SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve the collective bargaining agreement between the City of Clearwater and Communication Workers of America (CWA), Local 3108, from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2028, and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. (consent)
Body
SUMMARY:
The City of Clearwater and CWA Local 3108 reached a tentative agreement on September 14, 2026. The agreement was ratified by the CWA bargaining unit on September 28, 2026, by a vote of 239 -Yes, 6 - No.
A summary of the changes are as follows:
Article 1, Recognition
Updated excluded employee terminology and Civil Service references. Deleted separate managerial and confidential employee definitions while retaining statutory exclusions.
Article 3, Rights of Parties
Replaced printed agreement booklets with posting on Launchpad and the City website. Deleted the separate personnel-file review provision.
Updated employee-information requests to no more than twice monthly upon request. Removed the prior-practice limitation on contracting and subcontracting.
Simplified impact bargaining to the extent provided by law. Added a disability retirement process with independent medical evaluations, legal review, and stipulated approval or a DOAH hearing.
Article 5, Labor/Management Cooperation
Updated committee scope and approval authority. Added paid release for meetings, subject to operational needs. Deleted City-funded conference registration for up to five Union members.
Article 6, Grievance Procedure
Updated grievance deadlines to calendar days. Reduced arbitration requests to 30 calendar days and increased arbitrator selection to 15 calendar days.
Required class-action and suspension, demotion, or dismissal grievances to begin at Step 3. Updated backpay limitations and prohibited arbitrator awards of attorney’s fees or costs. Added reference to the alternate civil service appeal procedure.
Revised the following grievance and arbitration deadlines. The triggering events remain as specified in the respective steps. [Section 4]
|
Requirement |
2023-2026 |
2026-2028 |
|
Initial Step 1 filing |
15 working days |
15 calendar days |
|
Correct returned incomplete grievance |
5 working days |
10 calendar days |
|
Step 1 meeting and written answer (each) |
5 working days |
15 calendar days |
|
Appeal to Step 2 |
10 working days |
15 calendar days |
|
Step 2 meeting and written answer (each) |
5 working days |
15 calendar days |
|
Appeal to Step 3 |
10 working days |
15 calendar days |
|
Step 3 meeting |
10 working days |
21 calendar days |
|
Request arbitration |
60 calendar days; 90 for Union suspension, demotion, or dismissal grievances |
30 calendar days; special 90-day provision deleted |
|
Select arbitrator after list received |
10 calendar days |
15 calendar days |
|
Maximum retroactivity before grievance filing |
15 working days |
15 calendar days |
Article 7, Personnel Practices
Updated meal-period and classification language. Deleted restrictions on considering completed action plans more than two years old in appointment decisions.
Expanded demotion provisions and deleted the apprentice-program pay-retention exception. Updated temporary appointments, promotional probation reassignment timing, and classification-review procedures.
Article 8, Leaves of Absence
Clarified vacation accrual based on the designated 37.5- or 40-hour workweek. Vacation and sick accrual rates and caps remain unchanged.
Limited involuntary-separation sick leave payouts to disability and layoffs. Updated floating-holiday payroll-year language, sick leave pool language, and extended-family funeral leave.
Changed Union conference, convention, and school attendance from paid to unpaid leave. Other authorized paid Union time remains.
Added one week of paid parental leave for eligible full-time employees, concurrent with FMLA. Required six months of employment after leave or repayment.
Included approved FMLA time in the return-to-work provision’s 12-week threshold for alternate employment or layoff.
Changed vacation-buyback requests to the end of the first November pay period, with payment in the first December paycheck.
Article 9, Wages and Compensation
2% increase to pay-range minimums and maximums effective the first day of the payroll period including October 1, 2026.
3.5% merit increase in the first year for eligible employees rated Meets Standards or better. Longevity amounts remain $250, $500, $750, and $1,000 by service tier, added to base salary before merit and subject to the range maximum.
Wage reopener for the second year, upon written request by June 1, 2027. Deleted the prior first-year combined 8% ceiling and standalone prohibition on increases for employees above maximum.
Expanded holiday double-route premium eligibility to Solid Waste employees. Retained the $50-per-pay-period plans-examiner license payment under Assignment Pay.
Added EVT certification pay of $2 per hour per level, up to two levels, and reclassification to Fire Apparatus Mechanic for EVT Master certification.
Deleted EMT and aquatics certification payments, the 15% multiple-inspector-license differential and license-based starting-pay table, and Water Distribution, Water Quality, and Water/Wastewater operator license payments.
Replaced Police Telecommunicator training milestones with a one-time 9% base-pay increase for passing the Florida PST examination.
Added an annual tool stipend for specified Fleet positions, at the amount approved each fiscal year, paid in the first November pay period.
Overtime rules, standby rates, callback minimums, shift differentials, acting/trainer/leadworker percentages, meal money, and tuition reimbursement remain unchanged.
Article 10, Insurance
Updated employee defense and indemnification provisions, including misconduct exclusions, a five-day document-delivery requirement, and cooperation requirements.
Article 11, Performance and Discipline
Updated Union representation rights and changed preparation time to two work days. Set initial development plans at six months, with up to six additional months.
Article 12, Drug and Alcohol Policy
Updated application of the City policy and legal-compliance language. Deleted separate pretesting policy-information and drug-impact information requirements.
Article 13, Retirement
Updated pension terminology. Allowed Union presentations to the Board of Trustees once yearly and aligned pension bargaining with agreement negotiations. Replaced bonus-day terminology with incentive days.
Article 14, Seniority, Layoff, and Recall
Changed layoffs from city-wide to the affected department and updated seniority tie-breakers. Removed continued-through-the-ranks reversion when no prior-classification vacancy exists. Added at least 21 calendar days’ written notice and a copy to the Union President.
Article 15, Duration, Modification and Termination
Updated effectiveness to Union ratification and City Council approval, with expiration September 30, 2028. Updated Union identification to Local 3108 and signature officials.
Appendices
Updated job classifications and pay ranges. Added Appendix C establishing a civil service discipline appeal procedure as an alternative to the grievance procedure.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
The costs associated with the implementation of this agreement are anticipated to be approximately as follows:
FY 2026/27 $2,613,701
FY 2027/28 $ 863,346 (Vacation and Standby Estimates, Re-Opener)
Please note costs for year two do not include merit increases and longevity because there will be a wage-only reopener. Total cost thus far is $3,477,047. Funding for the first year of this agreement is available in the fiscal year 2026/27 budgets of all impacted operating funds. Funding for future years will be requested as part of the annual budget process.
STRATEGIC PRIORITY:
5.1 Attract and retain top-quality personnel through the maintenance of a competitive compensation program.
