for you:

Volunteering for the community is a good thing. Getting paid by the City to volunteer? Kind of makes it not volunteering, doesn’t it? And this isn’t going to apply to everyone because most volunteer opportunities are during the day when some of our shift-workers are trying to sleep. Meh.

And lastly, for today at least, here is the PDF version of the City’s Proposed Contract:   AFSCME General – City Proposal 09-10-2013 (best to right-click and save as)

We have dates for the next meeting to negotiate our contracts!

If you can get away from your post for a few minutes  and would like to see first hand what happens in these meetings please join us in the Commissioners Conference Room (215, the small room behind the Commissioner Chambers) starting at 9:00 a.m. All three contracts will be under discussion so the meeting will last most of the day.

Watch this space for more details!

Also…..

Please wear your green and join us in the Commission Chambers Thursday at 5:30 for the first public Budget Hearing. Lets remind the Commissioners, Management, and most importantly the public, that we are here and won’t be ignored.

This Is A Call To Action For All AFSCME Employees
and Supporters!

Wear your green and attend next week’s Budget Workshop.

The City Commission needs to see that A.F.S.C.M.E. employees are watching and waiting for real action in regards to wage restoration.

Your attendance is Needed!

Don’t let them think we don’t care!

Tuesday Sept. 3rd

4:00 PM

City Hall Commission Chambers.

Yesterday’s meeting can best be described as weak. The City did not have actual written proposals to present, no numbers, in short the meeting could have been concluded in 10 minutes, nine of which would be checking the calendar for the next available date.

And another update, or rumor control if you are hearing the whispering voices….. via email from Local President Chris Cassidy to the Mayor, City Commission, and City Manager:

Cathy,
I have been informed that you have expressed disappointment with the fact that I did not inform you, at our last monthly meeting, of AFSCME’s intent to file the ULP.  Just to be clear, AFSCME has been holding off on filing the ULP in the hopes negotiations would go well thus making it unnecessary.  When we last met I did not know what you were going to be proposing at negotiations.  When my bargaining team met with yours last week, it became crystal clear that the City had no intention of rectifying the pay and benefit losses AFSCME bargaining unit members suffered as a result of the City’s declaration of financial urgency.  Not only did your proposal fail to resolve the inequities our membership is currently experiencing, you actually proposed further cuts to our membership’s pay and benefits.  It was that slap in the face, along with the numerous other attempts to take from our membership (such as ceasing longevity payments, contracting out AFSCME positions/work, the changing of full time positions to part time, the promoting of select individuals, etc…) as well as your refusal to sit down and partake in the negotiation process (AFSCME has been trying to meet with you for over seven months now and we still have not been provided any financials) that led AFSCME to file the ULP.

I hope this clarifies why the ULP was filed and why you were not given a heads up in our last meeting.
Christopher Cassidy President,
AFSCME Local 2432

A bit of rumor control, or a bit of information if you haven’t been hearing the rumors….. the following email went from our Local President Mr. Cassidy via email to the Mayor, Commissioners, and City Manager today:

It has been brought to AFSCME’s attention that you have been advising City Commissioners that AFSCME is not and/or has not been seeking some form of pay restoration for our membership, prior to the implementation of successor agreements in our three units.  I want to make it perfectly clear that nothing could be further from the truth.  AFSCME has consistently been seeking restoration for our membership.  We would be more than willing to enter into MOUs with the City to accomplish this goal.  Unfortunately, given the City’s ridiculous contract proposal at our last Supervisory Unit negotiation session, as well as the lack of proposals in the Professional and General Units, it appears that the City has no intention of working with AFSCME to attain restoration.  Hopefully that mindset will change so we can get back to the business of attempting to obtain fair and equitable pay and benefit packages for the workers who make up the backbone of this City.

  

Christopher Cassidy President,

A.F.S.C.M.E., Local 2432

Still waiting on Management to set some dates for the next round of contract talks. While we wait here are some of the highlights of our proposal to management….

Remember, this is what we proposed to Management. This is what we are asking to get, negotiations have to have a starting point.

Part 5 – General CBA – Article 49, Educational Reimbursement Program

“Upon ratification of this agreement the tuition reimbursement program which was eliminated effective October 1, 2011, shall be restored.”

Pretty much sums itself up…. put the program back and allow us the opportunity to improve ourselves so we can improve the City.

So the City has posted on their website their response to the negotiations so far….

http://www.hollywoodfl.org/index.aspx?NID=727

Which is funny because they haven’t told us any of this yet.

Lets take a look at what they do say, and I’m going to start with their last line first just to make something clear:

Additional negotiation meetings are anticipated with each of the AFSCME bargaining units.

Yes, additional meetings would be nice. There’s been a total of two so far, neither of which were anything more than us presenting our proposed contract to them. We’ve been waiting, are still waiting, for Management to set meetings for the next round of talks. Supposedly we are waiting on the results of an Executive Session with the Commission, but none of the Commissioner’s we’ve talked to know anything about any Executive Session.

Then back to the beginning for a point-by-point:

Currently the City is analyzing and costing out proposals regarding pension changes, health care contributions, salaries, merit pay increases and sick leave accrual payouts.

Funny, you would think they could have had this information done and ready before the meetings were even scheduled. It’s not like we surprised them or anything.

The City has indicated to AFSCME that it is seeking to have all employees on the same pension plan and with consistently priced health insurance benefits (employees whose salaries and benefits are paid out of Enterprise Funds were not impacted by the pension reforms or salary and benefit changes put in place under Financial Urgency).

By pointing out the Enterprise Funded employees the implication is the consistency they are seeking to bring everyone to the lowest level.

The City has offered flexible spending accounts to all employees to help offset increases in the cost of health insurance co-pays:  $200 for employee only, $300 for employee plus one dependent, $500 for employee plus multiple dependents.

Sounds neat. But….. there is no such thing as a free lunch so where is this money coming from?

To help cover the cost of wage or benefit increases for AFSCME employees, the City is considering the savings that are expected from the transition from a City-operated emergency 911 system to a regional emergency 911 system.

Again, sounds nice, but there is still no free lunch. Those employees are still getting paid, and there aren’t that many of them overall, so how much can this really represent as far as funding options?

The City has stated its goal for employee salaries is to be at the mid-point of the salary scale when compared to similarly sized cities in this region.  The City has engaged Evergreen Solutions to conduct a compensation study for both the Supervisory and Professional Bargaining Units.

And? This survey is expected to take nine months or more so did Management just admit they are going to force the negotiations to impasse? Did they just admit they aren’t going to negotiate with their employees in good faith?

And that brings us back to the end….

Additional negotiation meetings are anticipated with each of the AFSCME bargaining units.

All in all we have an example of the City trying to control the information, to control the spin to borrow the terms of the national media.

Stay tuned, we’ll share more as there is more to share.

Still waiting on Management to set some dates for the next round of contract talks. While we wait here are some of the highlights of our proposal to management….

Remember, this is what we proposed to Management. This is what we are asking to get, negotiations have to have a starting point.

Part 4 – General CBA – Article 26, Work Rules

“Any work rule(s) and/or regulation(s) that is not complied with or adhered to by Management employees shall not be enforced upon bargaining unit employees…”

Basically, if you aren’t following the rules you can’t write me up for not following the rules.

Still waiting on Management to set some dates for the next round of contract talks. While we wait here are some of the highlights of our proposal to management….

Remember, this is what we proposed to Management. This is what we are asking to get, negotiations have to have a starting point.

Part 3 – General CBA – Article 24, Health Group Benefits Plan

“Employees co-pay will be reinstated to $20.00”

The Co-pay seems like such a small thing, but those of you with small children or chronic ailments…. that extra $20 adds up.

Still waiting on Management to set some dates for the next round of contract talks. While we wait here are some of the highlights of our proposal to management….

Remember, this is what we proposed to Management. This is what we are asking to get, negotiations have to have a starting point.

Part 2 – General CBA – Article 17, Review and Merit Pay Increases

“Upon ratification of this Agreement, the City hall retroactively reinstate merit pay increases to all employees who had the eliminated effective October 1, 20112, through financial urgency imposition as well as merit pay increases to those employees who had them eliminated through the 2012 contract re-opener…”

Basically, give us our money back. And if you lost, or missed a merit increase during FU it will be reinstated.

While we wait on Management to set some dates for the next round of contract talks we thought we would share some of the highlights of our proposal to management…. There are many highlights and we don’t know how long we have to wait so let’s do this in parts.

Remember, this is what we proposed to Management. This is what we are asking to get, negotiations have to have a starting point.

Part 1 – General CBA – Article 10, Wages

“Upon ratification of the agreement, the City shall retroactively reinstate all wages the City suspended and eliminated because of its claimed financial urgency as well as wages decreased via the wage reopener in the 2010 MOU…”

Very simply… give us our money back.

And that concludes Round 2 for our Contract Negotiations…..

This second round of meetings from the last couple of days… done. The City has our proposals and they are best summed up as reinstatement of our benefits to the levels they were at before the City declared F.U..

That is the simple answer, there is obviously much more to it than just simply give us our money back. We will put together some posts with more information while we are waiting on the City to schedule the next round of talks.

Stay tuned and stay strong.

Round Two of the contract negotiations begin this week, starting with the General Unit on Thursday, Followed by the Professional and Supervisory Units next week.

These meetings are open to the public and you are encouraged to attend. It makes our position that much stronger when we have a group of our members in the audience.

Join us if you can and wear green. Watch this space for more details if you can’t.

General Unit- Thursday, June 6 from 1:00 to 5:00 pm

Supervisory Unit- Monday, June 10th  from 2:00 to 5:00 pm

Professional Unit- Tuesday, June 11th from 1:00 to 5:00 pm.

All three meetings will be in the Commissioners Conference Room, 2nd floor of City Hall, Room 215.

And that concludes Round 1 for our Contract Negotiations…..

This first round of meetings this week were simply the opening round of negotiations; we put forward our proposal to the City for the General, Professional, and Supervisory Contacts.

Watch this space over the next several days as we will be sharing much more information about our proposal, what the City counter-offers, meeting dates, and much much more.

Most of you are aware that Local 2432 represents Three different Bargaining Units; General, Professional, and Supervisory. And if for whatever reason you didn’t know that, now you do.

Anyway….

It’s Contract Time and all three Units are at the bargaining table beginning this week. Technically Supervisory was there already as they have negotiated since last October, but this is the week it is all supposed to go from being tick marks in a calendar or email and switch to actual real negotiations.

Like the title says… Game on!

We’ll share more details as they become available

Thank you to everyone who made it to the Union Hall today to vote!

All three Bargaining Units voted to YES to accept the M.O.U. reinstating the Six Holidays!