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Contract Negotiations Settled by Compromise
Posted 4-25-2002
The county settled its contract
negotiations with its largest union (Service Employees International Union
Local 585) and avoided a work stoppage that would not have been good for
anybody. The contract settled because of serious negotiations and COMPROMISE
by both sides. Compromise was the key as both sides moved slightly from
their previous positions rather than taking unrealistic, unmovable
positions. That is how virtually every deal is made, finding a common ground
that both parties can live with. The "no concessions" attitude or the "take
it or leave it" attitude simply wouldn't work, and would not have allowed us
to reach an agreement.
The negative advertisements
run by the union against the commissioners also had NO impact on us
resolving the contract. All the advertisements did was cost the union a lot
of money and probably had people in neighboring counties scratching their
heads wondering what was going on in Westmoreland County. When they ran
radio advertisements on Pittsburgh radio stations, the ads were heard all
over the region. I'm sure people in other counties could have cared less. It
was a strange strategy from a group hoping that we would accommodate them.
In politics, there is negative advertising, but that happens from people not
looking for a favor from the people they are attacking.
What finally resolved things
was almost twenty-four hours of straight negotiating. The commitment to get
things done from the union's negotiating team and the majority of the Board
of Commissioners, allowed a tentative agreement to be reached. It was
unanimously recommended by the union's negotiating team and passed a
ratification vote by nearly two hundred votes. Commissioner Conner opted out
of supporting the agreement at the last moment, so it took Commissioner
Crease and myself to approve the deal.
Ultimately, in the last
twenty-four hours, we improved our wage offer by twenty cents to .60, .60,
.50, and .50 for the four-year term of the contract. The union moved from
their demand of keeping health insurance as it was to accepting our offer
for Community Blue. On the issue of co-pays for prescriptions and doctor
visits, we compromised. The union didn't want increases, and we wanted
increases in the first year of the contract. We agreed to delay the
prescription co-pays and the implementation of a closed formulary until the
third year of the contract. That is the year when we'll be shopping for a
new price for the insurance since we have a guaranteed rate for the first
two years. Doctor visit co-pays will go up in the fourth year of the
contract.
The dynamics of the final
twenty-four hours of negotiations are an example of how contracts get
settled. Neither side completely got what it wanted. The county and the
union ultimately recognized it was in both parties' interests to meet
somewhere in the middle of where each party was positioned. I'm proud of
both our negotiating team and the unions. Both parties came to the
realization that finding common ground is how things get done in this world.
I also think that both sides recognized there is enough disillusionment with
government, and it was in our interest, as well as that of the public, to
negotiate a fair contract.
By reaching this agreement,
we were able to avoid a work stoppage. The residents of Westmoreland Manor
will not have their care and lives disrupted. The operations of the
courthouse, public safety, and our public works and parks departments did
not get halted, and each department can continue to provide the services
they are to deliver. Most importantly, we can all move on to solve the many
challenges that face those of us in county government. |
