City contract talks stall City contract talks stall (July 09, 2004)

Employees won't have a new contract for six weeks

By Jon Wiener

The city has not met with its employees union since its contract expired July 1. And if recent history is any guide, the sides will soon be needing outside help reaching a new deal.

The Service Employees International Union Local 715 (SEIU) represents approximately 170 service and maintenance employees in Mountain View. The city and union have been meeting once or twice a week since April, but could not reach an agreement before the previous contract expired last week. The city council went on recess this week, and no contract can be finalized until it reconvenes on Aug. 17. But neither side seems to expect to have a deal done by then.

The tension became apparent last week, when one third of the union turned out at the June 29 city council study session, hoping to pressure the city to strike a deal before the recess. But last-minute negotiations fell through due to the absences of the negotiators.

The city's employees, with the exception of the police and fire staffs which have their own contracts, are working under the terms of the previous contract.

Kathy Farrar, the city's employee services director, said it is city policy not to negotiate through the press. But she did respond to comments that the city was not dealing with the union in good faith.

"From our position, it's been a pretty reasonable process and we've tried to be fair," she said.

Union members disagreed, calling the city's offer "a slap in the face."

The union is asking for binding arbitration and a retirement enhancement, which it says will ultimately help reduce the city's payroll by encouraging earlier retirements. The employees are also asking the city not to cap medical insurance costs for them and retirees and not to reduce one of its overtime programs. Additionally, the union has asked for a 3-percent wage increase compared to the city's offer of 1.5 percent.

Both sides said they are trying to avoid layoffs and would like to help keep payroll down. The city employs nearly 600 workers, and labor costs are approximately 80 percent of its operating budget.

Dan Roberts, a union steward and maintenance worker at the Shoreline landfill, is one of 16 SEIU members on the health plan the city would like to cap. He said his monthly premium has gone up from nothing to $147 in the five years he's worked for the city. If the city gets its way, that amount will increase to $288.

Roberts said the health plan is necessary for his wife to get medication she needs. "It's one of the things that's very attractive (about working for the city)," he said.

Some city council members privately expressed sympathy for the union workers but dispute the notion that the city should offer more benefits because it is in a better financial position to do so than other cities that already have. One pointed out that council members have not received an increase in their stipend since 1975.

Last year, the union agreed to roll over its previous contract, signed in September of 2000, forgoing a pay raise and instead accepting a one-time $715 bonus which workers now say did not even cover rising health insurance premiums.

"No matter if it's a good time or a bad time, they're still looking for takeaways from employees," said Danielle Sanderson, a work site organizer for SEIU.

The 2000 contract and the two previous contracts were reached only after the two sides declared an impasse, bringing in a state mediator to help them find a middle ground. State law requires the union to declare an impasse before it can go on strike. But neither side is worried about that now.

"If there's a threat of a strike, we'll have a contingency plan in place," said Farrar.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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