Tuckahoe Village Departments

TUCKAHOE TALK
With Mayor John Fitzpatrick

DEAL or NO DEAL

August 15, 2008

Labor negotiations are serious business. In Tuckahoe, we have two units with which the Village is obliged to collectively bargain. They are our Police and Department of Public Works. One of the charges of the Mayor is to negotiate with these employees. After negotiating has culminated, the full board of Trustees must determine if the contract is reasonable and in the best interest of the Village. Finally, the Village Board and then the union members vote on whether to ratify the contract.

The last go round had the Police without a contract for two years and the DPW for nearly three years. Thankfully, what could have led to resentment or poor performance never occurred due to the professionalism of these departments. This year I settled a new three-year deal with our police and am entering the final innings in the DPW negotiations. I consider it potentially harmful to the employee/employer relationship to intentionally avoid negotiating. It is a municipality’s obligation to bargain in good faith. Unresolved wage and benefit issues make no fiscal sense to our village.

Upon commencement of negotiations I felt it was important to sit face to face with our workers. The past saw labor lawyers and union representatives ironing out particulars of a contract. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a labor lawyer with me and they have their union reps with them, however, each unit chose members to sit through this process. Sitting face to face with your workers can have its drawbacks. Some counseled me against this course of action so as not to be the face of bad news but that isn’t my style. I know I am reasonable, I just expect others to be so as well. Expectedly, there were moments when members of the Police, DPW and even myself exchanged heated stances. Good negotiating means compromise and everyone leaves giving a little.

Interestingly, both bargaining units asked for a five-year contract during negotiations. One reason against inking such a long-term deal is the unpredictable nature of health care. I feel three-year deals are long enough to show commitment and fiscally prepare. No one knows what the future of healthcare may cost and our Village requires flexibility to adjust as costs determine. Right now we pay approximately $15,000 for a family medical plan. Since a large portion of the world finds it necessary to be two income families, this could mean that both husband and wife possess separate health coverage. This redundancy in coverage is wasteful. Incentives for members to choose one coverage can have a significant cost savings to our village. Contractually I added an incentive scale that increases reward in direct relation to how many members opt for their non-village coverage.

The police contract settled with a salary line increase that both parties could live with. Equally important: I added language that is brand new to any municipality in Westchester. Nationally accepted Cooper Standards will now be used for all police officers to annually ascertain fitness. Intention of this language is to reward those who stay fit. Failure to meet an annual standard could result in a penalization. Police officers can unfairly get stereotyped as donut eaters driving around in air-conditioned cars. The truth is, most officers train continually to be effective street law enforcement providers. I was pleased to see Tuckahoe’s Police Department show its commitment to our Village and their profession by accepting this language. It reveals how seriously they take being in shape and fit. This annual test can deter officers from becoming, let’s just say - a stereotype.

Since DPW negotiations are still ongoing, I am unable to report definitive highlights. Our sanitation workers and highway crew are represented by the International Teamsters, Local 456. I will say that much conversation has revolved around interpretation of contract language. For instance, contractually our sanitation workers enjoy the ability to go home when the garbage route was complete. This can be 10:00 a.m. and as you can imagine they are adamant about not giving this up. All contract language, nevertheless, is a two-way street. My position is if any garbage remains on the street along the route then it has not been successfully completed. We can’t have them racing to go home and leaving a mess in front of our homes. In the meantime, I do anticipate that the DPW and the village will soon come to an agreement. However, I also expect a few more differences of opinion on the direction of that work force before my time as Mayor is through.

An important component of my negotiation mindset comes from when I entered the job market in 1980. My family members were either electricians or firemen. I chose my present trade because it was generally accepted that those in the public sector made less but had job stability. Those in the private sector had higher wages but were often unemployed during economic downturns. Public workers enjoy a fixed annual return on pensions, while in the private world those that even have pensions are at the mercy of the market. This is one example of value that must be considered during any negotiation. Any concerns that my union background would interfere with negotiating in the best interest of Tuckahoe seem an unfair typecast. I live in this village and feel the same pain from unnecessary increases in taxes. Equally as important, I believe being a union member is a privilege, not an entitlement to take advantage of an employer.