Dale Martin
City Manager
Fernandina Beach
March 1, 2019 12:00 p.m.
One of the important, but relatively “behind-the-scenes” tasks for which I am responsible is negotiating collective bargaining (union) contracts with City staff. Not all City staff are represented by a collective bargaining agent, but three different unions represent the Fire Department (International Association of Firefighters; IAFF), the Police Department (Coastal Florida Police Benevolent Association; CFPBA), and several other hourly-wage staff (United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners; UBC).
Negotiations with the UBC recently concluded and the contract was approved by the City Commission in February. The UBC negotiating team was led by Mr. Trey Rimes (Stormwater Department), Mr. Chad Manning (Fleet and Facilities Department), and Mr. Joe Evans (Utilities Department). Joining me to represent the City were Mr. Jeremiah Glisson (Fleet, Facilities, and Sanitation Director) and Mr. Gabriel Davis (Wasterwater Operations Superintendent). Mr. Glisson and Mr. Davis provided a helpful perspective in that both of them had previously been junior employees represented by the union.
The negotiating environment here is significantly different than from my previous communities. In both Michigan and Connecticut, the meetings were tension-filled, contentious, and involved chest-puffing posturing (by both sides). Looming in the background in both of those states was the specter of mandatory binding arbitration: if the parties could not come to terms, a complex process of selecting arbitrators and submitting “final best offers” was costly and time-consuming. Fortunately, I have never been involved personally in a collective bargaining arbitration process, but I have had the opportunity to monitor such a process.
Negotiations here, with any and all of the unions, is much more low key and informal. The relationships established between the respective Chiefs and Directors and their staffs greatly assists the negotiation process. The tenure of everyone involved also facilitates negotiations- in every bargaining session, I am the least-tenured Fernandina Beach official at the negotiating table. All-in-all, the City has a very experienced staff, and I believe that is an indicator of strong relationships and respect throughout the organizational chart.
As with nearly every negotiation, wages and benefits are the basis of most of the negotiations. The most challenging component of wages, at this time, are the differing wages for certain employees for performing similar jobs. In many cases, this is a side effect of the greater economy: when some employees were hired a few years ago, wages were suppressed; now, in a more robust economy, wages are higher. Someone hired many years ago, and with reasonable annual pay raises, may now be making less than someone hired today for the same job. Wage studies, of which one is included in this year’s budget, rarely adequately address this issue.
From my perspective, and confirmed through discussions with several of the junior staff is that the City’s wage scale is not reflective of the current labor market conditions. Starting wages for entry-level positions are only minimally higher than wages offered at area fast food restaurants. The City does offer other attractive benefits, but the skills and training needed to support City operations require time to develop, and that education takes time. Frequent turnover contributes to a loss of institutional knowledge, staff cohesiveness, and operational efficiency.
If an effort to address this (and other) wage issues, I am continuing to work with the UBC bargaining team to develop a different wage structure. These are informal discussions, not to be construed as negotiations, but a joint effort to craft a system that will ensure that junior City staff are appropriately compensated. My belief is that middle and senior staff have appropriate compensation systems in place, but the entry-level and junior staff are in need of assistance.
As the discussions with UBC representatives become productive (I anticipate), I hope to involve representatives of the Police and Fire unions in the discussion. Negotiations with the differing groups sometimes brings out the question of “Why do they (the others) get this and we don’t?” Sometimes, that’s a fair question; other times, the differences between the contracts are moderately equivalent.
I enjoy the negotiations (many don’t). It provides an opportunity not only for me to hear formally the concerns of the staff, but also for the junior staff to see the administrative side of City operations. Our community has great staff- dedicated and professional. Very few leave for “greener” pastures, and I want to do my best to keep a strong staff moving forward in the organizational pipeline. I look forward to working with the union representatives.
Copies of all collective bargaining contracts are available on the City’s website.
“City has a very experienced staff, and I believe that is an indicator of strong relationships and respect throughout the organizational chart.”
This sentence is very meaningful, in my opinion. Strong relationships and respect for each other represent compassion in action. I believe that all interactions, from the City Commissioners to newly employed staff, need to be based on dignity and respect.