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 September 30, 2015, the 2012-2015 collective bargaining agreement between the City and the GSAF expired. The parties began negotiating a successor agreement on June 24, 2015. After nine (9) formal negotiation sessions, on July 14, 2016, the City and the GSAF leadership reached a tentative three-year agreement for October 1, 2015, through September 30, 2018.

The GSAF leadership has scheduled a ratification vote on the proposed agreement on September 23, 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

1.3, Job Descriptions: Removes City employment requirement for all bargaining unit positions; addition of language providing for changes in job descriptions to be subject to impact bargaining and not the Personnel Board. Effective upon ratification.

5.2, Employee Rights: Notice requirement for discipline resulting in loss of pay extended from 45 days to 75 days of the date when the City is made aware of the event giving rise to the action, or as soon as possible. Effective upon ratification.

7.1, Normal Workday/7.4, Reporting Pay: Provides for 10-hour and 12-hour shifts, with the exception that 12-hour shifts shall only apply in the event of an emergency or as may be designated by the City Manager. Effective upon ratification.

7.5, Overtime: Employees shall no longer earn compensatory time, effective upon ratification; me-too proviso with CWA, should it not be eliminated from their labor agreement.

9, Insurance: Removes requirement that City pay at least 50% of premium subsidy for new hires, upon ratification; 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, Pension and Retiree Health: Retirees who terminate their City health insurance coverage will be prohibited from returning to the City’s health plans; effective upon ratification.

11.3, Work Rules: Incorporates all Personnel Rules into agreement, except when in conflict with contract provisions; effective upon ratification.

12, Drug and Alcohol Testing: Substances (drugs) tested for increased from ten to 11; also, provides for blood testing. Effective upon ratification.

13, Take Home Vehicle Policy: Provides for take-home vehicle user fee requiring employee payment at 14% of IRS mileage rate. Also, employees assigned a take-home vehicle will be required to purchase auto insurance coverage in the amount of at least $100,000 at their own expense. Effective upon ratification.

COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENTS (COLA)

8.1, Wages:
• 1% 4/1/2016
• 3% 7/1/2017
• 3% 7/1/2018

Me-too proviso with CWA and AFSCME if higher COLA increases are negotiated with those bargaining units.

Removes automatic increase for employees at the maximum of the range whose evaluations are late more than 60 days; provides for a one-time, non-pensionable payment (FY 2015/16, FY 2016/17, and FY 2017/18), tiered up to 3%, for employees who are at the maximum of the pay range, retroactive to 10/1/2015. Also, provides for merit increases tiered up to 3% for employees who are not at the maximum of the pay range; effective 1/1/2016.


OTHER FISCAL ITEMS

8.3, Holiday Pay: Holiday leave shall count as time worked for the purpose of computing overtime; effective upon ratification.

8.5, Bereavement Leave: Paid bereavement leave extended from two to four days off if funeral is held outside the State of Florida; effective upon ratification.

8.8, Uniforms: Number of uniform sets increased from five to six (from four to five uniform sets for employees who work four-day work week). Uniform Committee shall be comprised of two GSAF representatives and two management representatives, with the department director making the final selection of uniforms. Effective upon ratification.

8.21, Skill Pay Supplement: Provides skill pay supplement to bargaining unit positions in the Building and Fire Departments, as long as the certification is relevant to the current position and prior approval from the department director is obtained. Effective upon ratification.

8.22, Professional Licenses and/or Certifications: Provides up to 20 hours of compensation annually for actual training hours related to the renewal/maintenance of licenses or certifications relevant to employee’s current position. Training must be pre-approved by the department director. Effective upon ratification.

8.23. Florida Department of Environmental Protection “Class 1” Water Distribution System Operator License: Employees who possess and maintain the “Level 1” Water Certification will receive an annual supplement of $1,000, non-pensionable; effective upon ratification.

15, Tuition Assistance: Tuition reimbursement rates increased to the levels recently implemented for unclassified and “other” employees, non-pensionable; effective upon ratification.


MISCELLANEOUS

8.9, Safety Shoes: Safety Shoe Committee shall be comprised of two GSAF representatives and two management representatives, with the department director making the final selection of shoes. Employees may receive uniform shoes in lieu of safety shoes, at the discretion of the department director. Effective upon ratification.

14, MOUs and Side Agreements: MOUs and side agreements will be listed in the labor agreement.

The terms and conditions of the proposed three-year labor agreement between the City and GSAF results in an estimated impact of $ 68,780 for FY 2015/16; $134,280 for FY 2016/17; $293,280 for FY 2017/18. The total estimated three-year impact is $496,340.

The Administration finds the provisions of this contract fair to the employees and fiscally responsible for the City. Therefore, adoption of this resolution is recommended. Exhibit A to the resolution is a copy of the proposed labor agreement.