By Bonnie Eslinger
San Jose Mercury News
MENLO PARK, Calif. — Tension between the Menlo Park Fire Protection District and its firefighters over contract talks that stalled 18 months ago likely won’t ease anytime soon.
The head of the firefighters union said Tuesday the group will reject the “last, best and final offer” made by the district’s board of directors that expires today.
John Wurdinger, president of the Menlo Park Firefighters Association, said unless the offer improves, the union will not return to the bargaining table. Instead, it will wait until May, when the Public Employment Relations Board takes up a complaint over the negotiations the union filed last year. The state board oversees collective bargaining for government workers.
“If they keep offering us a zero-percent salary increase, (the Public Employment Relations Board) will make the decision,” Wurdinger said. “There’s nothing new to say.”
The district’s final offer is similar to one made in August — offering no raises but doubling a monthly benefits allowance to $1,500.
However, the “last, best” designation comes with legal weight. If the union doesn’t accept the offer, under labor law, the district can impose the terms on the firefighters, said Richard Bolanos, an attorney working on the district’s negotiating team.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the plan,” Bolanos said. “Once we hear back from the association, or we don’t hear anything, the board will review its options.”
It’s also a short-term “bridge” agreement ending in June, which will allow the parties to go back to the bargaining table, the district has said.
The firefighters’ complaint to the Public Employment Relations Board says that the board has engaged in regressive bargaining, ever since contract negotiations in mid-2008 put a 20-percent raise over several years back on the table, according to Wurdinger.
The economy has soured since the discussions began, the district has countered.
The tension between the firefighters and the district has been “difficult,” said fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman. And a Public Employment Relations Board decision could be years down the line, he said.
“Three years of negotiation have been hard on everybody, and we all wish it had turned out possibly different,” he said. “And it may not be over yet.”
Copyright 2010 San Jose Mercury News