June 5, 1998

AWARD ISSUED: Wages & Benefits in Place for Next Three Years

Pursuant to Charter Section 8.409 the mediation/arbitration panel chaired by Arbitrator Walter Kintz has issued its opinion and award which will become our Agreement for the next three years. In addition to Kintz, panel members were Samuel Yockey for the City and Carol Isen for the Union.

The charter specifies that if the City and Union cannot reach agreement they must provide the panel with "final offers" of settlement for each unresolved issue. Through the mediation process the parties' positions come closer together, but agreements on many issues were not reached.

Arbitrator picks 2 of 3 of the Union's major economic proposals

While we didn't win every disputed item, Union final offers were selected in two out of three major economic issues submitted. On the third item, health benefits, the City's offer was selected. While our final offer called for full dependent medical coverage (and an option for a cafeteria plan in the final year), the City response to our proposals for full dependent coverage will protect our members from carrying the full burden of future premium increases (see below).

The panel selected our general wage proposal of 3.5% for each of years one and two with the increases staggered (2% in July and 1.5% in December). Year three will be the same 3.5% or whatever the SEIU bargains that year - whichever is greater. This is somewhat better than the pattern set by other municipal employee unions for most employees. The panel also picked our proposal for special adjustments.

Health Benefits: premiums indexed

Rather than attempting to increase the flat dollar amount paid toward dependent coverage, we proposed indexing that amount to 93% of the Kaiser rate for the first year and 100% by the second year of the Agreement. The Arbitrator rejected that proposal as too costly, but the City then sweetened its proposal in response to ours by providing for City payment of 75% of the Kaiser rate for the dependent coverage portion of the premium. This means that the City will pay 75% of all Kaiser premium increases with the same dollar amount applied to whatever plan employees select if they choose an alternative to Kaiser. City's acceptance of our proposal to index provides protection against huge premium increases.

Post-mortem: What happened to med/arb?

A large committee of Local 21's San Francisco Council met for some months with City representatives and mediator/ arbitrator Walter Kintz. There were better than a dozen formal sessions (many with a court reporter present), innumerable informal sessions and conversations and a like number of joint City/Union committee meetings. Despite the talk, the process was distinguished mainly by an astonishing lack of bargaining.

The City's mode was to reject, rather than propose compromises or alternate solutions to problems raised. More troubling, however, was the City's refusal to submit issues to arbitration and the arbitrator's failure to order them to submit (issues included contracting out, telecommuting, special assistant rights, water quality professionals' and construction inspector wages - see below -, retroactive pay for 5212s and other classes the City agreed to reassign to Local 21). In the case of the water quality professionals, the City failed to meet its contractual time lines for completing the study. Again, the arbitrator's failure to order the City to comply or to impose penalties for their failures compounds the problem. Since the City lacks viable unfair labor practice procedures and charter time limits restrict the practicality of such procedures, the only alternatives to City lack of cooperation in the med/arb impasse process is litigation; again, not very useful with tight charter time lines.

Summary

We did well with the process, but the process didn't work. And finally, special thanks must go to Pedro Martinez and Kathleen Price for their leadership and to the San Francisco Council and the many people who participated in long and tedious meetings. Without the strong involvement of our membership nothing would have happened. Special thanks to: Henry Anderson, Nirmela Arsem, Charlotte Barham, Barry Biderman, Robin Breuer, Lonnie Butler, Bob Cefalu, Karen Chan, Gail Clabby, Gene Coleman, Enrico DeLara, Walta DeLemos, Hadas Desta, Ron Dicks, Ramona DiMarco, Teri Dowling, Dennis Drummer, Mike Farrah, Arnulfo Felin, Bill Flaherty, John Foecke, George Gomez, Elizabeth Gordon, John Gregson, Darwin Helmuth, Marshia Herring, Nancy Hoogendyk, Inge Horton, Mohamed Hosny, Gregory Hubbard, Ron Hundenski, Glenn Hunt, Florence Inserto, Tracey Ireland, Bill Irwin, Robert Jew, Sheldon Jones, Ben Kawamura, Alan Keel, Reid Kennedy, Michael Kessler, Rick Kimball, Lawrence Kiva Greywolf, Sarah Larson, Beverly Lashley, George Lau, Jane Lev, Charles Lewis, Leo Lim, Willie Lim, Jose Lorico, Lilia Makiyevsky, Margarita McKinney, Kristie McNally, Morito Miravite, Andy Noll, Laura O'Heir, Guillermo Parinas, Joe Pelayo, Ed Peterson, Michael Radetsky, Kurt Scheer, Lois Scott, Tom Sorrentino, Darrell Spencer, Fran Sperisen, Eileen Sullivan, Leonardo Tacata, Alex Tharayil, Juliet Valerio, Esther Velonza, Ralph Whitten, Pat Wilson, Tim Won, Howard Wong, Francis Woo, Cliff Young, and Sherman Yu.

Summary - Collective Bargaining Agreement

Professional & Technical Engineers, Local 21 and the City & Co. of San Francisco

Term: 7/1/98 through 6/30/2001

Wages:

year 1: 2% effective 7/1/98; 1.5% effective 12/26/98*

year 2: 2% effective 7/1/99; 1.5% effective 12/25/99*

year 3: 2% effective 7/1/2000; 1.5% effective 1/6/2001 or wage increase afforded SEIU Locals 790, 250 or 535, whichever is higher

*please note that these figures are approximate, subject to rounding either up or down to accommodate the City's salary schedule. The arbitrator did not award us elimination of rounding down that can be a by-product of the City's salary schedule. New contract booklet will contain precise wage rates for the life of the Agreement.

Health Benefits:

• medically single employees retain fully paid benefits

• City to pay 75% of any increase in dependent care charges beyond the present $225 allocated for dependent care coverage

Long Term Disability Insurance:

Employer paid. After a 180-day elimination period, sixty percent of salary (subject to integration) up to age 65. Available to all represented employees upon six months' continuous service. Will become effective 7/1/98.

Provisional Employees:

• effective 7/1/98, automatic advancement to salary step employee would have achieved had he/she been permanent from the first day of employment

• equal treatment with permanent employees (health, retirement, salary steps, seniority, leave benefits, etc.)

Wage Adjustments and Related:

(please note all increases are in addition to general wage increases, and are effective 7/1/98 unless otherwise noted.)

• Planners I-V (including Transit Planners) 5%

• Criminalists (8260,8262,8264) 5%

• Estate Investigators (4230, 4231) 3% 7/1/98; +3% on 7/1/99; +3% on 6/30/2000

• Surveyors (5310, 5312, 5314) 1%

• Personnel Analysts (1241, 1244, 1246) 1%

• Personnel Technician (1203) 3.25%

• Physical Therapy Assistant (2555) 4.25%

• Medical Social Work Supervisor (2924) 1.75%

• Technical Engineers (5342, 5344, 5346, 5350, 5352, 5354, 5360, 5362, 5364, and 5366)1%

• Engineering Assistants (5342, 5350, 5360) adjusted to Engineering Assistant II rate

• Accountant (1650) 5% (1650s currently receiving Acting Assignment Pay as a result of the Riker award shall no longer receive it)

• Senior Systems Accountant (1657) 2.5%

• Supervising Auditor (1686) 2.5%

• Rehabilitation Professionals (2538, 2540, 2542, 2548, 2550, 2556, and 2558) additional salary step after five years at top step

• Mental Health Specialist (2551) 7% above class 2555

• Physician Assistant (2218) parity with Nurse Practitioner (2328)

• Asst. Forensic Toxicologist I (2456) parity with Criminalist (8260)

• Asst. Forensic Toxicologist II (2457) parity with Senior Criminalist (8262)

• Forensic Lab. Technician (2403) parity with Asst. Forensic Toxicologist I (2456)

• Airport Property Specialist I (9206) wage increase that is closest to but does not exceed $14,000

• Statistician (1804, 1806) study by 9/1/98 to determine appropriate wage rates, possible merger with Administrative Analyst series

• County Surveyor, 5% premium to the employee designated by DPW Director as County Surveyor

Tuition Reimbursement:

• expands funds available to $50,000 per year

• provides for up to $500 per person per year, subject to funding availability

• mechanism to guarantee broad-based distribution to applicants

Sick Leave:

• removal of cap on accumulation

Compensatory Time Off:

• 160 hour cap with employees at cap permitted to use comp. time within three months

• cash out permitted in accordance with Annual Salary Ordinance

• comp. time accumulation to be reflected on paychecks by 6/30/99

Parental Release Time:

• two hours paid leave per semester to participate in activities of school or day care facility

• 40 additional hours may be granted (using vacation, unpaid leave or comp time)

Personnel Records:

• materials older than three years barred from determination in discipline

Standby Pay:

• 10% of base pay when required to be available for immediate call and equipped by the City with an electronic paging device or cell phone

• 25% of base pay when not equipped with electronic page or phone

Shift Differential:

• preserves current dollar amounts for those presently receiving it and 8% for all others assigned to shift work

Automobile Allowance:

• provides $40 per month in addition to IRS mileage rate for Construction Inspectors and Rehabilitation Professionals assigned to home health care for use of personal vehicle for work

Travel Pay:

• $5/day available to anyone who lives in San Francisco and works at remote sites (Airport, Millbrae, Sunol or Sharp Park)

Acting Assignment Pay --- Water Quality Chemists:

• available to Senior Chemists assigned to act as supervisors

• 20 consecutive days required

• half-day assignments credited

• paid in accordance with provisions of Acting Assignment Pay

Information Technology Classifications --- Substeps:

• advance all employees in substeps to step one effective 7/1/98 (further advance as provided for in provisional employee language, if applicable)

Fire Safety Inspectors:

• replaces existing language with general parity language

Cell Phone Usage --- Rehabilitation Professionals

• available to rehab professionals in home health assignments with a minimum of 10 available for staff use

• City reimbursement for costs of personal cell phone usage for work

Union City Relations Committee:

• mandates quarterly meetings

• authorizes subcommittees

• may be used to settle grievances by mutual consent

Health Costs for Employees Increase over 300% in City Plan I

Many City employees have received notification from the Health Service System that their health benefit premium co-pays in City Plan I will escalate as much as 368%. For instance, an engineer at PUC with dependent coverage will see premium co-pays rise from $25 to $92 bi-weekly. A retiree who is raising grandchildren would see premiums escalate to $5,000 per year.

Salt in the Wound. Such an increase in health costs hurts, but the Health Service System has poured salt in the wound. members who went to HSS to investigate which plans would best cover their medical needs during this current open enrollment period were told, "There is no information available, and, there won't be any before the open enrollment deadline." In order to make prudent, informed decisions regarding your family's health care you, at the very least, need information.

Special Meeting of the HSS Rates & Benefits Committee. Local 21, along with other unions representing City employees, provided testimony before the Health Service System Rates & Benefits Committee on May 18th. A litany of concerns was aired at the meeting: 1) inadequate or no notification to members and their unions; 2) members being told by HSS that there wouldn't be any information available before the open enrollment deadline; 3) the City hasn't been following the maintenance of conditions and benefits and/or cost containment provisions that exist in some union contracts; 4) not enough time for members to shift gears mid-stream in the open enrollment period (particularly if you have specific medical conditions and doctors).

Local 21 requested an extension of the open enrollment period, information, and meetings to discuss the problems with City Plan I. The Committee agreed to extend the open enrollment period to 5:00 p.m. June 5th -- still not much time. Enrollment applications sent to the Health Service System must be postmarked not later than June 5, 1998. Commissioner Heldfond agreed that they need to let members know what their options are.

Contract Protection. As members scramble to take care of their health benefits during "open season" our Agreement with the City is finally in place and will provide protection ("indexing") against skyrocketing rates (see med/arb story). But it looks as though the Health Services System will be chaotic for some time.

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