SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve the collective bargaining agreement as negotiated between the City of Clearwater and CWA Local 3179 for Fiscal Years 2014/15, 2015/16, and 2016/17 and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same.
Body
SUMMARY:
The current collective bargaining agreement between the City of Clearwater and CWA Local 3179 expires on September 30, 2014. City management staff and representatives of CWA Local 3179 reached a tentative agreement for a new contract. The bargaining agreement was subsequently submitted by the Union to its bargaining unit which ratified the agreement by a vote of 395 to 33 on September 11, 2014.
The agreement is a three-year contract providing for a $1500 base pay merit increase in the first year, a 3% base merit increase in the second year, and a 2.5% base merit increase in the third year for all bargaining unit personnel who attain a rating of Meets expectations or better on their annual performance evaluation, with any amount that exceeds the employees' respective pay range maximum being paid as a one-time lump sum.
The agreement also includes additional incentives for Building inspectors to obtain multiple licenses, an increase in the annual tuition reimbursement amount from $650 to $1200, pay for court time when subpoenaed outside of work hours, the inclusion of domestic partners as immediate family members for the use of sick leave and funeral leave, and administrative changes that will provide for greater consistency in the distribution of safety shoes as well as the assignment of meal times and overtime.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
The costs associated with the implementation of this agreement are anticipated to be approximately as follows:
FY 2014/2015: $1,532,000 All funds $619,000 General Fund
FY 2015/2016: $1,578,000 All funds $637,600 General Fund
FY 2016/2017: $1,617,000 All funds $653,500 General Fund
TOTAL: $4,727,000 All funds $1,910,100 General Fund
A first quarter budget amendment will allocate reserves from the operating funds to cover the cost of CWA pay increases for the current budget year. Future budgets will include the contract costs in the proposed budgets.