6.2. SR 12-20-2004
Item 6.2.
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Mayor and City Council
DATE:
Pat Klaers, City Ad~
December 20, 2004
FROM:
SUBJECT:
Consider 2005-2007 Local 271 Union Contl1act-Police Sergeants
City representatives met with the Police Sergeants Union - Local 271 representatives twice in
November to negotiate a union contract. There are currently five sergeants on staff in the Police
Department. The majority of these meetings dealt with the issue of having the sergeants move from
exempt to non-exempt status. One of the big exempt/non-exempt issues is overtime pay.
When the first union contract for the sergeants was approved in 2000, it included an additional 6%
increase for having the sergeants move to the exempt status. Accor!:1ingly, to move the sergeants
back to non-exempt, it was understood that some of this 6% had to be "given back" to the city. City
representatives did not see the need to obtain the entire 6% back as in 2004 a mid-year wage
adjustment was provided by the City Council to all non-union employees. Additionally, some of this
mid-year wage adjustment was then factored into the union contract for the police officers. The
proposed contract shows a total of a 6% wage increase over three years, whereby the typical total
would be 9% over three years.
In addition to dealing with the change from exempt to non-exempt status and the mid-year wage
adjustment that the City Council authorized for non-union city eml!'loyees, the city was also
concerned about how the sergeants pay fits in between the patrol officers and the captain; and, from
an external point of view, how the Elk River sergeants pay matches up with neighboring
communities.
Overall, I believe that the proposed wages in the three-year agreement is appropriate from both an
internal and external point of view. The wages for the three-year contract and all of the other
proposed union contract changes are identified in the attached metj:1.o dated December 7, 2004 from
Ann Antonsen who is the city's representative from Labor Relations Associates, Ine. Additional
comments on the contract are as follows:
#3 Overtime - same language as in the patrol contract
#4 Court Time - same language as in patrol contract
#5 Comp Time - same language as in patrol contract except that the payment time frame has
changed
#6 Standby pay - same language as patrol contract
#8 Holidays - same 11 days as patrol contracr but slightly c!jfferent language although the
intent and end result are the same
#9 Uniforms - same amounts as the patrol contract but one additional year (2007) as the
patrol contract is only for two years
#10 Wage incentive program - same as patrol contract. The previous language called for this
program to be phased out whereby existing sergeants w~re grandfathered in and new
sergeants were not eligible. This program is now being Qpened up again to all sergeants.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council approve the changes in the sergeants union contract for
2005-2007 as outlined in the attached letter.
.
S:\Council\Pat\2004\271 union contract.doc
LABOR RELATIONS ASSOCIATES, INd.
7501 Golden Valley Road
Golden Valley, Minnesota 55427
763/546-1470
FAX: 763/546-1552
Email: laborrelationsas@qwest.net
DATE:
December 7,2004
TO:
City of Elk River City Council
FROM:
Ann Antonsen
SUBJECT:
Labor Agreement with LELS Police Sergeant Unit
The City has reached tentative agreement with the LELS Police ~ergeant bargaining unit after
two negotiations sessions. The most significant change in the tertns and conditions of
employment involves the payment of overtime. In accordance with the changes to the Federal
Fair Labor Standards the Sergeants will now be eligible for overtime compensation. Following
are the proposed changes to the cnrrent Labor Agreement:
1.
Duration:
A three-year agreement for 2005, 2006 an4 2007.
2.
Wages:
3% increase for 2005
2% increase for 2006
I % increase for 2007
3. Overtime - New Article
Employees will be compensated at one and one-half (1 Yz) time the employee's regular
base pay rate for hours worked in excess of the employee'~ regularly scheduled shift.
Changes of shifts do not qualify an employee for overtim~ under this Article.
Overtime will be distributed as equally as practicable.
Overtime refused by employees will, for record purpos,"s under ARTICLE _, be
considered as unpaid overtime worked.
For the purpose of computing overtime compensation, ovtrtime hours worked shall not be
pyramided, compounded, or paid twice for the same hours worked.
,
Overtime will be calculated to the nearest fifteen (15) miniutes.
,
Employees have the obligation to work overtime or call backs as requested by the
Employer unless unusual circumstances prevent the empi<hee from so working. The
minimum call back will be two hours.
4. Court Time - New Article
An regular full time employee who is required to appear! in Court during the employee's
scheduled off-duty time shall receive a minimum of two (~) hours pay at one and one-half
(1 Y2) times the employee's base pay rate. An extensidn or early report to a regularly
,
scheduled shift does not qualify the regular full time employee for the two (2) hour
mmlmum.
It is the responsibility of the regular full time employee tp contract the county Attorney's
Office to verifY scheduled court appearances. If the regulat full time employee contracts the
County Attorney's Office at 4:30 p.m., or later, for a c~urt appearance schedule on the
following day and court has not been cancelled at the time of employee contact, but is
subsequently cancelled, the regular full time employee is' eligible for a minimum twenty-
five dollar ($25.00) payment. Under no circumstances will the regular full time employee
be eligible to receive both the $25.00 court cancellation [be outlined in this paragraph and
the two (2) hours' pay rate for court appearances as outlined in the preceding paragraph.
5. Article IX - Compensatory Time
Eliminate existing language and replace with the followinig:
Regular full time employees may be allowed to accumulate either overtime worked at the
rate provided for in Article _ or compensatory time at thf rate of one and one-half (1 Y2)
times the excess hours worked. Employees may use comiPensatory time off duty with
pay, subject to prior approval of the Employer. Compens~tory time in excess of forty
(40) hours accumulated but not used as time off with pay ~hall be paid by the Employer in
the first pay period in December of each calendar year. No more than forty (40) hours of
compensatory time shall be carried from one year to the n,ext.
6. Standby Pay - New Article
Regular full time employees required by the Employer to !standby shall be paid for such
standby time at the rate of one-half (1/2) hours' pay for e4ch hour on standby.
7. Article XVIII - Funeral Leave
Change to Bereavement Leave, eliminate the existing language and replace with the
following:
Regular full time employees shall be eligible for bereavenilent leave per City Policy.
8. Article XIX - Holidays
Eliminate existing language and replace with the following:
19.1 All regular full time employees shall receive the f~llowing eleven (11) holidays of
a substitute day off with pay. Employees schedul~d to work on the following
holidays will receive an additional one-half (1/2) times pay for each hour worked:
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Day
President's Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Veteran's D:!-y
Thanksgivin~ Day
Day after Thianksgiving Day
Christmas EVe Day
Christmas Dfiy
19.2 Regular full time employees who leave employm$t ofthe Employer under
honorable conditions shall be paid holiday time eafned on a pro-rated basis for the
months of service worked in that calendar year. Riegular full time employees
leaving the employment of the Employer during a Icalendar year who have utilized
more holiday time than would be earned on a pro-tated basis will be required to
reimburse the Employer for time taken and not eaJjned. Payment in lieu of holiday
time off of work, or days off of work in lieu ofho)idays will be on the basis of
straight time. Payment of unused holiday time sh:!-ll be made by the Employer to
employees each calendar year in the first pay periqd of December.
9. Article XIV - Uniforms
$20.00 per year increase for 2005 to $615.00
$20.00 per year increase for 2006 to $635.00
$20.00 per year increase for 2007 to $655.00
10. Wage Incentive Program
Open to all employees.