by David Dahlbacka in Beat Reporter, City Finances, Davis Square, Ward 6, Workers' Rights
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:39 am
Last Modified on January 21, 2012 at 11:39 am
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Beat Report: 1/19/12 Finance Committee Meeting of the Whole
Dealing with paying for settlement of Firefighter’s Union contract. Includes proposed closure of West Branch Library.
Heuston, Roche, Sullivan, La Fuente, Connelly, White, Gewirtz, Taylor, Trane. Also Mayor Curtatone, City Solicitor, staff.
Bottom Line on Top
Mayor Curtatone announced memo of agreement with Firefighters Local 76 deferring retroactive payments to next fiscal year. This agreement means no layoffs this fiscal year (including closing West Branch Library). Asked for executive session to discuss next steps, and continuing negotiations with fire alarm operators.
[COMMENT: City will keep its options open until agreement actually signed.]
Rough Notes
Curtatone: Hold action on JLMC [decision of arbitrator on contract dispute with Firefighters Local 76]. There is an agreement to go forward in place of the award. Allow us to preserve services without layoffs. Defer payments to new contracts when we put in appropriation. We will go into executive session.
Have signed memo of agreement. “Win win” for city and the firefighters. Controlled rate of compensation growth. Go to executive session.
Heuston: Procedural steps are what? What do we need to do?
Curtatone: On request for appropriation, place on file or retract it.
Frank (city solicitor): Clock not ticking. If ratified, pass appropriation. Then union would withdraw action with JLMC.
Roche: Commend Union and city for going back to table to avoid service cuts.
Gewirtz: Discussion of no layoffs, but no comment on West Branch Public Library.
Curtatone: Commend Local 76 for coming to table. Leader of union now presenting agreement to membership. City can only pay what we have. Service cuts weren’t nice, but we couldn’t afford more. New agreement respects that. West Branch will remain open, also 31 people would have been laid off.
Gewirtz: Libraries are core services, not peripheral. Alarmed a lot of people. Never got more responses to a newsletter. Glad layoffs not happening. Looking forward to seeing agreement. I hope it is a good agreement.
Curtatone: Budget discussions in this administration always based 3 principles. Respect tax dollars, protect core services, shared sacrifice. Don’t sacrifice the future.
Taylor: Thanks for compromising. Prudent to withdraw appropriation?
Curtatone: Not asking you to take action now. follow lawyer’s recommendation.
White: Sometimes after people have gone through court, backs are firm and emotions are high. Glad to see movement. To solicitor: Once firefighters ratify, firefighters will withdraw their request. Bargaining agreement becomes agreement.
Frank: Yes.
White: OK, then put old appropriation on file.
Trane: Lot of rhetoric going back and forth, good that cooler heads prevailed. Have to keep city employees happy. One point of clarification: S.J. said that weren’t funding community police officers. Is that true?
Curtatone: No layoffs. Community policing intact. Vacant positions not being filled.
Steward: Was to move community police officers into cars. Was not done.
Connolly: What a difference a week makes. Lots of speculation on the Internet. Not so much about the library as about people losing jobs and health insurance. Hopefully union will ratify deal.
Curtatone: We’ve never left the table in negotiations. Local 76 reached out over weekend.
Sullivan: Commend administration and Local 76. Didn’t think cuts were politically motivated. Reflected reality. Glad it ended OK.
[COMMENT: Politically motivated or not, selection of West Branch Library was shrewd. Closing libraries affects everybody; closing West Branch Library affects West Somerville in particular.]
La Fuente: Nobody happier than I as first timer. It takes a lot of time to learn the ropes. Can’t give at one end and not take from another. I stayed away from the fray. Have to be responsible to employees and constituents.
Heuston: Was in touch with Local 76. President was presenting agreement to members tonight. I came away with sense this agreement had gone well. Had hard times, but all’s well that ends well. Both parties stepped up to the plate.
Curtatone: This is a good deal for all. Will be budgetary challenges. We can live with it.
Heuston: Executive session?
Frank: My opinion is that we’re almost there. Based on fact that Local 76 has to ratify and we have to appropriate, we go into executive session.
Roll call vote for executive session. (Voted, Gewirtz silent.) To reconvene when done.
[COMMENT: Left after vote for executive session.]
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thanks so much DD! So- what could the mayor mean when he claims it’s a win-win for the firefighters? weren’t they treated unfairly, scapegoated? Didn’t they have to wait years and finally go to court to get the mayor to come to the table? Weren’t their jobs placed at stake, and some even facing demotions, while the mayor drowned out all reasonable and transparent analysis of how these conditions were created in the first place, through his bully pulpit?
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eila
Firefighters demanded raises while the rest of the country only experienced cuts over the last 5 years. 20% raise over 8 years is a hefty raise especially compared to an average joe. I actually command the Mayor for trying to keep their incomes inline with the rest of the country, rather than giving public employees raises in perpetuity.
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