Item 8A- Blue Collar Union Contract 2016-2018CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM SA
SEPTEMBER 12, 2016
AGENDA ITEM: LIUNA "Blue Collar" Union Negotiations 2016-2018 Contract
SUBMITTED BY: Catherine Berry, Esq., Human Resources Director cJ3
DATE: August 29, 2016
BACKGROUND: The contract that the City of Atlantic Beach entered into with the LIUNA Local 630
"Blue Collar" expires September 30, 2016. The City and Union had three public
negotiation meetings and came to an agreement, pending ratification and Commission
approval, on a new two-year contract that benefits both the City and the Union
members. The key provisions in the contract that have been changed are as follows:
BUDGET:
RECOMMENDATION:
• Deleted language that outlines management rights because these are outlined by
law.
• Deleted language that duplicated language included in the City Employee
Handbook
• Deleted language regarding Discharge and Discipline standards and procedures,
as these are also listed in the City Employee Handbook
• Made changes to the on-call and call-out provisions, which will automatically
sunset after one year
• Added a provision for payment of an annual lump-sum payment of $250 to
employees who obtain a license that benefits the City, at the sole discretion of
the Depmiment Head.
Included in 2016-2017 City Budget
That the City Manager be authorized to sign the attached two-year (2016-2018)
agreement with the Union, contingent upon approval of the budget by the
Commission.
ATTACHMENTS: City of Atlantic Beach and LIUNA Local 630 "Blue Collar" Contract for 2016-
2018.
REVIEWEDBYCITYMANAGER: -n~~
1
AGREEMENT
between
AGENDA ITEM SA
SEPTEMBER 12, 2016
NORTHEAST FLORIDA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' LOCAL 630
LIUNA, AFL~CIO
"BLUE COLLAR"
AND
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA
October 1, 2016 through September 30, 2018
Aug ust 20 J 6
Table of Contents
AGREEMENT ................................................................................................................... A
ARTICLE 1 -RECOGNITION .......................................................................................... 1
ARTICLE 2-PAYROLL DEDUCTION AND DUES ..................................................... 2
ARTICLE 3 -NO STRIKE PROVISION .......................................................................... 3
ARTICLE 4-MANAGEMENT SECURITY .................................................................... 4
ARTICLE 5 -MANAGEMENT RIGHTS ......................................................................... 5
ARTICLE 6-UNION STEWARDS AND UNION REPRESENTATION ...................... 8
ARTICLE 7-PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES ........................................................... 10
ARTICLE 8 -DISCHARGE AND DISCIPLINE ............................................................ 11
ARTICLE 9-GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE ................................................................. 122
ARTICLE 10-ARBITRATION PROCEDURE ............................................................. 15
ARTICLE 11 -HOLIDAYS ............................................................................................. 17
ARTICLE 12-PERSONAL LEAVE HOURS ................................................................ 20
ARTICLE 13 -LEAVES OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY ............................................ 23
ARTICLE 14-MILITARY LEAVE ................................................................................ 24
ARTICLE 15-BEREAVEMENT LEAVE ..................................................................... 25
ARTICLE 16-HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME ................................................. 26
ARTICLE 17-INJURY IN THE LINE OF DUTY ......................................................... 30
ARTICLE 18 -INSURANCE AND PENSION ............................................................. 31
ARTICLE 19-SAFETY AND HEALTH ........................................................................ 32
ARTICLE 20 -BULLETIN BOARDS ............................................................................. 33
ARTICLE 21 -UNIFORMS ............................................................................................. 34
ARTICLE 22-MILEAGE ALLOWANCE ..................................................................... 35
ARTICLE 23 -CAREER DEVELOPMENT ................................................................... 36
ARTICLE 24-WAGES ................................................................................................... 38
ARTICLE 25 -ALCOHOL AND DRUG TESTING ....................................................... 42
ARTICLE 26-SENIORITY ............................................................................................ 43
ARTICLE 27 -JOB QUALIFICATIONS AND PROMOTIONS ................................... 44
ARTICLE 28-SEVERABILITY ..................................................................................... 46
ARTICLE 29-SAVINGS CLAUSE ............................................................................... 47
ARTICLE 30-ENTIRE AGREEMENT ......................................................................... 48
ARTICLE 31-DURATION OF AGREEMENT ............................................................. 49
SIGNATURE PAGE ....................................................................................................... 50
Exhibit A (Cunent Pay Scale) ..................................................................... 51
AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is entered into between the City of Atlantic Beach, hereinafter
refened to as the Employer, or City, and the Northeast Florida Public Employees', Local
630, LIUNA, AFL-CIO, hereinafter refeiTed to as Local 630, Union, or Employee
Organization. It is the intent and purpose of this Agreement to assure sound and mutually
beneficial working relationships between the parties hereto, to provide an orderly and
peaceful means of resolving misunderstandings or differences which may arise and to set
fmih basic and full agreement between the parties concerning wages, hours and other
conditions of employment enumerated herein. There are and shall be no individual
aiTangements or agreements covering any part or all of this Agreement contrary to the
terms provided herein. It is mutually understood and declared to be the public policy of
the Employer and the Union to promote harmonious and cooperative relationships
between the Employer and the Union and to protect the public by assuring, at all times,
the orderly and unintenupted operations and functions of government.
Whenever a male pronoun is used in this Agreement it shall be construed to include
reference to both sexes.
A
ARTICLE 1 -RECOGNITION
1.1 Pursuant to and in accordance with all applicable provisions of Part II of Chapter
447, Florida Statutes, the Employer recognizes the Union as the exclusive
collective bargaining representative for those Full Time (FT) and Regular Part
Time (RPT) employees in the blue-collar bargaining unit, PERC Certification
#927, and as provided in the attached Exhibit A for the purpose of bargaining
collectively in the determination of the wages, hours and terms and conditions of
employment of those public employees within the bargaining unit.
The Employer agrees to promptly notify the Union in writing of its intention to
create any job classification not specifically listed in Exhibit A which
classification might reasonably be expected to be appropriate for inclusion within
the bargaining unit. The parties agree to meet and discuss reopening this section
to add such classifications to the description above at the request of either party.
1.2 It is fmiher understood and agreed that the Business Manager or his designee will
be the official spokesman for the Union in any matter between the Union and the
Employer, only however on the matters which the Union has authority regarding
its membership. The Business Manager shall designate in writing the name of his
designee and provide such to the City Human Resource Manager prior to the
designee perfmming any official union activities.
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ARTICLE 2 -PAYROLL DEDUCTION AND DUES
2.1 Upon receipt of a written authorization from the employee covered by this
Agreement, the Employer will deduct from the employee's pay the amount owed
to the Union by such employee for dues. It is understood that this provision will
provide for deductions equal to the number of pay periods per year. The
Employer will submit to the Union the deducted sums within fifteen (15) calendar
days. Changes in the Union membership dues and rates will be certified to the
Employer in writing over the signature of the Business Manager of the Union and
shall be done at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance of the effective date of
such change. The union will make a reasonable effort to notify employees of any
increase in dues in advance of such increase being deducted by the Employer. The
Employer's remittance will be deemed correct if the Union does not give written
notice to the Employer within seven (7) calendar days after remittance is received
of its belief and reasons stated therefore that the remittance is inconect.
2.2 The Union will indemnify, defend and hold the Employer harmless against any
claim made, and against any suit instituted, against the Employer as the result of
any check-off of union dues.
2.3 An employee may revoke his authorization for deduction of dues provided the
employee gives thi1iy (30) calendar days written notice to the Employer and the
Union. Upon receipt of such notification, the Employer shall terminate dues on
the pay date immediately following the expiration of the thirty (30) calendar day
notice period.
2.4 No deduction shall be made from the pay of an employee for any payroll peri~d in
which the employee's net earnings for that payroll period are less than the amount
of dues to be checked off. Net earnings shall mean net after required deductions.
2.5 If there is an amount deducted in excess of what is authorized by this Agreement,
the employee affected shall seek recourse within the Union and not the City,
provided that the excess amount deducted was in fact remitted to the Union in the
fmm of union dues.
2
ARTICLE 3 -NO STRIKE PROVISION
3.1 The Union and bargaining unit members shall have no right to instigate, promote,
sponsor, engage in, or condone any work stoppage, boycott, slow-down, strike,
intentional disruption of City operations, or to withhold services for any reason.
3.2 Local 630, its officers, agents, stewards, and other representatives agree that it is
their continuing obligation and responsibility to maintain compliance with this
Article and the law, including their responsibility to abide by the provisions of
this A1ticle and the law by remaining at work during any intenuption which may
be initiated by others; and including their responsibility, in the event of breach of
this Article or the law by other employees, and upon the request of the City, to
encourage and direct employees violating this Alticle or the law to return to work,
and to disavow the strike.
3.3 In addition to the penalties set fmth in Section 447.507, Florida Statutes, any and
all employees who violate any provision of the law prohibiting strikes or this
Article may be disciplined, up to and including discharge, by the City. The only
question that may be raised in any proceeding (grievance, judicial or otherwise)
contesting such action is whether the provision prohibiting work stoppages,
boycotts, slow-downs, strikes, intentional disruption of City operations, or the
withholding of services was violated by the employee to be discharged or
otherwise disciplined.
3.4 The circuit courts of this State shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of
this Section by ex parte injunction and contempt proceedings, if necessary.
3
4.1 (a)
ARTICLE 4 -MANAGEMENT SECURITY
The Union, its representatives, members or any persons acting on their
behalf agree that the following "unlawful acts" as defined in Chapter 447,
Florida Statutes are prohibited; 1) Solicitation of public employees during
working hours or 2) Distributing literature during working hours in areas
where the work of the public employees is performed.
(b) The circuit courts of the state shall have jurisdiction to enforce the
provisions of this section by injunction and contempt proceedings if
necessary. A public employee who is convicted of a violation of any
provision of this section may be discharged or otherwise disciplined by the
Employer notwithstanding further provisions of this or any other
agreement.
(c) No employee organization shall directly or indirectly pay any fines or
penalties assessed against individuals pursuant to the provisions of this
article.
4.2 The Employer and Union agree that the basic intent of this Agreement is to
provide a fair day's work in return for a fair day's pay and to provide conditions of
employment suitable to maintain a competent work force. The Employer and
Union affirm the joint opposition to any discriminatory practices in connection
with employment, promotion, training or assignment remembering that the public
interest requires full utilization of employees' skills and ability without regard to
race, color, creed, religion, national origin, handicap, marital status, age or sex.
4.3 In accordance with Chapter 447, Florida Statutes, employees shall have the right
to fmm, join and participate in or refrain from forming, joining or participating in
an employee organization of their own choosing. They shall have the right to be
represented by an employee organization of their choosing to negotiate
collectively through a certified bargaining agent with the City in the
determination of the tenns and conditions of their employment.
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ARTICLE 5 -MANAGEMENT RIGHTS
5.1 Except as expressly provided for in this Agreement, the Employer retains the sole
and exclusive right.:.
a. to determine the purpose of each of its constituent agencies, the size and
composition of the work force, including the number or composition of
employees assigned to any particular operation, shift or tum;
b. to set standards of services to be offered to the public, standards of conduct
and work of employees, and to establish or change operational or perf01mance
standards;
c. to exercise control and discretion over its organization and operations;
d. to manage its operations and direct the work of the bargaining unit employees,
including the rights to decide the number and location of work stations,
e. to dete1mine the operation of motorized equipment including the number or
type of equipment, vehicles, materials, and supplies to be used, operated, or
distributed,
f. to determine the location, method, means and personnel by which operations
are to be conducted, the scope of service to be performed, the methods of
service, the schedule of work time;
g. to contract and subcontract existing and future work (should the Employer
exercise its management right and decide to contract out existing and future
bargaining unit work, the Employer agrees to notify the Union of its intent to
subcontract no less than thiiiy (30) calendar days prior to implementation. The
Employer agrees to meet with the Union upon request of the Union; however,
such obligation to meet with the Union shall not affect the Employer's right to
implement said decision free from any bargaining obligation);
h. to determine whether and to what extent the work required in its operations
shall be perf01med by employees covered by this Agreement;
1. to maintain order and efficiency in its work stations and locations;
J. to curtail or discontinue temporarily or permanently, in whole or in pmi,
operations whenever in the opinion of the Employer good business judgment
makes such cmiailment or discontinuance advisable;
k. to hire, lay-off, assign, transfer, promote, demote and dete1mine the
qualifications of employees;
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1. to create new job classifications, expand, reduce, alter, combine, transfer,
assign, cease, create and amend job descriptions and to abolish jobs, increase
or decrease the number of jobs or employees;
m. to determine the assignment of work, and to schedule the hours and days to be
worked on each job and each shift;
n. to determine the starting and quitting time and the number of hours to be
worked, assign and reassign shifts, create, abolish or alter shifts, and rotate
shifts;
o. to require an employee to take a physical or mental examination, given by a
health service, or a physician or psychiatrist selected by the Employer;
p. to require employees to work overtime;
q. to discipline, suspend, and/or discharge employees for just cause (excluding
newly hired probationary employees); and
r. to have complete authority to exercise those rights and powers incidental
thereto, including the right to make unilateral changes, subject only to such
regulations governing the exercise of these rights as are expressly and
specifically provided in this Agreement.
5.2 The above rights of the Employer are not all inclusive but indicate the type of
matters or rights which belong to and are inherent to the Employer. Any of the
rights, powers, and authority the Employer had prior to entering into this
collective bargaining agreement are retained by the Employer, except as expressly
and specifically abridged, delegated, granted or modified by this Agreement. The
management rights, functions privileges and prerogatives refened to in this
Article which the Employer has not expressly modified or restricted by a specific
provision of this Agreement are not in any way, directly or indirectly, subject to
the grievance or arbitration procedures, and the Employer has no obligation to
bargain over the decision to exercise such rights, functions, prerogatives and
privileges, or the effect of such decisions.
5.3 Any and all aspects of wages, hours, and working conditions, which are not
specifically covered by this Agreement, may be initiated, instituted, continued or
discontinued without notification of or consultation with the Union. The
Employer is not required to continue those voluntary aspects of wages, hours, and
working conditions not included in this Agreement, but which were in effect prior
to entering into this Agreement or instituted thereafter, nor shall the employees
have any binding right to such matters.
5.4 It is agreed that every incidental duty connected with operations enumerated in
job descriptions is not always comprehensive and employees at the discretion of
the City may be required to perform duties not within their specific job
descriptions as long as they are related to Department operations and have the
approval of the appropriate Depmiment Head.
6
5.5 Whenever it is dete1mined that civil emergency conditions exist, including riots,
civil disorders, hunicane conditions, or similar catastrophes, the provisions of the
Agreement may be suspended by the Mayor or the City Manager during the time
of the declared emergency only, provided that wage rates and monetary fringe
benefits shall not be suspended.
5.6 The Employer's failure to exercise any function or right hereby reserved to it, or
its exercising any function or right in a particular way, shall not be deemed a
waiver of this right to exercise such function or right, nor preclude the Employer
from exercising the same in some other way not in conflict with the express
provisions of this Agreement.
5.7 The exercise of the above-referenced management prerogatives shall not be
subject to the grievance or arbitration procedures of this Agreement; provided
however, that the exercise of such rights shall not preclude employees or their
representatives from raising grievances, should decisions on the above matters
have the practical consequence of violating the te1ms and conditions of this
Agreement.
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ARTICLE 6-UNION STEWARDS AND UNION
REPRESENTATION
6.1 Employees covered by this Agreement will be represented by stewards designated
by the Union in the following locations.
Location Number of Stewards
Public Works 4
The Union may appoint one of the above stewards as a Roving Steward.
When additional pe1manent work locations are created with more than five (5)
union eligible employees, the Employer and the Union will meet at the request
of either party for the purpose of mutually determining the stewardship needs
of the Union.
6.2 A written list of union stewards shall be fumished to the Human Resource
Manager prior to the effective date of their assuming duties of office. Union
stewards will not perform any grievance work until such notification is received
by the Employer.
6.3 The Business Manager or the President of the Union, may, with prior
authorization by the City Manager or appropriate Department Head, be admitted
to the property of the Employer. Union officials, as designated above, shall be
able to talk with employees before or after regular working hours or during the
lunch period of said employees on Employer property in areas mutually agreed
upon by the Union and the Employer to discuss union business, including but not
limited to, grievances.
6.4 The following sections outline the duties and responsibilities of stewards
recognized union representatives. In those cases which cannot be resolved
otherwise, designated union stewards shall be granted reasonable time off,
without loss of pay, to settle glievances. Work loss must be minimized. The
steward must advise his supervisor of the requirement of such time and secure
permission. Such permission will not be unreasonably withheld. Union stewards
shall n01mally settle grievances on the job site that is within their designated
jurisdiction. If there is a previous conflict between the designated union steward
and the area supervisor that may interfere with the settlement of the grievance, the
Union may request, in writing, that the City allow for the union steward from
another area represent the member. This exception must be mutually agreed upon
in advance by the City and the Union. Files of the employee as authorized by
Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes, or exempt files as authorized by the employee
(in writing), shall be open for investigation by the steward when settling
grievances. Union stewards shall not conduct any grievance work on premium
time (overtime) except in emergency situations occmring during such premium
hours that involve suspension or discharge. Supervisor permission shall be given
8
'I
orally to the union steward provided that said oral authorization insures adequate
controls of the steward's time; otherwise written permission shall be required. If
it becomes necessary for a union steward to receive written permission, the
department will provide a fmm that will be used for this purpose. Upon returning
to his work assignment, the steward shall report to his immediate supervisor,
unless prior consent not to do so has been secured.
6.5 Union stewards shall be employees as designated by the Union, and shall be
members of the bargaining unit.
6.6 Union representatives, while on public property and functioning as stewards, are
subject to the same rules of the Employer as all other public employees, except as
specifically provided in this Agreement.
6. 7 No employee shall function as a union steward while on leave of absence, without
mutual consent of the Union and the Employer.
6.8 When it becomes necessary for a union steward to enter a division or area other
than his own for the purpose of conducting union business authorized by this
Agreement, he will secure pe1mission for his presence from the supervisor of that
area or division or activity and notify the supervisor of the general nature of his
business.
6.9 Nothing is this Agreement shall be construed to prevent any employee from
presenting, at any time, his own grievances to the Employer, in person or by legal
counsel, and having such grievances adjusted without the intervention of the
bargaining agent if the adjustment is not inconsistent with the terms of the
Agreement when in effect, and if the bargaining agent or his designee has been
given reasonable oppmiunity to be present at any meeting called for the resolution
of such grievance.
6.10 Employees of the designated bargaining unit shall have the right to join the
Union, to engage in lawful concerted activities for the purpose of collective
bargaining or other mutual aid and protection, and to express or communicate any
view, grievance, complaint or opinion, within the bounds of good taste related to
the conditions or compensation of public employment or it bette1ment, all free
from any restraint, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal. There shall be no
restraint, discrimination, intimidation, or reprisal against any employee because of
that employee's membership or lack of membership in the Union or by virtue of
his holding office or not holding office in the Union. This provision shall be
applied to all employees by the Employer and the Union.
6.11 All stewards have productive work to perfmm as assigned by the Employer. The
parties agree that each will cooperate with the other in reducing to a minimum the
actual time spent by union representatives in investigating, presenting, and
adjusting grievances or disputes.
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ARTICLE 7-PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES
7.1 All employees shall be classified as probationary employees for the first six (6)
months of continuous uninterrupted employment. The probationary period shall
apply for all employees in a new job classification (new employee or an employee
who has been transferred, promoted or demoted). The Department Head has the
discretion to extend the probationary period an additional six (6) months.
7.2 Except in the case of a transfer or promotion to a new position which is set forth
below, at any time during the probationary period the Employer may decide to
tenninate a probationary employee with or without cause. Such decision to
te1minate shall not be subject to the grievance or arbitration procedures of this
collective bargaining Agreement.
7.3 Provisions as to seniority shall not apply to probationary employees, rather
seniority shall date back to the time of hire after an employee has successfully
completed his probationary period. If more than one (1) employee is hired on the
same day, seniority shall be determined by the day (1 -31) of bi1ih, with the
employee with the lowest numeric day of birth having the most seniority.
7.4 Employees who are subject to a probationary period because of a transfer or
promotion to a new Union position shall be retumed to the position they held
prior to the transfer or promotion with pay constructively adjusted per Article 26
should management dete1mine that the employee is not successfully completing
the probationary period. However, nothing shall prevent the Employer from
discharging, suspending or otherwise disciplining, the transfeiTed or promoted
employee during the probationary period for just cause. Further, should the
transfened or promoted employee be retumed to his fmmer position for failing to
satisfactorily complete the probationary period, the Employer shall have the right
to te1minate the individual who filled the transferred or promoted employee's
fmmer position. If the original position of the transfeiTed or promoted employee
resulted in a promotion for another union employee, that employee would be
reverted back to his original position with pay constructively adjusted per A1iicle
24. The new employee hired to fill that open position (i.e. the lowest level
position in this process) would then be terminated. In most cases, this would be a
new employee. Such tennination shall not be subject to the grievance or
arbitration provisions of this Agreement. This policy is only applicable to
transfers or promotions within the LIUNA bargaining unit.
10
ARTICLE 8 -DISCHARGE AND DISCIPLINE
8.1 The Employer shall not discharge, suspend or otherwise discipline employees
except for just cause, and in no event until the employee has been furnished with a
written statement of the charges and the reason or reasons for such action. Any
dispute over suspension, discharge, or other disciplinary action may be submitted
to the grievance procedure as set forth in Article 8 (See Alticle 7 for exception).
The Employer shall consider, among other things, the seriousness and frequency
of offenses when determining the appropriate discipline, which may include a
warning, suspension or immediate discharge. Employees are not entitled to a
particular number of warnings prior to the imposition of discipline, including
discharge.
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ARTICLE 9 -GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
9.1 In a mutual effort to provide harmonious working relations between the parties to
this Agreement, it is agreed to and understood by both parties that there shall be a
procedure for the resolution of grievances between the pmiies arising from an
alleged violation of specific te1ms of the Agreement as provided in this Article.
9.2 For the purpose of this Agreement, a grievance is defined as a claim or complaint
that an employee or group of employees may have that the Employer has violated
a specific provision of this Agreement, provided such specific provision is subject
to the grievance and arbitration procedures of this Agreement. Discipline, or
other employment actions, of newly hired probationary employees, up to and
including discharge, is not subject to the grievance procedure. No employee, or
other person or entity, may file a grievance concerning the discipline, including
discharge, or other employment action taken against any new hire probationary
employee, and the City is not required to consider, respond to, or act upon any
such grievance.
9.3 Grievances may be taken up during the working time of the grievant upon mutual
agreement between the Employer and the Union.
9.4 All grievances must be reduced to writing and must contain the following
information (fmm located on the City's 0-Drive):
(a) The specific A1iicle and Section of the Agreement alleged to have been
violated by the Employer;
(b) A full statement of the grievance, giving a complete description of the facts
and dates and times of the events involved in the alleged violation, and the
specific remedy desired by the grievant;
(c) Signature of grievant and date signed; and,
(d) Designation of the union steward or business agent if the grievant requests
union representation.
9.5 All grievances shall be processed in accordance with the following procedure:
Step 1 -The grievant shall present his grievance, in written fmm (in compliance
with Section 9.4), to his immediate supervisor within ten (10) working days of
receipt of a official written notice or of the occurrence of the action giving rise to
the grievance, provided that should the action giving rise to the grievance occur
while the employee is on authorized paid leave of absence or is on his scheduled
day off the grievant shall have ten (10) working days upon return to his job to
present his grievance. Discussions will be informal for the purpose of settling
differences in the simplest and most effective manner. The immediate supervisor
will discuss and make an effort to resolve all legitimate grievances with fairness
12
and justice for both the grievant and the Employer. The immediate supervisor
shall orally communicate a decision to the grievant within ten (1 0) working days
fi·om the date the grievance was orally presented to him.
Step 2 (Written) -If the grievance is not settled at the first step, the grievant
within ten (1 0) working days of receipt of the immediate supervisor's Step 1
response, shall present the grievance in written form (in compliance with Section
9.4) to the supervisor of the individual that provided the Step 1 response,
normally the Division Director, with a copy to the Depmiment Head. The
appropriate supervisor shall investigate the alleged grievance and shall within ten
(1 0) working days of receipt of the written grievance conduct a meeting with the
grievant and the union steward and/or Business Manager if the grievant requests
union representation. The appropriate supervisor shall notify the grievant, in
writing, of his decision no later than ten (10) working days following the meeting
date.
Note:
If the Department Head is the supervisor at the Step 1 grievance or the next
supervisor after the verbal Step 1 grievance reply, the grievance shall be
submitted directly to the Department Head as a Step 3 grievance.
If there are additional supervisors, the grievance shall be submitted to them
utilizing Step 2 grievance procedures, as necessary, until the grievance reaches
Step 3, i.e., the Department Head.
Step 3 -If the grievance is not settled at the second step, the grievant, within ten
(1 0) working days of receipt of the Step 2 response, shall present the grievance in
writing and in compliance with Section 9.4, to the appropriate Depmiment Head
with a copy to the City Manager. The appropriate Depmiment Head, or designee,
shall investigate the alleged grievance and shall within ten (1 0) working days of
receipt of the written grievance conduct a meeting with the grievant and the union
steward and/or Business Manager if the grievant requests union representation.
The appropriate Depmiment Head, or designee, shall notify the grievant, in
writing, of his decision no later than ten (1 0) working days following the meeting
date.
Step 4-If the grievance is not settled at the third step, the grievant within ten (10)
working days from receipt of the Step 3 decision, shall present the written
grievance to the City Manager. The City Manager, or designee, shall investigate
the alleged grievance and may within ten (1 0) working days of receipt of the
written grievance conduct a meeting with Employer representatives, the grievant
and the union steward and/or Business Manager if the grievant requests union
representation. The City Manager or his designee shall notify the grievant, in
writing, of his decision not later than ten (1 0) working days after the date the
grievance was received by the City Manager, or after the meeting with the
representatives and/or grievant.
Step 5 -Arbitration -If a grievance, as defined in this Article, has not been
satisfactorily resolved within the grievance procedure, the Union may request
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arbitration in writing to the Office of the City Manager no later than ten (1 0)
working days after the response is received from Step 4 of the grievance
procedure.
9.6 It is the mutual desire of the Employer and the Union that grievances shall be
adjusted as quickly as possible and to that end the time limits set forth in this
Article are to be strictly enforced. The time limits may only be extended by
mutual written agreement. The term "work days" as used in this Article includes
Monday through Friday of each work week regardless of the grievant's work
schedule. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays as set forth in this Agreement shall
not be considered "work days" even if work is assigned on these days. For the
purpose of calculating time limits, the day on which a grievance, or a reply by
management to a grievance, is received, shall not be counted. Failure of
management to observe the time limits for any step in the grievance procedure
without a mutually agreed written extension of time shall entitle the grievant (or
the Union in the case of Step 5) to advance the grievance to the next step. Failure
of the grievant (or the Union in the case of Step 5) to observe the time limits for
any steps in this Article without a mutually agreed written extension of time shall
terminate the grievance.
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ARTICLE 10-ARBITRATION PROCEDURE
10.1 Whenever the Union requests arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the
Grievance Article, the pmiies shall within five (5) working days following appeal
to m·bitration jointly request the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to
submit a panel of seven (7) arbitrators, each of whom shall be a member of the
National Academy of Arbitrators. Arbitrators shall be selected from such panel
by alternately striking names from this list (the Union shall make the first strike)
until the last name on the list is reached.
10.2 The limitations on the powers of the Arbitrator are as follows:
(a) The Arbitrator shall not have the power to add to, subtract from, or alter the
terms of this Agreement;
(b) The Arbitrator shall have no power to establish wage scales, rates for new
jobs, or to change any wage;
(c) The Arbitrator shall have only the power to rule on matters arising under
this Agreement and is confined exclusively to the question(s) which is
presented to him which question(s) must be actual and existing;
(d) The Arbitrator shall have no power to arbitrate any matter after this
Agreement has expired, unless the event giving rise to the grievance
occurred prior to the termination of this Agreement and a written grievance
was submitted within fifteen (15) working days after the expiration of this
Agreement and has been timely processed.
(e) If the subject of the grievance submitted to arbitration concerns disciplinary
measures (including discharge) taken against one or more employees, the
Arbitrator is only empowered to pass upon whether the employee or
employees concerned actually committed, pmiicipated in, or were
responsible for the act of misconduct. The Arbitrator has no authority to
pass upon the nature, extent or severity of the disciplinary measure(s) taken,
such determination being solely a managerial prerogative. If the Arbitrator
finds that the employee has not committed, pmiicipated in, or was not
responsible for, the act of misconduct for which he has been disciplined, the
Arbitrator has the power to make the employee or employees whole,
including ordering back-pay (less compensation received from any other
sources) for time lost, and reinstatement when applicable.
10.3 There shall be no appeal from the Arbitrator's decision; it shall be final and
binding on the Union and on all bargaining unit employees and on the Employer,
provided the Arbitrator's decision is not outside or beyond the scope of the
Arbitrator's jurisdiction, or is not in violation of public policy. The authority and
responsibility of the Employer, as provided by Florida law, shall not be usurped in
any matter.
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10.4 The cost of the Arbitrator's services shall be divided equally between the
Employer and the Union. Each side will pay its own representative and
witnesses. The cost of a court repmier and the transcription fee shall be paid by
the party requesting the court reporter and/or a transcription of the proceedings.
The cost of a comi repmier or/and other costs and fees, if requested by the
Arbitrator, shall be divided equally between the Employer and Union. Other
requests from the Employer and/or Union shall be paid by the requesting party;
however, if either pmiy requests transcripts, copies of such shall be provided to
the other party per the Florida Public Records Act (FS-119).
10.5 The commencing of legal proceedings against the City or any managerial
employee of the City in a court of law or equity or before the Public Employees
Relations Commission, the City's grievance procedure, or any other
administrative agency by an employee, or group of employees, for alleged
violations of the express terms of the Agreement shall be deemed a waiver to
resmi to the grievance or arbitration procedures contained herein for resolution of
the alleged violation of the terms of this Agreement. Additionally, the
commencing of legal proceedings against the Union in a comi of law or equity or
before the Public Employees Relations Commission, or any other administrative
agency, by the City or any of its managerial employees for alleged violations of
the expressed terms of this Agreement shall be deemed a waiver by such
employee or the City of the ability to resmi to the grievance or arbitration
procedures contained herein for resolution of the alleged violation of the terms of
this Agreement. Likewise, the utilization of the Grievance or Arbitration
procedures in this Agreement for the resolution of alleged violations of this
Agreement shall constitute a waiver of any rights the party who initiated the
grievance may have to review by the Public Employees Relations Commission,
the City's grievance procedure, or any other administrative agency.
10.6 Prior to initiating judicial review by any court for any alleged violation of this
Agreement, the grievance procedure of this Agreement must be completely
exhausted.
10.7 Discipline or other employment actions of newly hired probationary employees,
up to and including discharge, is not subject to the grievance procedure and;
therefore, such actions cannot be submitted to arbitration.
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ARTICLE 11-HOLIDAYS
11.1 The following are recognized as holidays under the terms of this Agreement.
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King's Birthday
President's Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Friday after Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
Any day that the City Commission may designate
For employees that work a Monday through Friday:
January 1st
3rd Monday in January
3rd Monday in February
Last Monday in May
July 4th
1st Monday in September
November 11th
4th Thursday in November
Friday after Thanksgiving
December 24th
December 25th
Whenever a holiday falls on Saturday, it shall be observed on the
preceding Friday. When a holiday falls on Sunday, the following Monday
will be observed as the holiday.
Christmas:
Whenever Christmas falls on a Saturday, Christmas shall be observed on the
preceding Friday, with Christmas Eve observed on the preceding Thursday.
Whenever Christmas falls on a Sunday, Christmas shall be observed on a
Monday, with Christmas Eve observed on the preceding Friday.
Whenever Christmas falls on a Monday, Christmas shall be observed on Monday,
with Christmas Eve observed on the preceding Friday.
For employees that work shifts other than Monday through Friday:
Holidays shall be observed on the actual date that they occur.
Note: Full Time employees shall be entitled to a maximum of eight (8) hours per
holiday (88 hours per year) of holiday leave and/or holiday pay.
11.2 Whenever an observed holiday occurs on an employee's scheduled day off, the
Employer shall provide the employee with 8 hours of compensatory time at the
straight time or compensate him with 8 hours at straight time rate in order to
equalize the observed legal holidays in Section 11.1. Regular Pmi Time (RPT)
employee hours will be prorated based upon work hours funded within the
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approved budget.
11.3 Working a Holiday
Regular Full Time Employees.
Nonexempt employees who work on the observed holiday, per Article 11.1,
shall receive:
-eight hours of pay for the Holiday plus, at the employer's discretion:
their normal rate of pay for each hour worked on the holiday, or
compensatory time, hour-for-hour, for each hour worked during the
holiday, or
any combination of pay and/or compensatory time which results in the
employee receiving 8 hours of Holiday pay plus straight time for all
hours worked on the observed holiday.
Regular Part Time (RPT) Employees.
Hours of pay for the Holiday prorated based upon the number of hours funded
to work within the approved budget, plus, at the employer's discretion:
their normal rate of pay for each hour worked on the holiday, or
compensatory time, hour-for-hour, for each hour worked during the
holiday, or
any combination of pay and/or compensatory time which results in the
employee receiving prorated hours of Holiday pay plus straight time
for all hours worked on the observed holiday.
Temporary and Pmi Time Employees who do not receive Holidays
Temporary or Part Time employees that work a holiday shall receive pay at
time-and-one-half their regular hourly rate of pay for hours worked on the
observed holiday.
In no case shall the employee receive, in either pay or time off, an amount in
excess of double time for eight holiday hours.
Exception to above. Hours worked per week that exceed 40 will be paid at the
time-and-a-half rate.
11.4 In order to be eligible for holiday pay or compensatory time the employee must
have worked the last scheduled working day immediately prior to the observed
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holiday and the first regularly scheduled working day immediately after the
observed holiday unless the employee is on paid vacation, military leave, paid
sick leave substantiated by a doctor's certificate, or other paid absences excused
by the appropriate Department Head.
11.5 Employees who have been assigned holiday work and fail to report for and
perfmm such work without reasonable cause shall not receive pay or
compensatory time for the holiday.
11.6 Employees who are on an unpaid leave of absence, layoff, or in a non-pay status
on the day on which a holiday is observed shall not receive pay or compensatory
time for the holiday.
11.7 For purposes ofthis Article, all holidays shall commence at 12:01 a.m. on the date
the holiday is observed (as set forth in Section 11.1) and continue for twenty-four
(24) uninterrupted hours.
11.8 The accmal and pay-out of compensatory time under this Section shall be
governed by the provisions of Article 16.
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ARTICLE 12 -PERSONAL LEAVE HOURS
12.1 (a) The "Personal Leave Hours" concept is an advancement from the traditional
vacation and sick leave system. Personal leave hours are not to be
considered compensation for services rendered. All bargaining unit
employees may be absent from work and still receive regular wages
provided the employee has a Personal Leave or Compensatory Time
balance, and follows the procedures set forth in this Article and receives
prior approval from the employee's supervisor, or the appropriate
Department Head or his designee.
(b) When a Personal Leave Hour is used for illness or other emergencies,
employees are required to notify their supervisor, or if he is unavailable the
appropriate Department Head of the nature of the illness or emergency as
early as reasonably possible and no later than one (1) hour after stmiing time
each day the employee intends to be absent, that the employee is unable to
repmi to work because of illness or other emergency; however, employees
on shift work must notify the supervisor or if he is unavailable the
appropriate Depmiment Head no later than one ( 1) hour before shift starting
time.
Except as stated above when an employee is planning to use seventeen (17)
hours or more of Personal Leave Hours he must submit his request to take
leave in writing to the appropriate Department Head or his designee at least
five (5) calendar days prior to the first day of the intended absence. When
an employee is planning to use less than 17 hours of Personal Leave Hours
he must submit such request at least forty-eight ( 48) hours prior to the first
day of the intended absence. The appropriate Department Head or his
designee shall respond to the request as soon as possible after receipt of the
request.
Personal Leave may be taken in increments of fifteen (15) minutes or more.
Approval of leave may be suspended if in the discretion of the appropriate
Department Head such leave would pose a manpower shmiage which would
have an adverse effect on the operation of the Depmiment, or if the
notification requirements set forth in this Article are not followed.
(c) Effective on the date of ratification of the Agreement by both pmiies, the
maximum number of personal leave hours which may be accrued and
carried forward to the following fiscal year is 680 hours. Within thirty (30)
calendar days from the effective date, any employee who has exceeded the
limit of 680 hours will receive a buyout of accrued personal leave for all
hours that exceed the new maximum accrual limit of 680 hours. Thereafter,
the maximum number of personal leave hours which may be accrued and
cmTied forward to the following fiscal year is 680 hours.
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Employees should make every attempt to schedule and use their personal
leave prior to the end of each fiscal year. Failure to use the personal leave
time will result in forfeiture on October 1 of each fiscal year of any time that
exceeds the 680 hour limit.
If a personal leave request is cancelled by the City due to no fault of the
employee and cannot be rescheduled prior to the end of the fiscal year, the
City Manager may approve the employee to carry-over the personal leave
hours that were canceled. In such unusual case, the employee must use
these personal leave hours prior to the end of the next fiscal year.
(d) For Personal Leave used for illness, the Employer always retains the right to
require medical documentation of the illness.
(e) No Personal Leave Hours may accumulate to an employee who is in a non-
pay status, utilizing donated leave or on any leave of absence. Employees
that have 40 hours or more of time without pay during a pay period will not
be eligible to accrue personal leave for that pay period.
(f) Subject to the restrictions contained in this Agreement, Personal Leave
Hours shall accumulate during each pay period and shall be credited to the
employee at the end of the pay period.
(g) Eligible employees who resign with at least two (2) weeks prior written
notice to the City Manager, are laid off, retire, or whose employment has not
been involuntarily terminated shall be compensated as follows: Employees
hired by the City before October 1, 2012, with ten (10) or more years of
completed service on the date their employment ends shall be paid at 1 00%
of the personal leave hours accrued (up to a maximum of 680 hours);
employees hired by the City before October 1, 2012, with less than ten (10)
years of completed service on the date their employment ends shall be paid
50% of personal leave hours accrued (up to a maximum of 680 hours); and,
employees hired by the City on or after October 1, 2012, shall be paid out
50% of personal leave hours accrued (up to a maximum of680 hours).
(h) The accrual rate of Personal Leave Hours shall be determined as follows:
Beginning Thru Hours per Total Annual
Year Year ,Qay ,Qeriod Hours
First Year 4.62 120
1 3 5.54 144
4 5 6.15 160
6 7 6.77 176
8 10 7.69 200
11 12 8.31 216
13 14 8.92 232
15 9.54 248
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Personal Leave time shall accumulate during each pay period and shall be
credited to the employee at the end of each pay period.
12.2 The pmiies agree to reopen this Article relating to the use of accrued Annual
Leave credits to fund the Defened Compensation plan, for negotiation in 2017.
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ARTICLE 13 -LEAVES OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY
13.1 Leaves of absence without pay, unless mandated by Federal or State law,
may, in the sole discretion of the City Manager, be granted when annual
leave has been exhausted.
13.2 All leaves, with or without pay, should be requested by the employee in
writing and should be approved in writing before becoming effective.
13.3 An employee's starting date will be adjusted for leaves of absence without
pay in accordance with state and federal statutes and local ordinances.
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ARTICLE 14 -MILITARY LEAVE
14.1 The Employer will grant employees leaves of absence for military duties as
dictated by the requirements of state and federal laws.
14.2 Employees requesting military leave are responsible for notifying the appropriate
Department Head as soon as possible of the dates for the military leave and to
provide an official set of orders, or other documentation of the training, as soon as
practicable.
14.3 An employee will not be paid for Military Leave until an official set of orders or
appropriate documentation has been received.
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ARTICLE 15 -BEREAVEMENT LEAVE
15.1 Employees covered by this agreement may be granted, upon approval of the
appropriate Department Head, time off with pay not to exceed three (3) calendar
days, in the event of a death in the employee's immediate family for the purpose
of attending the funeral and/or attending to related obligations of the deceased
relative.
15.2 The employee's immediate family shall be defined as the employee's spouse,
father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law,
grandparents, grandchildren and any other member of kinship who may be
residing under the same roof with an employee during the time of death.
15.3 Funeral leave or bereavement leave shall be leave with full pay and benefits and
shall not be charged to personal leave days.
15.4 The employee may be required to provide the appropriate Department Head with
verification of death before compensation is approved.
15.5 Employees will be allowed to utilize fmiy (40) hours of personal leave to extend
bereavement leave.
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ARTICLE 16 -HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME
16.1 The purpose of this Article is to define hours of work but nothing in this
Agreement shall be construed as a guarantee or limitation of the number of hours
to be worked per day, days per week, or for any other period of time, except as
may be specifically provided herein.
16.2 Unless changed by the City, forty (40) hours shall constitute a normal workweek
for an employee covered by this Agreement, except as hereinafter provided.
Nothing herein shall guarantee an employee payment for a forty ( 40) hour work
period unless the employee actually worked a forty ( 40) hour workweek or his
actual hours worked and his authorized compensated leave totals forty ( 40) hours.
For the purpose of this Agreement, authorized compensated leave shall mean
holidays on which the employee is excused from work, authorized compensatory
time taken, bereavement leave, jury duty, and any other leave paid for and
authorized by the City.
Overtime will be compensated at time and one-half (1-1/2) for all hours worked in
excess of forty ( 40) hours within any seven (7) consecutive calendar day City
established work period (Exception: See Art 16.13). Compensation for overtime
hours worked shall be paid to the employee during the same pay period in which
it is worked, providing the paperwork is delivered to the appropriate payroll office
in a timely manner to process for that pay period.
16.3 The City shall have the discretion to compensate for overtime hours worked in the
form of cash or compensatory time. Should the City decide to compensate the
employee in the f01m of cash, the employee shall be paid at the straight time rate
for all hours worked over the employee's n01mal schedule in a work week that are
less than 40 and at the rate of one and one-half (1 ~) the employee's regular rate of
pay for each overtime hour worked in a work week that exceeds forty. Should the
City decide to compensate the employee in the form of compensatory time, the
employee shall be credited at the straight time rate for all hours worked over the
employee's normal schedule in a work week that are less than 40 and at the rate of
one and one-half (1 ~) hour of compensatory time for each overtime hour worked
in a work week that exceeds forty.
16.4 Employees shall not be able to accumulate more than fifty (50) hours of
compensatory time. Once the cap is reached compensation will be in the form of
cash payment only.
16.5 An employee who has accrued compensatory time will be petmitted to use the
time off within a reasonable period after making a request to use same, provided it
does not unduly disrupt the operations of the City. Requests to use compensatory
time must be made in writing to the employee's supervisor.
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16.6 At any time the City, in its sole discretion, may determine to substitute cash, in
whole or in part, for compensatory time. All accrued compensatory time off must
be taken during the fiscal year (October 1 -September 30) in which it is earned.
If not, the employee shall receive a cash payment for the excess unused
compensatory time on or after the last pay period of the fiscal year but no later
than September 30th of the same fiscal year at the regular hourly rate earned by
the employee at the time the employee receives such payment. Employees shall
not be paid for any compensatory time unless their balance exceeds one hour.
16.7 Should an employee voluntarily switch shifts with another employee for the
employee's convenience, no overtime compensation will be payable and the hours
the employee worked as a substitute shall be excluded by the City in the
calculation of the hours for which the employee is entitled to overtime
compensation. All such shift trading must be approved by the immediate
supervisors prior to the trade and the period during which time is traded and paid
back must not exceed twelve (12) months. Hours worked by the volunteer
substitute employee will be paid to the employee that was regularly scheduled to
work and not to the volunteer substitute employee. The volunteer substitute
employee must make anangements with the employee he is replacing for any
compensation.
16.8 Nothing in this Aliicle shall require payment for ove1iime hours not worked,
except as provided herein.
16.9 All employees shall be required to repmi to work on time, shall not leave the job
early, shall be prompt in reporting to their assigned duties, and shall faithfully
perform their duties.
16.10 Employees covered by this Agreement shall be given forty-eight ( 48) hours notice
of any change in their regular hours of work, unless an unscheduled absence by
another employee or circumstances necessitate a quicker change.
16.11 The appropriate Department Head is authorized to schedule employees on a "task
basis".
16.12 There will be no duplication of premium payments and no claims that provide for
"ove1iime on overtime or compensatory time, i.e., no pyramiding of ove1iime".
16.13 An employee who has left his normal place of work and who is "called-back" for
ove1iime work shall receive a minimum payment of three (3) hours at time and
one-half (1 ~) the employee's regular rate of pay or the actual hours worked at
time and one-half (1 ~), whichever is greater. This provision will automatically
sunset on September 30, 2017, and will revert back to two (2) hours minimum.
Employees shall be compensated for additional call backs as provided herein if
the employee has completed the call back assignment and has left his place of
work prior to receiving another call back. Employees shall not receive ove1iime
pay on ove1iime pay for additional call-backs that occur within the two (2) hour
period of a previous call-back, that is, there will be no overtime on ove1iime.
Preananged overtime shall not constitute a "call back". This Section shall not
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apply if hours worked as a result of a call back extend into the start of the
employee's regular work period.
Employee's who report to work for scheduled overtime shall receive a minimum
payment of two (2) hours at one and one-half (1-1/2) times her/her regular rate.
16.14 Upon proof of attending court pursuant to subpoena or other court order involving
a job-related case, not as a plaintiff in litigation against the City, an off-duty
employee will receive pay equal to one and one-half (1 liz) times the employee's
regular straight time hourly rate of pay for the hours he attends court. Provided,
that such employee shall receive a minimum of two (2) hours pay at the rate of
one and one-half (1 liz) the employee's regular straight time hourly rate for such
attendance. The City reserves the right to institute any procedure or system it
deems appropriate to measure, record, and/or verify attendance and duration of
off-duty court appearance. In the event any employee claims time not actually
spent in off-duty court appearance, he may be discharged or disciplined. The
employee will sign over all subpoena and witness fees that exceed twenty dollars
($20.00), excluding travel reimbursement, unless City transportation is fumished
in which case such travel reimbursement should not be requested or accepted or if
received will be signed over to the City.
16.15 No employee shall authorize overtime for himself but shall be entitled to work
overtime as assigned or authorized by the appropriate Department Head. It is
understood that the City has the right to schedule overtime work as needed, and in
a manner most advantageous to the City.
16.16 Overtime hours shall be distributed as nearly equal as possible among employees
as long as such sharing will not delay or increase the cost of the City's operations.
16.17 Employees required to be accessible by telephone and not performing actual
work, but in readiness to perf01m work when the need arises, shall be considered
to be on standby. If the employee performs actual work during the standby
period, the employee shall be considered to have received a call-out, and shall be
paid in accord with Article 17.13.
Any employee designated by the Employer to be on standby duty shall receive, in
addition to his regular pay, and additional $17.86 or each full day the employee is
required to be available on standby duty. This provision will automatically sunset
on September 30, 2017, and will revert back to $100/full week of on-call duty.
To be eligible for standby compensation, the employee must meet the following
criteria;
(a) The employee must respond by phone within twenty (20) minutes of
rece1vmg page.
(b) The employee must arrive at job site within one (1) hour of retuming page
by phone to the Employer.
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(c) Employees that take personal leave during the standby period must be
available for call-back and able to respond within the above time frames.
(d) Employees who are called by their supervisor, but not required to respond,
will receive one hour straight time pay. This provision will automatically
sunset on September 30, 2017.
16.18 An employee who has worked sixteen (16) hours or more in a twenty-four (24)
hour period, or eight (8) hours or more overtime in the sixteen (16) hour period
immediately preceding his/her normal workday shall upon release, be entitled to
an eight (8) hour rest period before he/she returns to work. If the employee is
called back to work without completing his/her eight (8) hour rest period, he/she
shall be compensated at the overtime rate of one and one-half (1 'li) times
his/her regular rate of pay for all hours worked, commencing from the time
he/she reports back to work and ending when he/she is released for an eight (8)
hour rest period.
16.19 All employees shall be provided with at least a one-half ('li) hour lunch break
which shall be the employee's own time. If the employee is required to work
their lunch break, the employee shall be compensated as provided within this
Article.
Employees shall be provided with two (2) fifteen (15) minute break periods
with pay. The first break shall be taken within the first four ( 4) hours of work
and the second during the last four ( 4) hour period of work. Break periods must
be utilized during the appropriate period or they are "lost". They may not be
accumulated to allow for early departure or the modifications in an employee's
work schedule.
16.20 Except for outside workers, smoking is limited to official break periods or
during the employee's lunch period.
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ARTICLE 17-INJURY IN THE LINE OF DUTY
17.1 Any employee covered by this Agreement who sustains a temporary disability as
a result of accidental injury in the course of and arising out of employment by the
Employer, shall, in addition to the benefits payable under the Workers'
Compensation law of the State of Florida, be entitled to the same Workers'
Compensation benefits as provided to other City employees.
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ARTICLE 18-INSURANCE AND PENSION
18.1 The City agrees to continue to provide employees with a group term life insurance
policy. The City agrees to pay the premiums for the employees' coverage for such
msurance.
18.2 The City agrees to provide employees with the same basic group health insurance
program as offered to other City employees. The City agrees to pay the same
amount of premium for the same insurance coverage, including dependent
coverage, for bargaining unit employees as it does for other City employees.
18.3 All hired on or after September 1, 2008 will participate in a Defined Contribution
Retirement Plan. The City will match contributions made by individual
employees up to six (6) percent of their compensation during the first ten (10)
years of service. After ten (1 0) years of service, the City will contribute an
additional four (4) percent of the employee's compensation. Matching is not
required for the additional four (4) percent contribution. Employees will be
vested at five (5) years of service for the City's contributions to the Defined
Contribution Retirement Plan.
As used in Section 18.3, the term compensation refers to base salary or base
wages, as well as salary or wages received while absent from work on account of
vacation, holiday, or illness. The te1m compensation does not include overtime
compensation.
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ARTICLE 19 -SAFETY AND HEALTH
19.1 The Employer and the Union agree that they will confonn to all laws relating to
safety, health, sanitation and working conditions. The Employer and the Union
will cooperate in the continuing objective of eliminating safety and health hazards
where they are shown to exist.
19.2 Safety practices may be improved upon fi·om time to time by the Employer and
upon recommendations of the Employer and the Union. Protective devices,
apparel, and equipment, when provided by the Employer must be used and any
failure to obey safety regulations or to use safety devices shall result in
disciplinary action, up to and including discharge.
19.3 The Employer agrees to provide hepatitis immunization shots to employees within
the bargaining unit subject to the approval of the appropriate Department Head.
Employees who do not wish to receive the hepatitis immunization shots will be
required to sign a refusal waiver to this effect.
19.4 The employer will require that any employee involved in an accident or incident
resulting in injury and/or damages to property submit to a drug and/or alcohol
test. Failure to pass the drug and/or alcohol test or refusal to take drug and/or
alcohol test will result in disciplinary actions up to and including discharge.
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ARTICLE 20 -BULLETIN BOARDS
20.1 The Union may be permitted to provide for its own use three (3) bulletin boards
not to exceed 4'L x 3'W in dimension, provided the bulletin boards shall be
located only in areas agreed to by the City and Union.
20.2 The Union agrees it shall use the space on the bulletin board provided for herein
only for the following purposes; notices of union meetings, notices of internal
elections for union offices, reports of union committees, policies of the Union,
recreation and social affairs of the Union, and notices by public bodies. In no
event shall the bulletin board be used to post political material or controversial
material. The Business Agent, his designated representative, or the Steward of
the Union are the only authorized representatives to post material on the bulletin
board. Said representatives shall initial and date all material that is posted.
20.3 The appropriate Department Head or his designee shall decide whether or not
Section 20.2 has been violated. Should it be dete1mined that a violation has
occurred the Union shall immediately remove the posted material and the Union
may lose its bulletin board privileges, following a meeting between the Employer
and the Union.
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ARTICLE 21 -UNIFORMS
21.1 The City will furnish to bargaining unit employees who are required to wear such
uniforms in the performance of their duties an initial issue of the following upon
employment:
1. Eleven ( 11) pants
2. Eleven (11) shirts
3. Hats
21.2 The City will replace or repair the above items as they become tom, worn or
unserviceable due to the perfmmance of the employee's official duty. Any claim
for a repair or replacement under this Section must be accompanied by a written
explanation addressed to the appropriate Department Head, setting forth the
circumstances necessitating the replacement or repair, and the employee shall
present the item(s) to the appropriate Department Head or his designee who shall
have the sole determination as to whether the items shall be replaced or repaired.
21.3 Any employee who damages, destroys, or loses any furnished miicle of unifmm
due to carelessness, negligence or personal use will replace the article at his own
expense, or such cost of replacement shall be deducted from the employee's pay.
21.4 Uniforms provided by the City shall be worn without modifications and only for
official City business. Only City issued hats are allowed.
21.5 Upon te1mination of employment for any reason, the employee shall return to the
City all articles of the uniform issued by the City.
21.6 The City agrees to continue to provide for the cleaning of the uniform articles as
in the past.
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ARTICLE 22-MILEAGE ALLOWANCE
22.1 Employees directed by the appropriate Department Head or his designee to use
their private automobiles for City business, shall be compensated at the rate
established per mile by the I.R.S. for authorized and approved miles driven.
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ARTICLE 23 -CAREER DEVELOPMENT
23.1 Upon presentation of an official transcript and proof of degree to the City
Manager, each employee in the bargaining unit who receives an associates degree
from a accredited college, which degree is determined by the City Manager as
applicable to the employee's job responsibilities with the City, shall receive a
$50.00 per month career development incentive.
23.2 Upon presentation of an official transcript and proof of degree to the City
Manager, each employee of the bargaining unit who receives from an accredited
college or university a bachelor's degree, which degree curriculum is determined
by the City Manager to include a major study concentration area readily
identifiable and applicable to the employee's job responsibilities with the City,
shall receive a $100.00 per month career development incentive.
23.3 Employees receiving Career Development monies shall receive monies as
accorded them under either Section 23.1 or Section 23.2. They shall not receive
at the same time monies afforded from both of these Sections.
23.4 Employees classified as Wastewater Operator I, Wastewater Operator II, or
Wastewater/Water Operator III who obtain the required licenses required for a
higher Operator classification, shall be promoted or have their pay adjusted per
Article 24. The effective date of such promotion, or pay adjustment, shall be the
date the employee passed the test and received their state license, based upon the
employee furnishing such documentation to the City. Promotions shall be limited
to an effective date no more than sixty (60) calendar days retroactive.
Employees classified as Utility Collection/Distribution Operators who obtain a
Level 3 license shall receive an annual one-time lump sum payment of $250.00.
The initial payment of such lump sum shall be the date the employee passes the
test and receives their required state license, or the date of hire for new employees
based upon the employee furnishing proper licensing documentation to the City.
Payments shall be limited to an effective date no more than sixty (60) calendar
days retroactive with future payments paid annually on the date that the employee
received their initial lump sum payment. The employee must stay for one (1) year
after obtaining the Level 3 license. If the employee leaves the employment of the
City, the cost borne by the City for the course, travel and lodging must be
reimbursed by the employee.
Additional Class A, B and C State licenses above those licenses required by the
position description recognized by D.E.P., (Not Certifications), obtained by Water
and/or Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator's will be recognized by the payment
of an annual one-time lump sum payment of $500.00 which shall be prorated for
new employees. The initial payment of such bonus shall be the date the employee
passed the test and received their state license, or the date of hire for new
employees and based upon the employee furnishing such documentation to the
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City. Bonu s payments s hall be li mited to an effective date no more than s ixt y
(6 0) calendar days retroactive w ith future b onus p aid a nnually on the date th at th e
e mployee received their ini tial bonus. The emp loyee must st ay for one (1) year
after obtai ning li cense. If the employee leaves the employm ent of the C ity, the
-cost borne by the C ity fo r the course, travel a nd lodg ing mus t be reimbursed by
the employee.
23.5 E mp loyees w ho o bt ai n a l icense th at be netl ts the C ity, at th e so le di scret ion of th e
Depart ment H ead, s hall receive a n annual one-time l ump s um pav m en l o f
$25 0 .00
23 . .§-;) Cost for other courses will b e paid by the C ity after pnor approva l of the
appropda te Department Hea d.
23 .16 All employees within the barga inin g unit sha ll be covered by a w ritten d escripti on
of hi s job duti es in the form of employee j ob specificatio ns.
If th e C ity of Atlantic Beach , or the ir designees, dete rmine th a t the empl oyees' j ob
specificatio ns n eed to be ch anged , ad d ed to, deleted, o r a mended, the E mpl oyer
will notify the Union of th e intend ed c hanges no less than ten (1 0) working days
prior to the effecti ve date of c ha nge. Copies of the proposed changes w ill be
fo rwarded to the U nion a long with the a bo ve notification. After finali zati on, a
copy of the revi sed s pecificatio ns sh all be fo rwarded lo the Union as soon as is
p ossible.
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ARTICLE 24-WAGES
24.1 (a) Effective October 1, 2016, a 1% Cost of Living increase will be
implemented to the pay scale. Employees with six (6) months service as of
October 1, 2016, are in a position that is considered "year round," working on a
schedule "year round" basis, and have received an evaluation of "Meets
Requirements" or above shall receive a merit increase of3% of midpoint.
(b) Notes
Evaluations. If an employee does not receive at least a "Meets
Requirements" overall evaluation, they shall not receive a pay
adjustment.
Employees who receive an overall rating of "Below Requirements" on
their evaluation, or who believe the City did not follow the City's
performance guidelines, may file a grievance utilizing the grievance
procedures contained within Article 9.
Bonuses. Employees of the bargaining unit are eligible to receive a
bonus based upon performance in accordance with the City's
perfmmance evaluation program guidelines.
Minimum Pay. In no case shall an employee's pay be established
below the base pay for the grade of the position to which the
employee is assigned. Exception: See "Below Requirements"
evaluation above.
Maximum Pay. In no case shall an employee receive a pay increase
that would result in the employee's pay exceeding the maximum pay
for the grade of the position to which the employee is assigned.
Applicability, Pay adjustments will only be provided to individuals
who are employees of the City on the date that the Union contract is
finally approved by the City Commission.
24.2 The Job Classification/Grade Chart is set forth in attached Exhibit A.
24.3 Entrance Wage Determination:
(a) Initial appointment to any position shall normally be made at the entrance
rate of pay established for the position. Upon recommendation from the
Department Head, the City Manager may approve the hire of a new
employee at a rate of pay above the stmiing rate of pay.
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24.4 Lateral Transfers: When an employee is either recruited to or assigned another
job within the same salary grade and with essentially the same job responsibility
level, they will remain at their current salary level and salary grade to which they
are currently assigned.
24.5 Promotion: A promotion is the advancement of an employee from their cunent
position to another open job, with greater responsibilities, in a higher pay grade.
The promotion is based on documented, demonstrable increase in the scope of
work. The granting of a different title alone, without a change in pay grade, does
not warrant a promotional salary increase.
(a) Salary Adjustment: An employee who receives a promotion to a higher
salary grade (either by taking on a new position or the employee's current
position is reclassified to a higher salary grade) should receive a salary
increase at the time the promotion becomes effective, to a least the
minimum of their new pay range or an amount equal to the percentage
difference between the cunent and new grade midpoints, whichever is
greater.
(b) Calculating a Promotional Increase: Since a promotional increase is granted
to recognize the assumption of additional job duties and responsibilities, the
size of the increase is calculated as a function of the size of the promotion,
rather than as a percentage of cunent salary. The formula used to calculate
the promotional increase is as follows:
New Midpoint-Cunent Midpoint = Promotion Increase Amount(%*)
Current Midpoint
or
An increase to the minimum of the new pay grade, whichever is greater.
* Not to exceed 12% unless required to bring employee's salary to the
minimum of the new pay grade.
24.6 Demotion: Demotions are defined as reductions in job duties and responsibilities
that result in a salary grade reduction. When an employee is demoted, the
employee will receive a decrease in pay equal to the midpoint differential between
the pay grade their job is cunently assigned and the newly assigned pay grade.
The formula used to calculate the salary decrease associated with a demotion is as
follows:
Step 1:
Step 2:
Current Midpoint-New Midpoint
New Midpoint
Cunent Pay
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Percent Decrease Amount
New Pay
(1 + Decrease Amount}
or
A decrease to the maximum of the new range, whichever is greater.
City Initiated Non-Disciplinary Demotions:
Should the demotion be the result of non-disciplinary action (e.g., a reduction in
force or other actions), the demoted employee shall receive the rate in the lower
position classification pay range which provides the smallest possible decrease in
pay. Employees demoted for non-disciplinary reasons shall if possible be
reassigned to other duties commensurate with his/her qualifications for the
position. The Employer will make a reasonable effort to reassign the employee in
accord with the provisions of this section.
Employee Requested Reassignment (Demotion) to Lower Grade:
When an employee requests a voluntary demotion, the salary of the employee will
be adjusted in accordance with the formula utilized to calculate the salary
decrease associated with a demotion. In no case will the new salary be
established below the minimum pay or above the maximum pay for the new
grade. The formula used to calculate the salary decrease associated with a
employee requested demotion is:
Step 1:
Step 2:
Current Midpoint-New Midpoint
New Midpoint
Current Pay
(1 +Decrease Amount)
or
Percent Decrease Amount
New Pay
A decrease to the maximum of the new range, whichever is greater.
Note: In some cases, an employee is being returned to a position and grade
previously held prior to the promotion. In these cases, the employee should not
receive a gain in pay based upon the prior promotion and may be constructively
returned to the position from which they were promoted with their salary
constructively adjusted as if the promotion had never occmTed.
24.7 Evaluation for satisfactory service shall be standard in writing throughout the
bargaining unit with each activity using the same evaluation form and procedure
as that utilized for all other City employees. If the employee believes the
evaluation procedure was not followed, he may invoke the grievance procedure
and submit the grievance at Step I.
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24.8 Any employee covered by this Agreement who is temporarily required by the
appropriate Department Head or his designee to perform the duties of a higher
classification shall receive pay at a rate of five (5%) percent above the employee's
regular rate of pay, provided that:
(a) The duties and responsibilities of the higher classification are assumed in
full for a minimum of one (1) eight-hour working day, and;
(b) The working out of classification pay is approved by the City Manager or
his designee prior to appointment of the employee to the higher position.
If the two (2) conditions set fmih are not fully satisfied, the employee will receive
the rate of pay of his regularly assigned classification for each hour worked in the
higher classification.
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ARTICLE 25-ALCOHOL AND DRUG TESTING
25.1 Both the City and Union recognize that drug and alcohol abuse is a problem
among our nation's work force. The City and the Union also recognize the
tremendous cost, both in te1ms of efficiency and in human suffering caused by
needless workplace accidents. Acknowledging the necessity for action, both
pmiies agree to the promotion of a drug free workplace pursuant to the Florida
Drug-Free Workplace Act (Sections 112.0455 & 440.102, Florida Statutes).
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ARTICLE 26 -SENIORITY
26.1 Seniority shall be defined as the length of continuous full-time employment with
the City of Atlantic Beach. Seniority shall be acquired by a full-time employee
after satisfactory completion of a six ( 6) month probationary period, at which time
seniority shall be retroactive to the first day of employment.
26.2 In the event of a lay-off or reduction in force, employees shall be laid off in the
inverse order of seniority within job classes. Employees laid off shall have the
right to bump or replace an employee with less seniority in a lower classification
for which the employee is qualified, provided said employee has previously held
such a position within the City and can perform the established functions of the
cunent job description.
26.3 Whenever an employee is demoted to a position for which he is qualified, he shall
receive the salary performance level in that lower range which provides either no
decrease or the smallest decrease in pay, if the action is not for cause as outlined
in Article 8 of this Agreement.
26.4 In regard to overtime and vacation, seniority will be defined as the length of
continuous time in any specific classification. If an employee is involuntarily
transferred from one department or division to another in the same classification,
he shall cany with him both the City and job seniority that he has already
acquired.
26.5 Seniority shall accumulate during periods of approved leave of absence where the
employee remains in a pay status. Seniority is not broken when an employee is
on an approved leave of absence without pay, but seniority does not accumulate
during this period.
26.6 Seniority shall be broken when an employee:
(a) Resigns;
(b) Is discharged for just cause;
(c) Exceeds an authorized leave of absence.
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ARTICLE 27-JOB QUALIFICATIONS AND PROMOTIONS
27.1 Whenever a Full Time (FT) or Regular Part Time (RPT) job opening occurs, other
than a temporary opening, in any existing job classification, or as the result of the
development or establishment of a new FT or RPT job classification, such jobs
shall be advertised as indicated below, and a notice of such opening shall be
posted on all appropriate bulletin boards. A copy of the notices of job openings
will be forwarded to the appropriate union steward at the time of posting for
posting on all other authorized union bulletin boards.
a. In-house Recruitment. When it has been determined that in-house
recruitment is likely to produce a sufficient number of qualified applicants,
the vacancy may be adve1iised through in-house only. In the event a
vacancy is posted in-house only, it will be posted for five (5) workdays
instead offomieen (14) calendar days. NOTE: Only Full Time and Regular
Part Time employees that have been previously selected through the City
competitive selection process may apply for positions adve1iised in-house.
b. External Recruitment. Based upon the small number of employees within
most job classifications, and in order to increase the number of applicants to
select from, most vacancies will be directly advertised both in-house and
externally at the same time.
27.2 For the purpose of this Agreement, a vacancy shall be defined as an opening
within any City FT or RPT job classification for which funds have been
appropriated.
27.3 Whenever a vacancy is posted, employees desiring to be considered for such
vacancy shall make written application for the position on a City Employment
Application no later than the date and time indicated as the closing date/time set
forth on the posted vacancy announcement. The appropriate Depmiment Head
shall interview all City employee applicants that meet the minimum qualifications
for the position prior to filling the vacancy.
27.4 The appropriate Department Head shall make all determinations of the
qualifications of the applicants applying for open or promotional positions,
provided such determination is limited to those factors required within the job
specifications for the position being filled. Factors to be considered included, but
are not limited to: education, knowledge, skills, abilities: past perfmmance, work
history, attendance, and seniority. During the selection process, if all things are
comparable with regards to the above factors, cunent City employee(s) requesting
a promotion, or reassignment, will be given priority consideration over other
applicants of similar qualifications.
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27.5 Nothing in this Article shall be construed as precluding employees within the
bargaining unit from applying for other vacant positions within the City of Atlantic
Beach.
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ARTICLE 28 -SEVERABILITY
28.1 In the event any Article, Section or portion of this Agreement should be held
invalid and unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction such decision
shall apply to the specific Article, Section or portion thereof specified in the
court's decision; and upon issuance of such decision, the Employer and the Union
agree to immediately negotiate a substitute for the invalidated Article, Section or
portion thereof.
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ARTICLE 29-SAVINGS CLAUSE
29.1 The Employer retains all rights, powers, functions and authority it had prior to the
signing of this Agreement except as such rights are specifically relinquished or
abridged in this Agreement.
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ARTICLE 30 -ENTIRE AGREEMENT
30.1 The pmiies acknowledge that during negotiations which resulted in this
Agreement, each had the unlimited right and opportunity to make demands and
proposals with respect to any subject or matter not removed by law from the area
of collective bargaining and that the understandings and agreements arrived at by
the parties after the exercise of that right and opportunity are set fmih in this
Agreement. Therefore, the Employer and the Union for the duration of this
Agreement each voluntarily and unqualifiedly waives the right, and each agrees
that the other shall not be obligated to bargaining collectively with respect to any
subject or matter not specifically referred to or covered in this Agreement even
though such subjects or matters may not have been within the knowledge or
contemplation of either or both of the pmiies at the same time they negotiated or
signed this Agreement.
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ARTICLE 31-DURATION OF AGREEMENT
31.1 This Agreement shall commence and become effective October 1, 2016, or on the
date of ratification ofthis Agreement by both parties, whichever is later, and shall
continue in full force and effect until midnight of the thirtieth (30 111) day of
September 2018. If either party desires to negotiate a successor agreement, it may
do so by giving the other party written notice to that effect no later than sixty ( 60)
calendar days prior to September 30, 2018.
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SIGNATURE PAGE
IN WITNESS THEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed in their
respective names by their respective representatives and have executed this Agreement
this day of 2016.
FOR THE CITY:
Nelson Van Liere
City Manager
Catherine Berry, Esq., Negotiator and
Director of Human Resources
Ratified by Union members on:
Approved by the City Commission on:
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FOR THE UNION:
Ronnie Burris
Business Manager, Local 630
Exhibit A
Cunent Pay Scale
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AGENDA ITEM SA
SEPTEMBER 12, 2016