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Margate unions wary over freeze in pay steps
• Negotiations continue with Margate's FPE and IAFF
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Tuesday,
July 20, 2010
Other than changes regarding the wording and scope of various articles within their respective union contracts, issues regarding step pay and overtime rose to the top of third-round union negotiations with the Federation of Public Employees (FPE) and International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 3080 Monday at Margate City Hall.
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Step pay, a form of compensation based on the yearly completion of certain criteria, is something the city has told union employees that they will not be getting this year.
“There’s no money,” said Margate City Manager Frank Porcella, “and unless the city commission raises the millage rate or passes a fire fee, there won’t be any new money coming into the city anytime soon,” Porcella told union officials.
Step pay is an alternative to the “pay for performance” model of compensation and is awarded annually to city employees who meet departmental requirements.
Porcella said he tried keeping pay steps intact, but didn’t anticipate the city commission not funding the pay plan this year.
FPE Chief Negotiator, Alan Eichenbaum, told city negotiators that he might be able to get his people to agree to a freeze in step pay this year, as long as the step plan isn’t eliminated altogether and is considered for reinstatement next year.
Eichenbaum stipulated that if his people are to agree to a pay freeze, he wants assurances that non-bargaining personnel in the city don’t get raises either.
“If there’s no money for us, we’re going to make sure there is no money for anyone,” Eichenbaum said.
IAFF Local 3080 officials shared Eichenbaum’s sentiments, but more or less had conceded to the freeze - albeit reluctantly. They continued to seek, however, a $500 annual boost for firefighters with 10 years of service or more (about $23,000 in all) and are still looking to get their department’s cap on overtime lifted.
The current $250,000 OT cap for fire personnel sunsets (expires) this year. The city has offered to increase the cap to $300,000, but union officials want the cap eliminated altogether. They say their department has been understaffed for years and that comp days (paid days off) in lieu of paid overtime is not a significant motivator for having to work 48 hours straight.*
Local 3080 Vice President, Eric Achiron pointed to the dangers of having fireman overtired from lack of sleep running into burning buildings. He said that lack of sleep impedes a rescue workers ability to make sound decisions and react quickly to life-threatening situations.
“We put the welfare of residents at risk when we send overtired firefighters out on calls,” Achiron said.
Porcella told fire union officials that their overtime problem is partially a house keeping issue which he says the union needs to take a hard look at resolving. Porcella, once a Margate firefighter himself, told Achiron that fire personnel calling out on shifts is nothing new and it’s the union’s responsibility to fix it, not the city.
Lifting the cap on overtime would imply “writing a blank check,” said Procella, which he’s not prepared to do as city manager, he said.
Porcella said the city has already paid out $250,000 in OT to firefighters this year and owe them another $180,000 in comp time. “That $430,000 inclusive of the OT Cap,” Porcella said, adding that at this rate there won’t be enough money left to run the city.
Margate Fire Captain, Todd Sherman, said that understaffing at the fire department has not only resulted in an overtime hardship; it’s killing employee morale. Sherman says for year’s Margate’s fire department has been understaffed, servicing an average 15,000 calls a year with only 106 full time rescue workers give or take.
“Even when times were good, we were asked to do more for less,” Sherman said.
Sherman said because the average age of Margate firefighters is high, injuries are commonplace and are exacerbated by age, causing more veteran fire rescue workers to call out more often.
Other issues to be ironed out with both unions include a more accurate definition of “on call” and how workers are compensated for being on call.
No agreements were reached Monday between the city and either of the two unions. The next round of FPE negotiations is scheduled for Aug 18th at 10 a.m. and negotiations with the Local 3080 are TBA.
Should unions reach impasse and the city continues to pay steps to union employees after September 30, 2010, Porcella said the city will be looking for that money back. How they retrieve it, said Eichenbaum, may be a matter of legal wrangling.
Porcella suggested to union officials that should talks reach impasse, going before the Margate City Commission for a resolution may prove more expeditious than arbitration.
Eichenbaum said there are pros and cons to each and wasn’t sure at this point which approach might be more beneficial to FPE employees.
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*Margate firefighters work one day on and two days off. If a firefighter's shift relief calls in sick or is out with an injury, the firefighter must stay for the next shift, said Achiron. For those working one of Margate’s busiest firehouses, Station 98 on the Margate / Coconut Creek border, Achiron said this could mean staying awake for up to 48 hours straight.
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