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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 07-103 RESOLUTION NO. 07-103 WHEREAS, since adoption of the Fire and Police Employee Relations Act by the City of Beaumont, the City and Firefighter Union Local No. 399 have been unable to resolve their differences through collective bargaining because of the improvident but apparently consistently repeated decision to defer the hard choices to arbitrators; and, WHEREAS, the Fire and Police Employee Relations Act itself makes submission of new collective bargaining agreements to binding arbitration voluntary only and the City feels it is important to return to the spirit of the Act, particularly in connection with avoiding unconstitutionally and illegally attempting to obligate future City Councils to binding arbitration if they prefer negotiating instead; and, WHEREAS, the present collective bargaining agreement, which expired on September 30, 2005, contains Article XXXIV, which binds the City and the Union to the replacement of the collective bargaining agreement through binding arbitration. The Council no longer feels that such a commitment is in the best interests of the people of the City of Beaumont and the Union and the firefighters it represents; and, WHEREAS, the use of binding arbitration to resolve grievances arising under the collective bargaining agreement has not presented the same difficulties as impasse arbitration, and the City sees no reason why the use of binding arbitration to resolve contract interpretation and personnel disciplinary grievances should not continue; and, WHEREAS, the present collective bargaining agreement contains provisions which prohibit arbitrators from considering the basic work schedule which hinders the efficient deployment of the workforce of the department; and, WHEREAS, the recent community discussion regarding the City's discharge of its municipal responsibilities has highlighted the fact that the present work schedule and deployment of the department are antiquated and hinder the accomplishment of two highly desirable and not necessarily inconsistent goals, namely, equitable compensation and cost effective fire protection services to the citizens; and, WHEREAS, if the City and the Union, which represents its firefighters, are going to be able to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement which continues to provide equitable firefighter compensation and excellent fire protection, but which is affordable to the citizens who must pay for that protection, the prohibition against discussion of the basic work schedule and the deployment of firefighters in the department must be removed from the agreement; and, WHEREAS, the present collective bargaining agreement also purports to contain a provision which retains all terms and conditions of the collective bargaining agreement unless and until it is replaced with a successor agreement by negotiation or mandatory binding arbitration. This "evergreen" provision unnecessarily hinders a transition to a more modern and cost-effective work schedule and deployment of firefighters across the City, and unnecessarily propagates a system of deferring the resolution of all of these issues to 2 arbitrators rather than to the well-accepted system of collective bargaining between the City and its firefighter Union. WHEREAS, the City and the fire union membership has benefited and will continue to benefit from the representation of the firefighters by the International Association of Fire Fighters Local Union No. 399. It is the clear goal of the City Council to create the conditions whereby the City will always be signatory to a collective bargaining agreement with IAFF Local No. 399 reached by the longstanding and customary process of collective bargaining. WHEREAS, the City has always had a primary goal of maintaining one of the best trained, best equipped and most professional fire departments in the State. The constant resort to binding impasse arbitration has not fostered that goal at all; to the contrary, it has diverted precious resources away from the department. The City has no desire to abandon its goal of maintaining the level of excellence of the department. WHEREAS, the City is presently involved in litigation with the Union over the status of the collective bargaining agreement for fiscal years 2006, 2007 and 2008. Therefore it is not possible to state with certainty the status of the agreement, the status of the clauses in the agreement which commit to binding arbitration, the status of the clauses in the agreement which restrict the authority of arbitrators to deal with the work schedule and deployment of the department, and the status of the "evergreen" clause which appears to force this Council to illegally and unconstitutionally bind future City Councils. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE 3 CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT: THAT the collective bargaining agreement between the City of Beaumont and International Association of Fire Fighters Local Union No. 399 is terminated effective September 30, 2007, and that the City Manager is instructed to communicate in writing to the Union that the City stands ready, willing and able to negotiate a successor agreement; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Manager is further instructed to retain in place and to make no alterations to any pay, benefits, or other employment terms and conditions contained in the present collective bargaining agreement, until the City has offered to the Union an opportunity to bargain a successor collective bargaining agreement; and that the City Manager administer grievances under the collective bargaining agreement from the bargaining unit which arise prior to October 1, 2007, including disciplinary grievances, by the methods provided in the present collective bargaining agreement; BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that the City Manager is further instructed to seek through the traditional process of collective bargaining with the Union a replacement to the present collective bargaining agreement prior to October 1, 2007, if possible, it being the goal and intention of the Council that the City always have in place a collective bargaining agreement with the Union which represents its firefighters; in the discharge of this instruction, the City Manager is authorized to pursue this activity as the City Manager, in his discretion, deems will most efficiently accomplish the goal, including the selection of those individuals specifically charged to conduct the negotiation process, whether paid 4 staff or consultants; the City Manager, in negotiating such a contract, should make no commitments to submit the resolution of the bargaining over a replacement contract to binding arbitration. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of Beaumont this the 10th day of April, 2007. Mayor Guy N. Goodson - t� V too$& FLU* Ojl 5