And
City
of
Fact
Findings
Arbitrator: Jonathan S. Monat
Date
Issued:
Arbitrator: Monat; Jonathan S.
Case #: 01789-I-78-00056
Employer:
City of
Date Issued:
In the Matter of
Fact Finding )
)
Between )
REPORT OF THE FACT FINDING
THE CITY OF
)
and )
)
______________________________ )
The City of
arrived
at impasse under RCW 41:56, on
finder,
Jonathan S. Monat, was appointed to chair the fact
finding panel.
Other fact finders
appointed were Robert Moffett, President, SPOG, by the
SPOG,
and John Franklin, Negotiator, City of
the
prehearing meeting held on
sentatives of the City and the
Guild to hear proposed agendas and set
groundrules for the
hearing. The factfinding
hearing was held on August 21,
1978,
in the Superintendent's Conference Room,
Although the parties
continued to negotiate prior to the hearing, no
agreement
was reached on the issues. Bargaining
continued after the hearing,
again
with no resolution. A second meeting of
the panel was held on
A major factor
affecting the fact finding process, in addition to
the
number of issues, was the inability of the parties to fully agree on
what
the unresolved issues were. Some
sixty-six exhibits were filed at
the
hearing and numerous post-hearing documents were filed, as well.
In making the
recommendations in this case, the chairman has attempted
to
rely on established collective bargaining principles as a framework for
this
report. Such principles may be found
within the public sector collec-
tive bargaining arena,
RCW 41.56, and the labor relations history of the
City
and SPOG.
An attempt was made to rely fully on factual evidence
rather
than an appeal to subjective opinion unsupported by evidence or
appeals
to conscience.
One principle that
should apply consistently throughout is that set
of
criteria embodied in RCW 41.56.460. Of
particular interest is the
comparison
cities standard, permitting and requiring comparison of
and
SPOG to other similar cities on the West Coast.
The prehearing con-
ference had identified a
set of comparison cities which had been used in
previous
negotiations and firmly established in the 1977 Arbitration Award.
The consistency
provided by use of these same cities is viewed as
tial to responsible
collective bargaining and should not be changed in the
absence
of evidence contrary to the nee& for change.
Many cities proposed
by the Guild, depending on the issue (i.e.;
Detroit, Nassau,
Tonawanda, Jersey City, and so on) are neither comparable
to
the
fact finding chairman include:
Within this
comparison group greater emphasis is given
because
of different economic conditions than found in
recent
drastic tax changes in
are
considered.
In addition, the
chairman generally has minimized comparisons with
the
private sector. It is difficult to
compare public and private wages,
hours,
and working conditions without examining the full package. While
there
may be some similarities, there are many significant differences.
And there is no
equivalent to police officer in the private sector
Job-Created Stress The
Guild presented much evidence that police
work
is very stressful and that police officers suffer a number of stress-
related
illnesses. The chairman is sympathetic
to the job stress issue
and
sensitive to the possibility that job stress may be a real liability
in
the performance of
sented did not show the
clear relationship between job stress and
police
experience. The papers introduced and
the testimony of Dr. Berberich
were
general in nature. There was no showing
that the
ficer job stress illness
experience was different from any other occupa-
tion involving shift
work or from the population in general.
Nonetheless, the
chairman and the panel have given stress some consider-
ation in fashioning this
report and its recommendations. The
weight given
job
stress is low, never being significant nor turning an issue.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Terms Of Agreement
The Guild argues for
a term of agreement based upon achieving an
automatic
cost-of-living escalator in a two-year agreement. With a two-
year
agreement and a
tion and the City can
plan its economic situation more clearly.
According
to
the Guild, the City argued for two- and three-year agreements prior to
the
fact finding hearing but now wants a one-year term.
The City has argued
for a one-year term of agreement at the fact
finding
hearing. It cited unstable economic
conditions and revenue pro-
jections as the basis for a
one-year term of agreement
There are some
strong reasons for a two-year term of agreement. It
would
stabilize the collective bargaining relationship. Recent bargaining
history
between the parties show no real time to study important matters
which
were the basis for Fact Finder Short's recommendations in 1977, for
a
two-year term of agreement. Yet evidence
presented this year suggests
continued
disagreement in these same substantive areas.
Based upon the
bargaining history of the parties; a dispute over
the
appropriate CPI, the politically-motivated equipment issue, and
continued
strong disagreement over medical/dental premium levels and
availability
of medical/dental economic data, a one-year contract is
recommended.
Salary
A major issue to resolve in this report is the
appropriate Consumer
Price Index
(CPI). The Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) changed CPI mea-
sures in June 1978,
creating a revised CPI for Wage Earners/Clerical
Workers
(Revised index) and a second CPI for All Urban Consumers (Urban).
The Guild would have
the chairman and the panel use the All Urban
index
as more representative of police officer life style (GE 15). Inci-
dentally
this index shows the greatest cost-of-living increase. The
Guild argues that
police work is a profession although this claim does
not
use the traditional standards established by industrial sociologists
to
define professions. The Revised Index
does not describe the way police
officers
live.
The City argues for
use of the Revised Index, incidentally the lowest
increase
among CPI measures. But the City notes
that the Dictionary of
Occupational Titles
code puts police officers in the Revised CPI cohort.
Also, a close look
at the All Urban CPI would show many occupational groups
of
nonprofessional stature, such as assembly line workers.
The chairman agrees
that the All Urban CPI is not the appropriate
index
to use. The Guild did not establish a
factual base to show that the
or
that there was a predominant police officer lifestyle. Under such cir-
cumstances, it would be
difficult to avoid the BLS definition.
The chair-
man,
in reviewing all the data offered by the Guild in its many arguments,
has
a nagging concern that the Guild is using an inconsistent set of com-
parisons and/or established
standards of previous negotiations in framing
many
issues.
But the question of
whether to use the unrevised or revised CPI still
remains. The best evidence submitted to the chairman
indicates that the
BLS has carried the
Revised Index back to July 1977, affording continuity
for
the full year since the last agreement.
Prior to receipt of this in-
formation
(City letters of August 31 and September 5, 1978) and its con-
firmation, the best available
information would not have allowed continuity
and
it would have been difficult to depart from the unrevised CPI this year.
But for the above
reasons, a change can be made now. Also,
it should be
noted
that actual cost-of-living increases according to either index are
below
the Guild's extrapolated estimate of 10.52%.
It is recommended that the Revised
Index (Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers) be used in
this agreement and in future negotiations.
It is the
basis
of salary recommendations in this report.
Comparison Cities
The problem of comparison cities is no more clearly
in
evidence than in the area of economic issues.
The chairman has articulated
a
preference for continuity in comparison cities based upon bargaining his-
tory. It is recognized that the Guild has had a
change in leadership and
that
leadership be free to fashion new demands.
But some principles do
carry
forward and appropriate comparison cities is one of those principles.
A very real concern
to the Guild is the impact of Proposition 13 on
previously
negotiated pay increases among comparison cities in
These increases were
withheld by law. The chairman has
reviewed materials
comparing
Proposition 13 and what it might mean in
That comparison is
not a simple one. Given other evidence
presented on
the
However, it is fair
to consider the negotiated increases that would have
taken
effect
provides
the data, as available.
Table I: 1978 Salary
Increases
Negotiated in Comparison Cities
City Increase: Negotiated
or Actual
Long Beach, CA 5.5%
Average 5.4% 7.7%
In examining Table
I, it is interesting to note that the average
increase
in
The actual average
in the
and
arbitrators have placed great weight on comparison cities and greatest
weight
on nearby comparison cities in determining wage increases. The
chairman
believes this is a sound principle as the economic and other
conditions
in
nia comparison
cities. In addition, the PNW increases
are actual figures.
As noted by the
arbitration panel in 1977, the Guild has more than
caught
up with respect to other police officers.
The fact finder is un-
clear
as to how the Guild arrived at an uncompensated loss of $989. The
catch-up
concept is a carrot-and-stick approach that would never ceases.
If the arbitration
panel was correct last year, the present needs are to
retain
parity and purchasing power.
Based upon an
increase of 7.6%, the top step salary would increase
from
$1557 per month to $1675.33, or some $1420 per year. In dollar terms,
this
is far more than the uncompensated loss and does keep the Guild mem-
ber whole with respect
to purchasing power and comparison cities.
The City's data on
revenue losses is unclear as to true impact.
There
is
no evidence of the impact of changing revenues nor an accounting for the
true
impact of some tax changes. At the state
level, for example, a pro-
jected deficit based upon
removal of the food sales tax has been modified
to
a surplus because of the greatly improved economy. The data are am-
biguous and the City has
not argued ability to pay.
The fact finder
would like to deal with the productivity issue in
this
report. There is an emerging trend to
take up the productivity
standard. Unfortunately, there is no conclusive
evidence offered by the
Guild or the City as
to how much productivity is the result of officer
contribution,
administrative practice, or population shifts.
It is recom-
mended
strongly that the City and the Guild meet to agree upon how to
measure
productivity in relation to wage bargaining.
It is recommended
that a 7.6% wage increase be awarded to police
officers
for 1978, retroactive to
Medical/Dental
The fact finder is
faced with rather complex medical/dental positions
which,
in effect, ask the panel to determine what the content of that plan
should
be. Most of the Guild's and the City's
arguments are based upon
police
officers' relationship to average.
However, the Guild's chief con-
cern is not to suffer
loss of income by being required to pay a portion
of
Guild member health premiums. So the
concept of "average" should not
be
used as leverage to increase the cost of medical/dental benefits just
to
increase costs.
Rather the officers
should remain whole with respect to present
benefit
levels. In that way, there is no
economic loss to officers and
there
is a limit to the "blank check" the City might otherwise have to
sign.
The chairman is
frank to admit that the inconsistency of the Guild's
demands
as presented to the panel make it unclear as to what its position
is.
In GE5, there is reference to an average, but the City also paying
too
much. As noted above, these terms have
meaning with respect to
coverage
and remaining whole rather than with respect to varied plans
elsewhere. In GE6, the disparities and inconsistencies
are clear when
the
Guild notes the many varieties of medical/dental plans in comparison
cities.
It is recommended
that the City should continue to pay 100% medical/
dental
coverage for police officers and 100% of dependent premiums. The
employer
shall retain the right to select the insurance carrier. Ortho-
dontics are not an
appropriate benefit at this time. All the Guild's com-
parisons are to private
sector agreements or, in the WEA's case, to a pri-
vate associations. No public sector comparison agencies provide
this
benefit.
Present benefit
packages and benefit levels shall be retained.
Ap-
propriate premium amounts
necessary to support present benefit levels shall
be
identified and placed in the agreement as maximum premiums. By present
benefit
levels, the chairman means same percentages.
For example, if the
cost
of an ambulance was insured at 75% of the cost and the fee rises from
$50 to $100, the
benefit should rise from $37.50 to $75.
Any fund surpluses,
as in the dental plan, in a given year shall be
used
to reduce premium payments for dependent coverage, thus providing
mutual
incentive to control plan experience.
Shift
Differential
The Guild proposes
shift differentials as part of a triumverate of
benefits
(longevity and educational incentive, the others). There is no
precedent
for shift differential anywhere among the comparison cities or
prevailing
practices within the scope of RCW 4l.56.46O, c-e criteria.
Also, a greater
number of Guild members benefit from longevity in real
dollar
terms than they would by shift differential.
An educational in-
centive, properly capped,
might be more appropriate and better received
judging
from the mutual concern of the parties concerning police officer
quality.
Police Reserves
The Guild argues
that the City is using the Police Reserve unit to
offset
reductions in the number of regular police officers. Language has
been
introduced by the Guild in this year's and many previous negotiations,
but
the City has consistently refused to agree to such language. Informally,
the
City has assured the Guild that it was not intending to increase the
reserve
level above 60.
However, the Guild
is concerned about such assurances because a
showed
a fluctuating level of reserve usage but the Guild does not explain
why. In essence, the Guild wants this contract
language to protect job
security.
The City argues that
no other West Coast city among the comparison
cities
limited reserves in the collective bargaining agreement. All but
events
(i.e., football games, King Tut, and so on) and
Thus, the level of
reserve usage fluctuates according to the size and
number
of special events.
The chairman is
swayed by the. City's interpretation of the data while
sympathetic
to the concerns of the Guild. The collective bargaining agree-
ment should not be
written in response to political pressure and rumor,
but
in response to real needs in the employment relationship between the
parties. The data do not support the claim that Guild
members are being
replaced
by reserves. Also, the management rights
clause (Article XIV)
supports
the notion that the City is unrestricted by this agreement in the
use
of police reserves. Police reserves are
mentioned nowhere in the
agreement. The number of police reserves has fluctuated
greatly above
and
below the level of 60 desired as a cap by the Guild. The Guild has
not
protested or explained such fluctuations.
Police Cadet and
Trainee Program
Given the incentive
value of longevity for police cadet and trainee
and
the relatively small cost, it is recommended that those who went
through
the cadet and trainee program be awarded longevity pay for time
in
these programs.
Nondiscrimination
The City argues for
one of three alternatives which will bring the
contract
into conformance with City ordinances as approved by the voters.
Alternatives include
eliminating the whole section, adding words to avoid
conflict
with the ordinance, or including the whole ordinance. That the
collective
bargaining agreement is consistent with the charter is the
desire
of the City.
The Guild argues:
that the contract takes precedence over City
ordinance,
that the contract operates under state law.
It argues passage
of
an initiative in November could remove the offending language, rendering
the
fact finding recommendation useless.
The chairman
recommends that inclusion of the nondiscrimination
clause. To exclude such a clause would be to the
disadvantage of both
parties
and groups presently included. But to
include the whole ordinance
would
be incredibly cumbersome and impractical.
To fail to act because
the
voters might change the ordinance is not appropriate either. The
best
course is for the parties to amend the nondiscrimination clause
presently
in the contract to represent the present coverage of the ordinance.
Should the ordinance
be amended by the voters, the appropriate adjustment
will
be made to the nondiscrimination clause.
Appendix F:
Equipment Required
This issue is a
difficult one for the panel. All City
evidence and
testimony
indicated that shooting and equipment policy will be determined
by
a broad constituency well beyond the collective bargaining relationship.
This presents
problems because the Guild has taken a firm position to con-
trol policy in the
contract as is presently done.
Behind these
positions is a recent rash of shootings involving police
officers
and suspected criminals in the commission of a crime. The Guild
argues
that officer safety is intrinsic to equipment policy. Therefore,
the
Guild must have some degree of certainty in and through collective
bargaining.
Given the likelihood
that City policy on police firearms equipment and
shooting
policy will be determined at or above the level of the Mayor's
Office, the panel's
recommendations may be moot.
Nonetheless, some
recommendations
can be made within the collective bargaining framework.
Once negotiated and
in a contract, an issue would seem to become a
mandatory
subject of bargaining whatever its previous status. To remove
language
unilaterally is not allowable. So the
first recommendation is
to
leave Appendix F in the contract per the parties positions after
The second recommendation
is that the parties add a clause to Ap-
pendix F establishing
membership of a Guild officer(s) on the committee
which
will determine shooting and equipment policy for the City of
The City and the
Guild should establish a joint committee to negotiate
a
new Appendix F to reflect whatever policy may arise from the Mayor's
office.
Recommended, then;
that Appendix F remain in the contract as it
presently
stands without section 2D, that the City agree to Guild member-
ship
on the shooting and equipment committee; and that a joint committee
be
established the negotiate a new Appendix F to account for new policy.
Employment
Practices
As part of an
existing collective agreement under 41.56, Article IV,
sections
1, 2, & 3 are mandatory subjects of bargaining.
Subordination of
Agreement
It is recommended
that the new section be added to Article XVII -
Subordination
of Agreement.
This new section 3 would read as follows:
"It is also understood by the parties
hereto that if any provisions
of this Agreement
are in conflict with the Personnel Ordinance pur-
suant
to City Charter Amendment V which was approved by City of
immediate collective
bargaining negotiations to reconcile any
conflicting
provision of this Agreement to provisions of said
Ordinance."
The chairman makes
this recommendation since the Charter would
seem
to take precedence over the contract.
Hence, the contract should
provide
an orderly mechanism to resolve any conflict and, thus, promote
a
stable collective bargaining relationship.
The fact finder has
reviewed holiday premium issues and, based
upon
comparison city data, sees no reason to pay premium for holidays not
worked. The payment of a day's pay is
sufficient. The number of holi-
days
is not an issue. This position was
clarified and reinforced at the
meeting
of
Chief Dispatcher
The Guild's major
argument is one of job security. GElO purports to
show
that a police department document, in effect, guarantees the Chief
Dispatcher will be a
police officer. GElOA
details the Chief Dispatcher's
responsibilities
and appears to emphasize police background.
Workload data
were
introduced (GElOC) to show that the bulk of the calls
(40%) were as-
signed
to
Additional objective
testimony was entered to show that the Chief Dis-
patcher should be a police
officer.
The City argues the
police officer class specification (CEl7) does
not
specify the officer be trained to do dispatch work. No spec for
Chief Dispatcher was
submitted. Evidence was presented which
showed 4 of
8 comparison cities,
including
patchers (CE18). Four cities use civilians exclusively as
dispatcher.
In four cities,
including
ficer. In no city was the Chief Dispatcher required to be a police of-
ficer by labor
agreement. But the Communication
Division was usually
supervised
by a police officer.
In
officer. It is viewed as a responsible position which
requires the judg-
ment of a police
officer. More importantly, it appears to
have been the
informal
practice to use only police officers in this position. There ap-
pears
to be a trend toward the use of civilian dispatchers, though the
City says it does
not intend to place civilians in this position.
At the hearing of
management's
rights to assign the chief dispatcher.
The chairman, on
consideration
of the discussion, agrees with the position that the language
of
the Management Rights - Article XIV clause takes precedence over an
informal
and nonnegotiated practice.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In summary, the
chairman and the panel make the following recommen-
dations.
1) The term of this agreement should be one
year, from September 1,
1978 to
2) All terms of this agreement shall be retroactive
to the ex-
piration
date of the old agreement,
3) Based upon the Revised CPI, the salary of
ficers
should be increased 7.6%. All pay (i.e.,
longevity) and related
benefits should be
adjusted accordingly.
4) Employment Practices, Article IV, section
1, 2, & 3, are deemed
to be mandatory
subjects of bargaining and cannot be removed from the
agreement
unilaterally.
5) The nondiscrimination clause should be
modified to reflect
the present
requirements of City ordinances
6) Any change in equipment policy in the
collective agreement
shall be
negotiated. Appendix F should stand
therefore, sans section 2D,
a section
previously agreed to be deleted.
7) No shift differential is recommended.
8) Police officers should retain present
levels of medical and
dental benefits,
including dependent coverage. The City
should determine
premiums to
maintain these benefits and insert the maximum premiums in
the agreement as a
cap for the contract year.
9)
the collective
agreement.
10) Police cadets
and trainees should receive longevity pay for
time served as
cadet or trainee.
11) No language
should be added to the contract governing police
reserves. At best, the parties might agree to a
memorandum of agreement.
12) The City's
proposed section 3 to Article XVII - Subordination
of Agreement
should be added to the contract as a means to insure peaceful
resolution of
differences.
13) No language
should be added to the contract governing assignment
of police officers
to the position of Chief Dispatcher.
This fact finding
report was written by the chairman after full
and
open discussion and with the fullsome input of panel
members
Moffett
and Franklin.
All matters with respect to the application of
law
were decided by the chairman.
Impartial Chairman
Robert Moffett John Franklin
Appointed by the Guild Appointed by the City