International
Association of Fire Fighters, Local No. 1997
And
Snohomish
Interest
Arbitration
Arbitrator: Paul D. Jackson
Date
Issued:
Arbitrator:
Jackson; Paul D.
Case #: 04910-I-83-00106
Employer:
Snohomish County Fire Dist.
Date Issued:
In the Matter of the Arbitration )
)
of )
)
)
DISTRICT
NO. 1, ) RELATIONS COMMISSION
)
Employer, ) Interest Arbitration
) Case No. 4910-1-83-106
and )
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF )
FIREFIGHTERS, LOCAL #1997, )
)
___________________________________________ )
Place of Hearing:
Dates of Hearing: March 29, 30 and
Representing
Cogdill, Deno, Millikan &
Carter
Attorneys at Law
Representing Employer: Richard N. Burt
Donworth, Taylor & Co.
1111
Board of Arbitration: Paul D. Jackson, Esq.
Neutral
Member
(206)
325-0650
Merlin
Halverson
Union Member
Douglas Albright
District Member
This matter comes to interest arbitration before a
Board of Arbitrators pursuant
to RCW 41.56.450 and involves the
impasse
reached in collective bargaining issues between the
parties
on a reopener provision in the present three year
agree-
ment, which terminates December 31, 1984. The issues submitted
to
the Board are changes in wages and shift schedule. The
undersigned
was selected by the parties to be the impartial
chairman
of the Arbitration Board. The partial
members are
Merlin Halverson for the union
and Douglas Albright for the
District.
The union's unresolved demands in negotiations are as
follows:
1. Wages. The union proposed a basic wage increase
of 6.5 percent effective
cost of living adjustment
to be added to the base
increase to be equal to
100 percent of the CPI
for the Seattle/Everett
area from May 1983 to
November 1983 with the minimum COLA of 3 percent,
also to be effective
another COLA would be made
effective
to reflect 100 percent of
the CPI for the area from
November 1983 to May 1984 with a minimum increase
of 3 percent.
2. Shift
Schedule. A change in the present
schedule
based upon the
of the present contract
the working hours have
declined by agreement from
56 to 52. Beginning
January 1, 1984, in accordance with the original
agreement, working hours
declined additionally,
from 52 to 48. There has been a Kelly day assign-
ment
practice from the beginning of the present
contract. The union proposes a 48 hour shift
schedule based upon the
would consist of three
platoons, each working 24
hours on and 24 hours off
for two consecutive
periods and 24 hours on
and 96 hours off for
third period. On
on the shift would have to
take every seventh day
off. If there were more than seven people on the
shift, more than one
person would be off on the
seventh day. By preassignment
each person would
take a specific day off
depending upon his assigned
number, which days are
known as Kelly days.
Hearings were held on March 29, March 30, and April 6,
1984. Briefs were agreed to be filed May 8, 1984
and the partial
members
of the Board of Arbitrators submitted their opinions to
the
neutral arbitrator on
DECISION
An examination of economic and demographic statistics
of
comparable municipalities having fire protection departments
employing
full-time firemen is the principal tool used in
interest
arbitration cases and its importance is underlined by
the
fact that the use of such information is enjoined upon the
board
by statute, RCW 41.56.460. The most
important values of
this
information, and the matters upon which greatest emphasis is
placed
by the parties, all other matters being equal, are the
comparative
wages, hours and working conditions, including other
benefits
which have monetary value, to the extent that they
have
direct relevance to the instant dispute.
As is usual in cases of this kind, however, the parties
were
unable to agree upon a joint list of comparable municipalities.
In the absence of agreement,
the Board must decide as best they
can,
from the divergent lists advanced by the parties and from
the
huge mass of submitted economic, and demographic material,
charts
and other statistics, which of the municipalities proposed
by
the parties should be considered comparable to the Fire
District involved herein. In this case, the task was simplified
by
the coincidental circumstances that the parties each selected
among
their divergent lists six municipalities upon which they
were
in agreement as having comparability.
These municipalities
are
upon
the information derived from these municipalities.
There were no important difficulties in using the
statistical,
economic, demographic and other information from
these
comparable municipalities. The districts
are all in
populated
areas. The question, in the opinion of
the Board, of
what
wages should be paid by the District, boils down to what
increase
would create substantial equality between the Snohomish
County Fire Protection
District No. 1 and the comparable
jurisdictions. No persuasive reason was advanced why the
District ought not to be
placed on the same plane, vis-a-vis
basic
compensation, with the comparable cities which had already
received
compensation adjustments and increases effective January
1, 1984 as a result of
bargaining which concluded at an earlier
time
than the negotiations of the instant parties.
Although the union made strong argument for special
consideration
based upon a time lag in its receiving wage in-
creases
for the year 1984 as compared to the other municipalities,
it
is the panel's opinion that such discrepancies are inevitable
when
there are numerous negotiations going on at different
times
which involve differing historical and other considerations
so
that an absolute equality of contractual benefits throughout
all
time is impossible to achieve. To grant
special considera-
tion to compensate the employees here for
benefits lost during
previous
months by granting greater increases now then would
place
them on the same current relative salary plane as the com-
parable
municipalities would only cause a continuing cycle of
disparities
between the comparable municipalities to continue
ad
infinitum in future negotiations among the now comparable
jurisdictions. Nor was it shown that the comparable
municipalities
are
required to give COLAs during 1984.
The majority of the Board finds that the average monthly
salary
for a top firefighter employed by the comparable municipali-
ties,
beginning January 1, 1984, was $2,356.33.
This is $186.33
more
than the salary of a top firefighter of the District as of
December 31, 1983. The District will be ordered to increase the
monthly
salary of its top firefighters to $2,356.33.
This amounts
to a
.086 percent basic increase. Such
increase is 2.1 percent
more
than was asked for by the union; however, this is granted,
partially,
in lieu of any cost of living adjustments as demanded
by
the union, which, according to the employer, would have
amounted
to a gross increase of 12.5 percent in 1984 without
counting
an additional cost of living increase of a minimum of
3
percent.
The salaries of starting, second year and third year
firefighters
and company officers, should be adjusted so as to
maintain
the same percentage differential between those positions
and
that of the top firefighter as existed on December 31, 1983.
SHIFT SCHEDULE
The union proposal of scheduled Kelly days separate
and
distinct from the vacation schedule, in the majority opinion of
the
Board, would necessarily impact other provisions of the
current
agreement which are not open to negotiations by changing,
substantively,
their application and administration.
These
provisions
include Article D-II, Vacations and Holidays and
Article E-I, Hours.
The Board is convinced that the language in Article
H-Ill permitting the parties
to negotiate concerning shift cycle
changes
to be effective January 1, 1984, was proposed by manage-
ment in the negotiations of 1981 to allow for a
change in 1984
to a
24-hour schedule and cycle compatible with neighboring
comparable
jurisdictions (then working a 48-hour average week
with a
cycle of days on and days off different from the Detroit
schedule)
which would have allowed for joint training schedules
based
on similar cycles. Moreover, the union's
proposal consti-
tutes a fundamental change in several other,
unrelated working
conditions
of a kind not contemplated by the parties when the
amendatory
provision pertaining to shift schedule changes were
proposed
by management in 1981.
The ultimate effects of changing the shift schedule as
demanded
by the union are extremely difficult to prognosticate
because
of the complexity of their effects. It
is believed, for
example,
that the change proposed could substantially increase
the
District's costs and could result in restricting the manning
of
the department. Nor is the Board
completely satisfied that
the
union proposal would satisfy the grievances of its members,
vis-a-vis maldistribution
of leave which is said to be a
principal
reason for the demand. It is probable
also that the
buy-back
provisions of the contract provided for elsewhere therein
might
turn out to be illusory with particular regard for the
adjustment
for manpower shortages which could be created by the
change. Only two of the comparable jurisdictions
schedule their
Kelly days, and these districts
have been working with 48-hour
work
schedules for some time, nor are their schedules based upon
the
Detroit schedule as in this District's.
Because of the ramifications, complexity and importance
of
the union 5 demand and the fact that substantial difficulty
is
involved in implementing it in midyear, as well as for the
other
reasons mentioned herein, it is believed that this matter
should
be left to the present negotiations for the new contract
which
will go into effect January 1, 1985, in which all of the
provisions
of the agreement are open for study and change by
those
who will be most affected thereby.
Accordingly, this
demand
will be denied.
AWARD
1. Effective
January 1, 1984 the monthly salary of a
top
firefighter shall be increased to $2,356.33 and other
classifications
increased accordingly so as to maintain their
relative
percentage differential in effect as of December 31,
1983.
2. Changes
in the shift schedule are denied.
Dated_5/23/84
PAUL D. JACKSON , Neutral
Arbitrator
DOUGLAS RIGHT, Employer Arbitrator
MERLIN
HAVERSON, Union Arbitrator