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.

[print_link]

[contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]