The City’s workforce is divided into seven salary groups: (1) those covered by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 1554 (AFSCME) bargaining unit; (2) those covered by the Communications Workers of America, Local 3178 (CWA) bargaining unit; (3) those covered by the Government Supervisors Association of Florida/OPEIU, Local 100 (GSA) bargaining unit; (4) those covered by the Fraternal Order of Police, William Nichols Lodge No. 8 (FOP) bargaining unit; (5) those covered by the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 1510 (IAFF) bargaining unit; (6) Unclassified; and (7) “Others” (classified service employees not represented by a bargaining unit).
Provisions in the October 1, 2009 – September 30, 2012, contracts resulted in savings to the City of over $15 million between Fiscal Years (FY) 2009/2010 and 2010/2011. Similar contributions from the unclassified and others salary groups increased the savings to $20 million. Many of these concessions were changes to the Miami Beach Employees’ Retirement Plan (MBERP) that resulted in reducing the City’s pension contribution both short and long-term.
During the October 1, 2012 – September 30, 2015 contract period, the fire and police unions agreed to significant pension reform, which yielded a reduction of $145 million to the City's ARC over a 3O-year period (2013 net present value). The savings attributed to the 2013 pension reform have aided in the short and long-term sustainability of the plan.
On April 30, 2016, the 2013-2016 collective bargaining agreement between the City and AFSCME expired. The parties began negotiating a successor agreement on March 2, 2016. After nine (9) formal negotiation sessions, on September 22, 2016, the City and the AFSCME leadership reached a tentative three-year agreement for May 1, 2016 through April 30, 2019.
The AFSCME leadership has scheduled a ratification vote on the proposed agreement on October 24, 2016, October 25, 2016, and October 26, 2016. If approved by the majority of the membership, the result of the membership vote will determine the effective date for ratification of the three year labor agreement. The City Commission will be notified of the outcome through a Letter to Commission (LTC).
The following is a summary of the newly negotiated terms between the parties:
MANAGEMENT RIGHTS
4.2, Grievance Procedure: Time limit for supervisor to respond if no settlement is reached at Step I extended from five to 15 working days; time limit for employee to appeal to Step 2 extended from three to five days after Supervisor’s answer in Step I; time limit for Department Head to discuss grievance at Step 2 with Union and respond to Union if no settlement is reached extended from three to 15 days; time limit for employees to appeal at Step 3 extended from three to five days; time limit for City Manager’s designee for Labor Relations to respond if no settlement is reached extended from five to 15 days. Effective upon ratification.
4.3, Binding Arbitration: Extend time limit for parties to agree on an arbitrator from ten to 15 days; time limit to notify arbitrator of his/her selection from five to 15 days. Effective upon ratification.
8.2, Shift Differential: Provides for language clarifying that shift differential does not apply to OT, call-in, or standby work; only regular shift.
8.21, Health Insurance: Removes requirement that City pay at least 50% of premium subsidy for new hires, upon ratification; eliminates consultation requirement with the Group Insurance Board/Labor-Management Advisory Committee prior to changes in benefit levels; provides for use of employee leave when workers’ compensation benefit is exhausted; provides for cancellation of benefits for non-payment; also, provides for re-opener if “cadillac tax” is implemented. Effective upon ratification.
10.1, Work Rules and Incorporation of Personnel Rules: Incorporates all Personnel Rules into agreement, except when in conflict with contract provisions; effective upon ratification.
11, Drug and Alcohol Testing: Substances (drugs) tested for increased from ten to 11; also, provides for blood testing. Effective upon ratification.
12, Conduct and Performance Expectations: Provides for a combined attendance track, which is inclusive of but not limited to absenteeism, tardiness, AWOL and failure to clock in/out. Further, provides the ability to consider other conduct and performance deficiencies, depending on severity, when issuing discipline. The City shall draft revised work rules and engage in impact bargaining with the Union, if requested.
13, MOUs and Side Agreements: MOUs and side agreements will be listed in the labor agreement.
PENSION
8.18, Pension, DROP & Retiree Health: Provides for either party to reopen this section, 18 months from the date of ratification.
COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENTS (COLA)
8.1, Wages:
• 1% 4/1/2016
• 3% 7/1/2017
• 3% 7/1/2018
The performance appraisal rating scale changed from 0-100 to 1-5. Also, provides for 2% merit increases for a score of 3 or above.
Remove language referring to 2009 Condrey study (clean-up)
OTHER FISCAL ITEMS
7.4, Overtime: Holiday leave shall count as time worked for the purpose of computing overtime; effective upon ratification.
7.7, Paid Leave as Time Worked for Purpose of Computing Overtime: Provides for the Public Works Director, or his designee, to send an employee home on administrative leave to rest after working twenty (20) hours or more in a 24-hour period, as a result of an operational emergency or management need; such period of administrative leave shall be considered as time worked for the purposes of computing overtime. Effective upon ratification.
7.12, Call-In and Call-Back Pay: Clarifying language provides to ensure the equitable distribution of overtime opportunity, on-call/call-in hours worked or offered shall be added to the employee’s total on the overtime roster. Effective upon ratification.
7.14, Standby: Provides for employees to be paid both the Call-Back pay and the Standby Bonus for the same day, if called back more than once on the same day; management may call back employees qualified to the job, including crossing working groups within the AFSCME bargaining unit. Also, extends the time an employee assigned to standby must report to the worksite from 30 to 45 minutes. Effective upon ratification.
8.4, Holiday Pay: Holiday leave shall count as time worked for the purpose of computing overtime; effective upon ratification. Also, if an employee requests time off on a holiday falling on the employee’s regularly scheduled work day, he/she shall be paid holiday pay at straight time for eight (8) or ten (10) hours of pay, whichever is applicable, and it shall not count against his/her accumulated leave; such request shall be considered and approved in the same manner as vacation requests. Removes word “serious” from language referring to absence due to illness or injury.
8.5, Rate of Pay When Working Out of Classification: Out of class pay increased from $1 to $2 per hour, effective 10/1/2016.
8.9, Meal Allowance: Provides to pay $7 meal allowance for an employee who works 3 consecutive hours or more of pre-shift or post-shift overtime, commencing within 30 minutes of regular shift starting or ending time. Effective upon ratification.
8.11, Tool Allowance: Tool allowance increased from $40 to $45 per pay period for employees in the Mechanic II, Mechanic III and Fire Equipment Mechanic job classifications; effective 10/1/16.
8.16, Pay for Hazard Duty: Hazard duty pay increased from $1 to $2 per hour, effective 10/1/16.
8.20, Skill Pay Supplement: Provides for a one-time $2,500 (non-pensionable) payment for those employees who have Waste Water and/or Water license as of September 22, 2016. Effective upon ratification.
8.23, Landfall Team: Provides to add one (1) hour of Administrative Hurricane Pay for each of the first eight (8) hours worked for up to three (3) consecutive days. The Administrative Hurricane Pay will be in addition to all hours worked compensated at a pay rate of one and one-half of the employee’s hourly rate of pay.
10.14, Perfect Attendance Bonus: Increase perfect attendance bonus lump sum payment from $300 to $400 (non-pensionable). Effective upon ratification.
10.18, Educational Leave: Tuition reimbursement rates increased to the levels recently implemented for unclassified and “other” employees, non-pensionable; effective upon ratification.
MISCELLANEOUS
1.2, Bargaining Unit: Addition of Recreation Attendant classification into listing of bargaining unit positions, per PERC ruling. PERC Case No. UC-014-020, Certification 379 Order No. 14E-291
1.5, Information to be Provided to Union by City: Requires the City to provide, upon written request, information for each employee in the bargaining unit represented by the Union; information may be requested twice every calendar year.
4.1, Definition of Grievance and Time Limit for Filing: Time limit for filing a grievance extended from ten to 15 working days after the event giving rise to the grievance or after the employees, through the use of reasonable diligence, should have obtained knowledge of the event giving rise to the grievance. Effective upon ratification.
4.5, Expenses of Arbitration: Provides to split the fee and expenses of the arbitrator between both parties, regardless of the outcome. Effective upon ratification.
8.6, Uniforms: Provides for language clarifying that City will deliver uniforms to employees on April 30th of each year.
10.17, Union Conventions: Changes maximum number of bargaining representatives eligible to attend union conventions from three to four. Effective upon ratification.
14, Temporary Vehicle Assignment: Provides temporary vehicle assignments for Union business related travel within the City of Miami Beach, at the City’s sole discretion and provided a vehicle is available.