Wage Concession Package for 2010-2012
Posted on 18. Feb, 2010 by AFSCME Local 2960 in News
The AFSCME Local 2960 Executive Board has settled on a wage concession package for 2010-2012. Up to 170 Unit III employees will be able to keep their jobs due to the proposed 2% City Food Tax as well as the concessions listed below. The positions in question were slated for elimination in April of this year.
Concessions
- 1% wage reduction
- 6 (six) 8 hour unpaid furlough days (48 hours total) each year
- Bi- annual vacation buyback freeze
- Compensatory time conversion suspended
- Linguistic Pay is reduced by 50%
- “12-hour rule” overtime benefit is suspended
- Employer deferred compensation contribution is suspended (.1%)
All concessions will be restored June 20th, 2012.
The acceptance of any concessions is a difficult undertaking. But, when faced with our brothers and sisters losing their jobs and City Council mandating cutting merit increases, longevity and wages, the board felt that having a say on how these concessions would be enacted was vital.
Contract Ratification
On February 26th, 2010 Unit III members will have an opportunity to ratify the concession package. A 3.2% total concession package is what has been agreed upon in other units. An estimated $6.7 million has been saved to restore city services and positions. The package is explained below and will potentially save 70 jobs in a wide area of services.
This contract must be ratified by Union Members prior to it taking effect on July 1st, 2010.
2% Food tax
On Feb 3rd 2010 the City of Phoenix Council passed a 2% sales tax on grocery items by a 6 to 3 vote. The tax is expected to generate $12.5 million for the balance of the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2010 and $50 million for the next fiscal year. Unit III is expected to gain over 100 positions in libraries, recreation and senior centers, and civilian police positions.
Furlough Days
Among the hardest decisions that the negotiation team needed to make was the decision to concede furlough days as opposed to a bigger reduction in wages. However, furlough days are being used to settle budget deficits in organizations around the country. The following is a list of municipalities and the number of furlough days they have scheduled or have already taken.
- Arizona State University- 15 days (2009)
- City of Tucson- 5 days Jan 1, 2010- June 1, 2010 (unsure # after)
- City of Chicago – 15days- (2009), 24 days- (2010)
- City of Los Angeles- 26 days (2010)
- City of New Jersey- 12 days (2010)
- City of Seattle – 10 days (2010)
- State of California- 18 days (2009), 18 days (2010)
- State of Georgia- 12 days (2010)
- City of Phoenix Unit III- 6 days (2010)
Reasons for settlement
The main reason for the Executive Board to settle with these concessions was the ability to negotiate how the cuts would affect our members (furlough days instead of longevity and merit increases), safeguards that these concessions would automatically be rescinded at the end of the contract (a sunset clause), and the ability to save as many of our fellow brother and sisters’ jobs as possible while protecting longevity and merit increases. No one is happy to lose money but in these difficult economic times it is a vital role of the union to minimize the impact to our members and to save positions.
Questions
For any questions or concerns, please click here to send an email, or call the Local 2960 Union Hall as (602) 254-3966
To continue the discussion, please leave a comment either here or in the Local 2960 Forum.
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I want to express my appreciation for the efforts of the union. I suspect that my union brothers and sisters who are most dissatisfied with the concessions are mostly those who are part of an extended police “family” (i.e. people with multiple family members employed by the City, people whose friendships are all with coworkers), and I think it’s easy for them to lose sight of what’s going on in the rest of the world. Remember: the taxpayer dollar is not our own personal security blanket. The rest of the country is suffering. Eventually it has to trickle down to us too. Our concessions are small compared to what most everyone else in the country is losing. And if you can’t tolerate the realities of having a taxpayer-funded job, then you should have stayed in the private sector!
luvmykids,
I hope next contract we can make it up to all our members and have a good contract to make up for our losses….we will be fighting hard for that. I am sorry that we could not do more to help you and your family and I am glad that the furlough days lighten the blow…that was our hope.
Yoli,
Already done…yes all vacation carryover limits are removed…IF the concession package passes tomorrow