The City Council is being asked to approve a tentative agreement for the renewal of a labor contract between the City and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 190.  Negotiations were substantially completed Oct. 1, 2013.  Local 190 approved the contract on Nov. 6, 2013.  If approved by the Council, the contract will apply retroactively from July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2015.

Changes to the contract include:

• A 2.9% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for each of the two years of the contact;
• Addition of $50 per employee into a deferred compensation plan, bringing the contribution per employee to $1,000.22 annually;
• Inclusion of a requirement that an employee who loses his or her commercial drivers' license report it immediately to his or her supervisor;
• Elimination of an Administrative Review Process for non-grievable contract disputes in which the results had been binding;
• Creation of an optional Step 4 grievance process that would allow non-binding mediation on a grievable contract item prior to arbitration;
• Addition of a paid personal leave day, bringing the total to two personal days for Teamsters (Non-represented employees have 3 days and Police has one);
• A $15 increase in the City contribution for safety shoes for Teamster employees who are required to wear them from $115 to $130 annually;
• Elimination of a memorandum of understanding that paid two Fleet Services employees a 4% premium for working on Fire Department equipment;
• For Airport Operations employees, the initiation of a least an 8-hour rest between shifts and a reduction in the number of days in which Airport Operations employees are required to be on standby for snow removal operations at an additional five cents per hour (went from Oct. 1 through March 31 to Nov. 1 through Feb. 28, with other hours scheduled as needed based on weather projections).

A copy of the contract is attached.

The City Council may:

• Approve the contract as amended, with pay retroactive to July 1, 2013;
• Postpone action to obtain additional information; or
• Deny approval of the contract, forcing negotiations to resume.

The 2.9% COLA would cost $580,000 for FY 14 and $596,820 for FY 15.  The increase in the deferred compensation plan would be $19,500 for each year.  The increase in the boot allowance is estimated to be $3,465.

Staff recommends that the Council approve the contract, with pay retroactive to July 1, 2013.