UPDATED: Arbitrator rules in favor of Clinton firefighters
By Brenden West, Clinton Herald, Iowa | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
According to an arbitration award filed Wednesday with the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board, arbitrator
Gallagher said the union voluntarily agreed to major changes in health plan designs, but that
Union firefighters will receive a 2-percent general wage increase in 2014-15, as well as lower in-network and out-of-network deductibles than what was contained in the city's proposal, and 3-percent capped single and family contributions. The city proposed a 1-percent general wage increase, which Gallagher found to be the lowest among comparable cities.
Under arbitration, when a ruling is made regarding collective bargaining, the two sides enter a one-year contract.
Gallagher ruled on three items of dispute. Using comporable data from
Local 609 president
The two parties met
Both sides presented evidence supporting their reasons for the disputes. Records show the union agreed to wage freezes during the previous two collective bargaining agreements in 2011-12 and 2013-14. All unions received a 2-percent raise in 2012-13.
The city cited several court rulings that hindered
City Administrator
Gallagher said all of those factors were relevant, but "not weighty enough to be determinative in this case." While noting that this is the first year city firefighters will pay any part of their health insurance premiums, Gallagher wrote:
"One might say that in the current economic environment, this is long overdue. However, one could also just as easily observe that
Gallagher also pointed to the
"...
She added: "These amounts are significant in my view given the increases all
"The union has been very sensitive and responsive to the city's concerns," Gallagher wrote.
On the insurance side, Gallagher found
"It is significant that the city's plan has the highest monthly premiums of all the cities comparable," she wrote. "Also, I note that the city has offered no quid pro quo for these insurance charges. Instead, it offered a 1 (percent) wage increase, the lowest wage increase of all the comparables."
The average in-network deductibles for other cities were
"In these circumstances, the union should be lauded for its reasonable and responsive approach to the city's problems and to its acknowledgment of the clear comparable data which calls for employee premium contributions to be made and increased deductibles to be paid," Gallagher wrote.
Local 609 was the first of two arbitration filings against
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