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Tentative agreement in city union contract talks
By DAVE SHELTON
Article published on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007 |
LARGO – Negotiators for the city’s largest employee union announced a tentative settlement in negotiations for a new three-year contract.
The proposed agreement still must be approved by about 400 members of Communication Workers of America, Local 3179 and by the City Commission. A union vote was scheduled for Nov. 1 in the Feed Store in Central Park. The commission was scheduled to vote on the new contract, if approved by the union, at its next meeting on Nov. 6.
Union members have worked since Oct. 1 without a contract. Talks hung up, union officials said, over the city’s proposal to reduce annual increases, limit wage increases meant to match city pay scales with other cities and for union employees to pay 10 percent of their health insurance premiums.
According to the union, the proposed settlement includes 4 percent annual raises which the city had already budgeted for 2008. The union tentatively agreed to unmarried members paying 5 percent of their health insurance premiums. Those with family health insurance plans will continue to pay 25 percent of their premiums.
On the issue of wage parity with other cities, local President Steve Sarnoff said 296 of its members will be given one-time increases of from 2 percent to 10 percent in addition to the annual 4 percent increases.
The agreement was announced after union and city negotiators met for several hours on Oct. 26.
The Communications Workers is the largest of four unions representing city employees. The others are unions representing firefighters, police officers and police supervisors.
The Communications Workers officials have pleaded with elected officials not to punish their union members in the face of severe budget cuts mandated by the state just because their contract expired this year.
Sarnoff blames the concessions forced on the union as a battle over home rule that the city is losing to the state.
“And, if we don’t all stand together and try to fight this destruction of home rule by the state Legislature, everyone will suffer,” Sarnoff said.
He explained the state has forced local cities to cut their property tax rates without consideration of local needs and is now threatening to more drastically cut property taxes.
“People have chosen to live in a city where they have services and are willing to pay higher taxes,” Sarnoff said. “They don’t need the state legislature to tell them how to do things and what services they need.
“If taxes were the only issue, people would move to Arkansas where there is no tax but there are no services, either.”
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Article published on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007
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