|
Wages, other issues would fall in council's
lap
By Sherri Drake
April 1, 2006
The City of Memphis and its fire and police unions appeared unlikely to
agree on new contracts as a midnight deadline for negotiations approached
Friday.
Any unresolved money issues are expected to be turned over to the City
Council.
The Memphis Fire Association has been in negotiations with the city for
six weeks. By late Friday, negotiators had agreed on 24 of 47 provisions
in the contract, said spokesman Joe Norman.
Any economic negotiations -- specifically wage issues -- that couldn't be
settled Friday will be taken before the council's "impasse" committee.
That panel must step in when the administrative staff cannot reach
agreement with unions over labor contracts.
Friday, at the Memphis Marriott Downtown, the city's negotiator, attorney
Louis Britt, and the fire union's chief negotiator Thomas Malone, turned
up the heat during the daylong session.
Malone is a former president of the Memphis Firefighters Association.
"I'm trying to work with you," Britt told Malone at one point.
"I understand that. I just can't take it. It's hurting me now," said
Malone, who referred to Britt as a "high price lawyer."
Wages will be a sticking point, Norman said. The union's asking for a 4
percent raise this year, and to renegotiate the raise next year for the
remainder of the three-year contract.
The police union has asked for a 4 percent raise each year for the
three-year contract.
The contracts cover about 1,500 fire personnel and roughly 2,000 police
personnel.
Negotiators also discussed things like holiday and personal day pay,
tuition reimbursement, sick leave and bonus days.
Relations between the city and its police and fire unions reached a
historic low in 1978. In August that year, first the police and then
firefighters went on strike. Then, with arsons breaking out across the
city, a curfew was imposed and the National Guard was called in to restore
order.
Shortly after the eight-day strike ended on Aug. 10, 1978, voters changed
the city's charter to make it clear that future strikers would be fired
and, if rehired, they'd start as new employees.
Police and firefighters have a no-strike contract.
"We hope that there's an agreement," said Lorene Essex, the city's human
resources director. "From the city's perspective, we just want the process
to work for our employees."
The Memphis Police Association began meeting with contract negotiators at
the Liberty Bowl Stadium at 1 p.m. Friday. By late evening, they still
hadn't received a wage offer, said president Tommy Turner.
"The city is trying to put all the heavy decision-making on the City
Council, which is not the intent of the impasse ordinance," Turner said.
In all, 14 unions work with the city. The unions have formed a coalition
during these negotiations.
-- Sherri Drake: 529-2510
Reporter Zack McMillin contributed to this article.
|