Title
Approval of Agreement Between The Incorporated County of Los Alamos and The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 611, for the period of October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2024.
Recommended Action
I move that Council approve the Agreement Between The Incorporated County of Los Alamos and The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 611, for the period of October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2024.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council approve the Agreement as requested.
Board, Commission or Committee Recommendation
The Utilities Board recommends that the Council approve the motion as presented.
Body
The County and IBEW met through electronic meetings to negotiate a new contract. Several of the updates to the contract were minor edits regarding clarification to processes and also incorporated the inclusion of the Water System Electrical Technicians under the contract.
The significant highlights of contract include:
1) Staff and the Union have agreed to a four year contract that will begin October 1, 2020 and run through September 31, 2024; 2) Effective first full pay period following ratification and signature of the Agreement, a five (5)% salary increase will be applied to all of the employees in the bargaining unit; 3) Effective the first full pay period in fiscal year 2022, a five (5)% increase will be applied to all of the employees in the bargaining unit; 4) Effective the first full pay period in fiscal year 2023, a three (3)% increase will be applied to all of the employees in the bargaining unit; 5) Effective the first full pay period in fiscal year 2024, a one (1)% increase or an increase equal to the difference between 14% and the aggregate percentage amount appropriated by the County Council incorporated into the County's Salary Plan for FY2021 through FY2024, whichever is greater; 6) A one-time lump sum of $300 to be paid on the second pay period following ratification; 7) Boot allowance increased from $125 to $200 a year;
8) Under the Grievance Procedures, language was added that more clearly identifies the process steps and timelines; language has been included to address the cost of a court reporter used for arbitration, the cost will now be split between the two parties and if a party requests a transcript, the requesting party will pay for the transcript; 9) Under Meals and Expenses, if an employee is called out (called back to work outside normal work hours), the employee will be entitled a meal period after four hours and every five hours after until released from work. If the meal period is earned but not taken, they get $20 to be filed through an expense claim.
The IBEW members of Local 611 have ratified the proposed contract.
Alternatives
This 4-year contract is the result of good-faith negotiations between the County and the IBEW and is approximately equivalent to terms and conditions of employment for all regular County employees. Although the parties could continue to negotiate different terms, the staff believes that approval of this contract is in the parties’ best interests.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Planned Item
The negotiations were handled via Microsoft Teams by IBEW, Department of Public Utilities and Human Resources staff. An agreement was reached within seven meetings.
Attachments
A - 2020-2024 IBEW CBA