Local AFSCME chapter plans to file grievance over longevity pay

RICHMOND, Ind. — Leaders of the union that represents workers in three departments for the city of Richmond say they plan to file a formal grievance related to negotiations over their contract for 2018.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1791 represents workers in Richmond's street, sanitation and parks departments.

Collectively, the group rejected the city's contract offer in a 56-5 vote earlier this month. That led Mayor Dave Snow to call for the formation of a fact-finding panel to help hammer out an agreement.

► RELATED: Richmond, AFSCME hit impasse on contract negotiations

Snow told Richmond Common Council members on Tuesday that the city's offer included a pay raise as well as increases in longevity pay and clothing allowance but declined after the meeting to give more details about the amounts of those hikes.

Mike Reese, the president of the local AFSCME chapter, told the Palladium-Item the wage hike was the same 2 percent raise that other city employees already have received for 2018, and the clothing allowance would have gone up to $600 from the current $500 figure.

But it's the longevity pay that became the breaking point.

Under AFSCME's 2017 contract with the city, workers were given a bonus of $20 per year of service. In the proposed deal for this year, the administration had offered to take that up to $30.

The union countered by asking for 0.25 percent of an employee's base pay for every year with the city.

"That is truthfully the only thing that held this up. We asked for not even half of what the other two bargaining units get and we got rejected," Reese said.

Those other two bargaining units are the police and fire unions, both of which get substantially higher longevity pay.

For the police department, an officer is paid $500 plus 1.25 percent of the base salary for a first-class patrolman (which is just fewer than $45,000) for each year of service.

When it comes to firefighters, longevity pay is a bit more complicated. For the first two years of their employment, they get $938.73 each year. For years three and four, that number goes up to $1,638.73.

After that, firefighters are paid $938.73 plus 0.5 percent of their base pay for each year of service (minus one year). In 2019, that percentage will change to 1.25 to match the police officers.

“Employees working for the city would have to work 20 years to get their longevity up to the lowest level for police and fire," said Ron Richmond, communications coordinator for AFSCME Council 962, which is based in Indianapolis.

There's a fourth union that represents Richmond's transit workers. It's contract uses the same longevity pay as what AFSCME gets.

"We're not trying to get over on anybody. A quarter of a percent I thought was pretty fair," Reese said.

The basis for the grievance is a "me too" clause in AFSCME's contract that states, "If the City negotiates a higher across the board raise or bonus with any other City Bargaining Unit, the AFSCME unit shall also receive such higher raise or bonus."

It's a clause that the union hasn't sought to enforce in the past, but Reese said the mayor's move to go to fact-finding changed that.

"To me, I thought we could sit back down at the table one more time (after the contract offer was voted down)," Reese said.

The grievance process would run parallel to the fact-finding panel's work. According to AFSCME's contract, meetings would be held with the city's human resources officer and potentially a grievance committee consisting of various city and union officials to try to work things out.

Should those efforts fail, the case would be taken before an independent arbitrator.

“The bottom line is that we have a strong case just based on the language of the contract," Richmond said.

Jason Truitt is the team leader and senior reporter at the Palladium-Item. Contact him at (765) 973-4459 or jtruitt@pal-item.com.