Today, courtesy of the Arizona Republic’s AZ Fact Check 11 campaign, we have accumulated proof of the deliberate misrepresentation of our benefits and salaries.

His email newsletters claimed that our longevity and merit increases were undisclosed to the public and that “City Manager Cavazos hides $28.9 million in raises.”

Among the details present in the article are two basic facts:

• January 2010: With the $270 million general-fund budget shortfall, the Phoenix Human Resources Department sends costing proposals to city employee unions. The proposals outline options each labor unit could consider to cut employee pay and reduce the budget for fiscal 2010-11 and 2011-12. Suspending merit pay raises and longevity bonuses are on the table.

• March 23, 2010: The Phoenix City Council reviews labor contracts which mention merit pay increases and longevity bonuses throughout the documents. The City Council approved the labor contracts with pay cuts, step increases and longevity bonuses on an 8-0 vote. Sal DiCiccio was included in the unanimous decision.

The Arizona Republic article concludes with a statement that says that “elected officials knew about step pay raises and longevity bonuses through memos and meetings.”

Our own conclusions will go one step further: Sal DiCiccio’s statements to the contrary are clearly false, and are designed to mislead the public to further his political career.

We know that the accusations are false. And now, we have these words from our Mayor to echo just how unfair and dishonest those statements have been. Please read them carefully, and if you like, leave a comment or say thank you to Mayor Gordon for his support during these difficult financial times.

“Yesterday, I posted a blog and sent out an email expressing my support for the more than 14,000 of you who make this city one of the world’s best. I did so because I felt that it was past time for people to hear the truth about our budget, the truth about City of Phoenix salaries and the truth about how hard we’re all working to do more with less.”

“Since then, I’ve been flooded with “thank you” emails and social media messages from across Phoenix. In return, I want to thank you for your support and let you know that you do have leaders in elected office who appreciate your many sacrifices and your hard work.”

“The time for silence is past, for me and, I hope, for you.”

“Feel free to take my thoughts below and pass them along to your members. Also, please don’t hesitate to add your voice to this debate in a respectful, civil fashion. Lies that go unaddressed have a way of becoming the truth. We cannot let that happen and have our city reach its full potential.”

Best,
Phil

Mayor Gordon’s Open Letter

How would you like it if you spent years working to build a city, making it the best place in the world to live, work and do business, only to watch self-serving naysayers tear it down, either to fatten their wallets or to make a grab for higher office?

You would feel frustrated. I know that, because so many of you have shared your frustrations with me. You’re sick of the constant negativity. You’ve spent years making this city a better place, fighting to create jobs, grow the economy and rebuild our downtown. You’ve told me you want the truth to come out.

Welcome to the City of Phoenix, where many of us have worked together for decades, and where city government strives every day not only to create a first-class city, but to conserve every last taxpayer dollar. We’ve heard you. We get it. We work for you. Every dollar we spend comes from you. We must do more with less.

That’s not an empty sentence. That’s how our city does business. Yet to hear the naysayers tell it, we’re a city full of pigs at the trough.

Let me give you an example of how those who seek to tear down the city use an old tactic – games with statistics – to do their dirty work.

Last week, Councilman Sal DiCiccio sent an email to thousands of Phoenix residents. I know Sal well. In fact, as he’d tell you if you asked, I was instrumental in having him appointed to his seat in District 6. That’s why Sal playing fast and loose with the facts disappoints me. How does he do it?

For starters, the email carries a headline that uses carefully chosen wording to distort the truth: “$100,000/yr city employees to get big bonuses.”

For months, this has been an unceasing refrain: That City of Phoenix employees make $100,000 a year.

There’s a word for that claim: False.

The average salary for every employee in the City of Phoenix, according to our Budget and Research team, is $60,104 a year. But let’s go inside the numbers.

About 3 percent of our employees earn a salary over $100,000. They’re our top management, our civil engineers, our architects, our judges – in short, the folks who make sure you have clean water, that our buildings are safe and that our laws are followed. Are they well-paid? Yes. Are they paid better than they would be in the private sector? Absolutely not.

After that group comes our police officers and fire fighters, first responders, men and women who run toward danger while we seek refuge. The average police officer salary in Phoenix is $70,437 annually. For a firefighter it’s $72,132. For police supervisors – our most experienced cops, our sergeants and lieutenants – it’s $86,257 a year.

Can we get cheaper heroes? I imagine so, but could we rely on those younger, less experienced heroes when we’re threatened by danger? I’d rather not find out.

Finally, there’s everyone else in the city, our librarians, our park rangers, our supervisors and managers. The supervisors earn an average of $68,000 per year. And the rest of the nearly 15,000 employees of our city?

That group – more than 7,000 positions, or about half our total head count – earns an average salary of $43,345 a year.

Is that a healthy salary? In these times, yes. But it isn’t $100,000 a year. In fact, it isn’t even close.

So how did we arrive at that fantastic headline? You know the old saying – there’s lies, damn lies, and statistics. Councilman DiCiccio simply takes every single dollar that could possibly be associated with the cost of employing someone and he treats it as compensation. That’s every workmen’s comp payment, every Social Security dollar, every unemployment insurance payment, every dime for Medicare, every dollar for insurance premiums, every uniform allowance, every dollar spent on police safety gear, everything.

Frankly, if I used math like that, I could start referring to Councilman DiCiccio as the “$100,000-a-year Councilman,” by counting not just his $61,600 annual salary from Council and his $7,477 “double dip” pension from his last Council term, but every other benefit and expense that accrues to his employment.

I wouldn’t do that, of course. Because, while it might be semantically accurate – and kind of funny – it’s not what I consider to be the truth, in context.

It’s like saying that the city paid more than $200 million last year for employee pensions. Is that a lot of money? Yes, but it’s also about 5 percent of the city’s $3.5 billion in total spending for the year. That ratio compares more than favorably with private sector businesses that employ 15,000 employees, many of whom receive defined benefit pensions.

As for the city’s health benefits package and holiday schedule, which the Councilman calls “Cadillac” and “generous,” again they compare favorably with private sector companies of a similar size. More important, though, is the trend in the size of Phoenix government and the measures we’ve put in place to steward taxpayer dollars.

I’d file those under “Things The Naysayers Never Bother To Mention.”

Here’s the truth, not the spin of a politician seeking elected office. As you likely know, I’m termed out in January 2012, so I’m not hamstrung by the need to spin.

The City of Phoenix General Fund budget for 2010-11 is $79.2 million – or 7.2 percent – lower than our budget five years ago. This despite a 6 percent population increase and the opening of dozens of new city facilities.

Our General Fund budget is $185.5 million less, or 15.5 percent lower, than our peak budget in 2007-08.

You can follow the logic, I’m sure. When times were flush and our population and economy were growing, city government worked to further that growth. As the economy turned sour and we looked for ways to cut back, we slashed spending and ramped up efforts to do more with less.

That’s why the city has cut its budget 6 out of the past 7 years. We’re likely the only big city in America who can make that claim, by the way.

That’s why city workers agreed to a 3.2 percent pay cut last year – an agreement set to save us $100 million over the two years. That’s why property taxes in Phoenix have dropped 40 percent. That’s why we’ve instituted an Innovation and Efficiency Task Force that, thus far, has saved our city more than $20 million. And that’s why our head count of employees has steadily dropped from a high of 16,171 in July 2008 to 14,531 employees today.

Today we have the smallest city government, per capita, that Phoenix has enjoyed in 40 years (despite having a larger population by more than a million residents). We have 1,600 fewer employees than we did at our peak, jobs we’ve cut through attrition, not gimmicks. We’ve preserved our AAA-bond rating and we’ve received numerous national awards for management excellence and budget transparency.

We’ve accomplished all that while keeping our neighborhoods safe – our crime rate is at a 20-year low – and keeping valuable services, like libraries and senior centers, operating at reasonable levels.

Is our city perfect? No. We’ve made mistakes and we still have problems that need solving. But we’re working hard to be the best city in America, even in the midst of an unprecedented economic downturn. We’re doing it by taking care of taxpayer dollars and telling you the truth, accusations aside.

Speaking of which, here’s my favorite: That the city has offered workers “a $16,000 bonus for doing a good job.”

Uh, guilty as charged. Kinda, sorta.

The truth is, yes, we’ve ramped up a bonus program for employees who make suggestions – a program that’s been in place since the 1970s. The idea probably sounds familiar, since you may very well have a similar program where you work.

Employees make suggestions meant to save the city money. If a suggestion is adopted, that employee gets a one-time bonus. Last fiscal year, we got about 175 ideas from employees. We adopted 20. That saved the city about $435,000.

The one-time bonuses? They totaled $20,600. All of them, together. A savings of $415,000 isn’t bad in return for a $20,000 investment.

This month, we changed the rules to give employees more incentive to get involved. We held numerous public meetings to discuss how an employee should be rewarded for saving the city a significant amount of money. The $16,000 figure Councilman DiCiccio quotes is the absolute top bonus available, the cap. To earn it, an employee would need to save the city nearly $2 million.

Compare that to the headline: “$100,000/yr city employees to get big bonuses”

You’ve come to me by the hundreds over the past year-plus, expressing your frustrations over the deceit, the distortions and the accompanying silence. You’ve told me you want the truth to come out, to hear about the progress we’ve made and the reforms we’ve passed.

I can’t simply stand by and allow baseless attacks to go unanswered. That’s why you’ve received this piece. I’m sure the naysayers will respond with more skewed stats and more distortions … but now you have the truth.

Please forward this message to all concerned taxpayers.

Thank you.

Phil Gordon
Mayor of Phoenix

Unit 3 had to negotiate six furlough days per MOU year to reach the concessions demanded by the City of Phoenix. Since we don’t have the deferred compensation other units had since our members have always wanted the money in wages we had to come up with another way to reach 3.2% in concessions. It was either furlough days or further cuts to wages or cutting longevity or merit wages. With furlough days there is some benefit to the employee since they do get the day off.

As with any time off, employees must request and be approved for the time by supervision prior to taking the time off. If you take furlough pay even though the time is unpaid.

Remember, there are three paychecks in July and December this year, so those would be good months to schedule furlough days. We know some employees have scheduled vacation days for a furlough day to reach their quota. Employees are expected to keep track of their furlough obligation. Also keep in mind if you work 4-10 schedule you can take a full 10 hour furlough.

We were able to negotiate with human resources to allow employees to to take four hours off as furlough time rather than a full day in Unit 3. In some departments (with the Director’s approval) less than four hours may be taken. This would allow employees to take less than a day off for a doctor’s appointment or other activity.

Through ECHRIS you can also increase your withholding tax to lessen the effect of the furlough day on your net pay. Just remember to go back in and change it to a normal withholding after that pay period so you don’t end up owing taxes at the end of the year.

If you have any questions, you can call our office or Human Resources/Labor Relations at 602-262-6607.  We are dealing with problems as they arise on a case by case basis.

In solidarity,
Nancy Gray

In late June, the new MOU for 2010 through 2012 will go into effect. Stewards and staff members from the Local 2960 have been busy answering as many questions and concerns as possible from the members in all of our departments. However, we discovered that many of you are asking the same things. We wanted to make an effort to answer as many of those frequently asked questions as possible and made the information accessible to everyone involved. If you still have unanswered questions, feel free to ask away at the bottom of the post. (Questions will be moderated and sent to the most appropriate staff member or steward for an answer.)

Q: What date does the new contract go into effect?

A: July 1st, 2010.

Q: I have vacation time scheduled before the new MOU goes into effect. Can I use furlough days for this vacation, or do I have to wait until the new goes into effect.

A: The 48 hours (6 days) of mandatory furlough time will not take effect until the start of the fiscal year for 2010. This means that furlough time taken prior to this date will not “count” toward the goal of 48 hours per fiscal year. However, city managers have extended the “voluntary furlough program” through the remainder of this budget year, which means that the opportunity may be there. Consult with your management staff if you would like to pursue this option.

Q: Can I use my furlough hours in partial days instead of full shifts?

A: This depends largely on the area in which you work. The city AR policy states that furloughs must be taken in a minimum of 4 hour increments without prior approval from your department head. However, there are department heads who have already given their consent to accommodating furloughs of less than four hour intervals. Our advice is to involve the union stewards in conversations with the managers in your area as early in the process as possible. We are all looking for solutions that will minimize the impact of the furlough time on our employees. If it works for your managers and it works for you… it works for us.

Q: Will people be allowed to carry over more than the maximum vacation time or for the next two years? What will happen in 2012 when our vacation banks have an extended amount of time in them? Will the vacation buyout for people retiring in the next two years be allowed to exceed the current 450 hour maximum?

A: Because we conceded our ability to buy back our vacation time for the next two years, the current cap of vacation time hours has been extended through the duration of the 2010-2012 MOU. When this benefit is restored in 2012, the existing vacation buy back rules should resume.

For those lucky enough to be retiring within this two year period of time, the City of Phoenix will still pay you for your accumulated vacation hours up to the current cap of 450 total hours.

Q: When is the last vacation buyback period, and what are the requirements for me to sell my vacation back to the City?

A: The last opportunity to cash in your vacation time will occur in the last pay period in May. In order to cash out vacation time, you must have already used at least 40 hours of either comp time or vacation. A maximum of 40 hours of vacation may be sold back to the city.

[donotprint]Note: Prior to March 15th, this answer stated that employees could sell back up to 80 hours of vacation time in May. The benefit has a maximum of 80 hours of vacation time over the course of a year, but the rule of 40 hours at a time is still in effect from our existing MOU. Our apologies for any confusion that this may have caused.[/donotprint]

Q: Will the accumulation of comp time hours be effected by our new contract?

A: No. The only foreseeable effect on your comp time banks will be the inability to sell off accumulated comp time annually. The buy back period for this benefit was in December which falls after the start of our fiscal year. (The vacation buy back periods and comp time buy back periods are different.) Comp time accumulated in excess of the 200 hour maximum will automatically be converted into cash, just like it always has been. And, of course, you may still use comp time hours as paid vacation hours just like before.

Q: Other units were able to negotiate for significantly less than 48 hours in furlough time. How did that work?

A: The other units in question were able to concede other benefits that equaled out to 3.2% of their total benefits and wages owed to them by the city. Other units, for example, were  able to give back higher amounts of their deferred compensation or a higher percentage of their wages to make up the difference.

Q: Could we have given back our tuition reimbursement funding instead?

A: We tried. City personnel were not willing to negotiate this point with any of the bargaining units, feeling that an educated workforce would be worth more to the citizens of Phoenix in the long run. It wouldn’t have made that big of a difference anyway; it was only worth approximately $800,000.

Q: What about funding for uniform allowances?

A: Again, we tried. The issue at hand was that uniform allowances did not amount to a dollar savings that made it worth our while to consider the option. There are not a lot of employees in the Local 2960 who receive this benefit to begin with. These employees would likely have still been required to wear job-specific attire to work every day. This would have been an additional out of pocket expense in an already strained paycheck.

Q: Why was there only one option presented to us for ratification? Other units seemed to have more flexibility in choosing the options that worked for them.

A: Of the seven collective bargaining units that negotiated with the City of Phoenix officials, exactly one had a ballot that allowed its members to pick and choose from a set of concession options.To the leadership within the Local 2960, the fact that they needed to do this suggests that they had not been in touch with their constituents prior to the barganing process this year.

Before any member of the Local 2960 began to speak with city personnel, we surveyed our members for their opinions of which issues were most important to them. The survey results allowed us to go into the negotiation with a specific direction in mind. Your feedback to us told us that wages and longevity pay ranked among the highest priority and we sought to protect as much of those benefits as possible during our negotiations. Negotiating for protections in longevity pay could not take place fairly without negotiation for merit increases as well. (We didn’t wish to unfairly protect our senior employees and expose our junior members who are still subject to merit increases.) Knowing that we needed to protect these three things, we constructed our concession package to the city accordingly.

Turnout for our surveys was only about 10% of the total overall membership of the Union. So if you feel under represented, and you did not return a survey this year, you have only yourselves to blame. We will be looking into ways to make sure that your opinions can be heard more clearly when we enter negotiations for 2012, including the possibility of submitting your survey online in addition to by mail or in person.

Q: What was the concession package worth in dollar amounts?

A: First, we would like to stress that, unlike some of the other bargaining units, we did not blindly give back money to the city. Every dollar conceded was accompanied by a specific goal in mind. “Want us to take a pay cut? Fine, save this department from being eliminated.”

Overall, the negotiated package conceded 3.2% of the total overall expenditure of the city on Unit III employees back to the general fund in order to balance the city budget for the next two years. These concessions were necessary in order to save approximately 170 jobs that would have otherwise been eliminated to make ends meet.

In actual dollar amounts, the package was close to $6 million. The 1% wage reduction was worth about $1.5 million. The majority of the money conceded came from the 48 hours of furlough time, which was worth $3.5 million dollars. Vacation buyback, linguistic pay and the .01% deferred compensation cut made up the $1 million dollar difference.

The current budget situation brought forth an unprecedented necessity to concede our hard earned dollars and benefits; in the history of the Local 2960, we have never taken this deep of a cut in wages or benefits. We hope never to have to do this again.

Q: Did we gain anything at all in these negotiations?

A: Absolutely. 170 people will still be receiving a paycheck tomorrow. Many of these people had received notices from the City informing them that their positions had been eliminated prior to our negotiations. They then came back to work with notices in hand saying that they no longer needed to worry about the loss of income or benefits.

The groups of employees that were directly effected by the efforts of or negotiation team will be featured on this web site as soon as possible. They include a group of full time and part time employees who supply 6,000 meals per day to city residents.  75% of an entire department of fire inspectors were spared the chopping block. Employees of numerous libraries and community centers still have jobs thanks to negotiations done at the Local 2960′s table.

Q: That’s great for them, but my job was never in danger. How do I personally benefit from the concessions?

A: Still not convinced, huh? What about the possibility of working a half a day every other Friday for the next two years?

Time away from work is as much of a benefit as a uniform allowance or a merit increase. Instead of taking a larger cut in your wages, you now have the option to just relax for a few extra hours a month. Furlough time may represent the loss of income to some, but it can also mean more time at home with loved ones. You can also choose to carry forward the savings by scheduling time off in the mornings instead of taking your little ones to day care. Ever want to make your son or daughters tee ball games more frequently? How about doing a little more volunteer work? All of this is possible with the necessity of taking off furlough hours to save the city money. We encourage you to make this work in your favor!

Q: Taking furlough time will effect the gross amount of money I am earning for this year, and will effect the amount of money that I have available for my retirement. Is it possible to write a check back to the general fund instead of taking furlough time?

A: Yes, it will be possible to do this. However, the amount that you will need to give back to the general fund includes the daily cost of your health and insurance benefits as well as your hourly salary. We estimate that this should be about 120% to 125% of your hourly rate. If this is an option you would like to pursue, contact the union hall for the procedure.

Q: We are taking a 1% reduction in our wages for the next two fiscal years. How will this be calculated?

A: You should see a 1% reduction in your wage rate for what ever step you are in in your current pay plan. Keep in mind, however, that merit increases based on your years of service are still in tact, as well as the longevity pay that you accumulate if you are already at the top of your pay scale.

Q: What is a “sunset clause” and why is it important?

A: The “sunset” clause is a statement in our MOU that guarantees that the concessions that we have made this year will be restored in two fiscal years when we negotiate our 2012-2014 contract. This means that at a bare minimum, our benefits will be restored to our current levels by July of 2012.

When the time comes in two years, we expect to gain much more than we lost in this round of negotiations. Our ability to do this will depend on your continued support and feedback. We will continue to negotiate diligently to ensure that our union brothers and sisters get the wages and benefits that we so rightly deserve.

The final count was 85% in favor of the package and 15% opposed.

Approximately 40% of the 1008 registered union members showed up to cast their vote on Friday. It was easily the biggest turnout for a contract ratification that the Local has ever had.

The changes that were made will begin to take effect on July 1st, 2010, which is the start of the fiscal year for the City of Phoenix.

The concessions as they were listed in the ballot proposal will be incorporated into the new Memorandum of Understanding for 2010-2012. We will have a copy of that MOU for download on the website as soon as it is written and verified by the Executive Board and our Local staff members.

Our task was not easy this year. We were asked to risk people’s jobs, absorb lost benefits and take cuts in our paychecks. And yet, as I personally watched people having to wedge their ballots into the box toward the end of the day, I noticed a funny thing. People were still managing to smile. Handshakes and hugs were passed out freely. Our brothers and sisters within the union stood firm together.

This election has provided many stories of triumph and successes across all of our departments. In the upcoming weeks while we prepare the final version of the new MOU, I hope to share the ones that I overheard with you all within these pages.

I also know that there are still lots of questions out there. Our stewards are equipped with many of the answers, and the time to start getting organized for the upcoming changes is now.

Also, feel free to general questions here, but please make them constructive. (Negative comments will be deleted; the time for negotiation is officially over.) You are most likely not alone with some of your concerns. It is the mission of the Local 2960 to do the best we can in helping you find the answers.

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Our negotiations team was not happy about agreeing to concessions, but unfortunately the City didn’t leave us a choice. If we didn’t come to an agreement with the City voluntarily then the City Council would determine what happens. In these rough economic times and with the City’s focus on saving money, they would take the concessions from whatever brought the quickest money – wage cuts, delayed merit increases or suspending longevity. The City Council can only give a one year contract so we would be back at the negotiations table next year. If the economy took a downturn or the City lost state shared revenues the City might ask for more in concessions. We tried to minimize the loss to our members with the concessions chosen. At least with a furlough day there is some benefit to the employee since they get a day off. No one is losing their merit raise or longevity pay. We also did not agree to raise the health insurance from the employee paying 20% to 25% as some other units have considered.

By settling the contract before the City Council approves the budget on March 2nd we were able to save jobs that would have been lost had we not made concessions. Those positions would be eliminated on April 5th.

By agreeing to concessions and not having them imposed on us, we are guaranteed that all wages and benefits cut or suspended will be restored on June 30, 2012. We also have language that if the economy improves a raise may be possible.

Never in my twenty-five years as President of this local has the City of Phoenix ever asked for concessions. These are challenging times. Arizona is not the only state having financial problems. Employees in other states have been faced with everything from 5% pay cuts, 35 hour work weeks and eliminating paid personal days and holidays in Ohio to 5.2% pay cuts, 8 furlough days and eliminating uniform allowances in Tulsa. Hawaii employees are paying a higher portion of their health insurance and working a four day work week. California employees are taking 104 to 156 hours of furlough time annually. Las Vegas employees took an 8% pay cut over the next two years. I am furnishing this information to you to show that we are not alone in this problem. I hope no one is selfish enough to say “Who cares what other cities are doing?”

Unfortunately, with the number of unit members we have lost over the past couple of years and faced losing this year we could not idly sit by and do nothing. Remember, the job we are saving may be yours or your co-worker’s which would affect you on a daily basis.

As always on behalf of the Executive Board, we thank you for your support.

From the President’s Desk is a featured column in the semi-annual newsletter from the Local 2960. You may download the rest of the newsletter in the PDF format from here. (Newsletter – Feb 2010 – SE.pdf)

Concessions

• 1% wage reduction
• 6 (six) 8 hour unpaid furlough days (48 hours total) each year
• Bi- annual vacation buyback freeze
• Compensatory time conversion suspended
• Linguistic Pay is reduced by 50%
• “12-hour rule” overtime benefit is suspended
• Employer deferred compensation contribution is suspended (.1%)

All concessions will be restored June 20th, 2012.

The acceptance of any concessions is a difficult undertaking. But, when faced with our brothers and sisters losing their jobs and City Council mandating cutting merit increases, longevity and wages, the board felt that having a say on how these concessions would be enacted was vital.

Contract Ratification

On February 26th, 2010 Unit III members will have an opportunity to ratify the concession package.  A 3.2% total concession package is what has been agreed upon in other units.  An estimated $6.7 million has been saved to restore city services and positions.  The package is explained below and will potentially save 70 jobs in a wide area of services.

This contract must be ratified by Union Members prior to it taking effect on July 1st, 2010.

2% Food tax

On Feb 3^rd 2010 the City of Phoenix Council passed a 2% sales tax on grocery items by a 6 to 3 vote.  The tax is expected to generate $12.5 million for the balance of the fiscal year ending June 30^th, 2010 and $50 million for the next fiscal year.  Unit III is expected to gain over 100 positions in libraries, recreation and senior centers, and civilian police positions.

Furlough Days

Among the hardest decisions that the negotiation team needed to make was the decision to concede  furlough days as opposed to a bigger reduction in wages. However, furlough days are being used to settle budget deficits in organizations around the country. The following is a list of municipalities and the number of furlough days they have scheduled or have already taken.

• Arizona State University- 15 days (2009)
• City of Tucson- 5 days Jan 1, 2010- June 1, 2010 (unsure  # after)
• City of Chicago – 15days- (2009), 24 days- (2010)
• City of Los Angeles- 26 days (2010)
• City of New Jersey- 12 days (2010)
• City of Seattle – 10 days (2010)
• State of California- 18 days (2009), 18 days (2010)
• State of Georgia- 12 days (2010)
• City of Phoenix Unit III- 6 days (2010)

Reasons for settlement

The main reason for the Executive Board to settle with these concessions was the ability to negotiate how the cuts would affect our members (furlough days instead of longevity and merit increases), safeguards that these concessions would automatically be rescinded at the end of the contract (a sunset clause), and the ability to save as many of our fellow brother and sisters’ jobs as possible while protecting longevity and merit increases.  No one is happy to lose money but in these difficult economic times it is a vital role of the union to minimize the impact to our members and to save positions.

Questions

For any questions or concerns, please click here to send an email, or call the Local 2960 Union Hall as (602) 254-3966

To continue the discussion, please leave a comment either here or in the Local 2960 Forum.

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It is likely that the sales tax will save several hundred jobs over the next few months as budget negotiations continue. In Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor Phil Gordon gave the council the option to reverse the decision after hearing from the public after the other 15 budget meetings are concluded at the end of this month.

The notion that the average City of Phoenix employee also makes $100,000 per year was challenged by members of the public and by city employees from various departments. Councilman Sal DiCccio was responsible for this benchmark being placed in the public domain. He repeatedly suggested to various news outlets that “his calculations show the average total cost per worker is more than $100,000.”

The Arizona Republic’s story on budget concerns calculated that the “records show the median annual salary for full-time city workers was $57,000.” Additionally, AFSCME Members as well as other union members who rallied in support of the grocery tax on Tuesday evening expressed exactly what services that they provided for the members of our town.

We make Phoenix happen, one service at a time, one customer at a time. For those that expressed your support of the grocery tax, thank you. We would also like to encourage you to leave a comment about your experience.