Joe Blumberg
St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The local firefighters union wants a new compensation agreement with the city of St. Joseph, based on a recent court ruling that gave public employees stronger union rights.
The union said it wants to begin collective bargaining with the city. It’s expected, but not yet certain, that firefighters will seek improved pay and benefits.
The firefighters union has been the most active union in confronting city officials over pay and other issues in recent years. The city’s decision last year to suspend the automatic raises associated with the “matrix” didn’t sit well with the union, which has continuously said that St. Joseph firefighter pay lags behind that of other communities.
City Manager Vince Capell said he hasn’t spoken with the union about what it seeks, but he assumed that the union will ask the city to commit to specific salary increases over time.
The bargaining process will likely take at least several months. Mr. Capell said the city would hire a private attorney to handle any negotiations, who would be paid from the city’s general fund.
Firefighters Local No. 77 President Travis Owens wrote the city a letter on Aug. 29 saying it wants to exercise its “constitutional right to bargain collectively” for a “comprehensive agreement” including “wages, hours and employment conditions.” The union also seeks to negotiate back overtime pay that may be required as part of Missouri’s new minimum wage law.
Mr. Capell responded in a letter last week. He recognized the union’s right to collective bargaining, but asked to postpone the overtime issue pending a lawsuit that could sort out the matter.
Mr. Capell released both letters this week. Mr. Owens declined to comment further.
Employees can negotiate as a group, i.e. collectively bargaining, for pay and work standards.
But until a Missouri Supreme Court ruling in May, governments didn’t have to negotiate with public employees. Before, cities could voluntarily “meet and confer,” but they could also nullify the agreements at any point, said University of Missouri-Kansas City labor law professor Mark Berger.
“A government no longer has the right to refuse,” Mr. Berger said. “It must bargain collectively and respect the right to organize.”
It’s unclear what would happen if the two sides can’t agree to terms, because Missouri has no arbitration structure in place for public-employee unions, said Mr. Berger, a member of the National Association of Arbitrators. Public-employee unions still can’t strike.
“What happens if you reach an impasse? I think the answer is nothing,” Mr. Berger said. “The union can’t strike. The union can’t arbitrate.”
Regarding the overtime issue, the city estimates it would owe about $785,000 in retroactive pay from Jan. 1 to June 30, and additional expenditures of $1.627 million a year unless a lawsuit by the Missouri Municipal League makes firefighters exempt from overtime provisions in Missouri’s new minimum-wage law.
The city said it could close three fire stations and lay off 30 firefighters to cover the costs.
Mr. Owens has said firefighters are not in favor of receiving higher overtime pay if it would result in reduced emergency services abilities, but at Monday’s council meeting he again said he’s interested in negotiating the issue.
Copyright 2007 St. Joseph News-Press