News From The Upper Peninsula

By Emil Kezerle
Business Agent/Coordinator, Upper Michigan Office
1342 U.S. Highway 2, Crystal Falls, Michigan 49921
906-875-4990 – 800-361-1269

Collective Bargaining At A Glance

It's no secret that we now live in a world saturated with the constant threat of layoffs. This is caused, in part, by the reduction of shared revenue for local governments. Combine that with the rising cost of groceries, gasoline, vehicle insurance, and health care (just to name a few) and you have identified the modern day playing field for the collective bargaining process. Gone are the days when wage increases were settled in the first two hours of bargaining and the only issue holding up full settlement was an Association-proposed increase to a boot or glove allowance. Some of you who have been around awhile and are experienced in collective bargaining know exactly what I'm talking about.

Currently, a majority of our efforts are dedicated to just maintaining the current benefit levels. Only then are we able to try and accomplish a wage increase that will at least, we hope, offset the rising cost of simply living from day to day.

How often have you read some of the publications out there that highlight contract settlements? Usually, it's only the “home-run ball” that makes the publication, highlighting a settlement from a jurisdiction that is very well off financially and may rely very little on shared revenue. Rarely in such publications will you find a contract summary which highlights a final settlement from a jurisdiction that is truly in financial trouble. Generally, lucrative settlements in such places are not possible without facing staff reductions. In other words, you essentially bargain yourself out of work.

Over time, I have made some interesting observations that may be of some value to your bargaining team as time moves along. I would also offer some advice in an effort to help our local associations better prepare for the collective bargaining process in the world in which we currently live.

First, it should come as no surprise that the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is unique in a number of ways. Make no mistake about the fact that there are units of government up here that are economically depressed – some significantly so. As an employee in such a jurisdiction, this is not a popular discussion, particularly at contract renewal time. Having said that, coming to terms with this fact may reduce some of the stress that accompanies the collective bargaining process.

In contrast, there are also jurisdictions in the Upper Peninsula that are doing quite well financially, to the point of being exceptional. As a member of a bargaining committee, you face the challenge of identifying under which category your employer fits. It's a question you must answer honestly. Once you come to terms with the reality of the situation, whatever that reality is, the process of bargaining a contract may be less of a burden – at least psychologically.

One of my responsibilities as your business agent, I believe, is to identify those jurisdictions that may claim poverty only because it's fashionable, or because the neighboring jurisdiction has made the same claim. I suspect you would agree with the concept that most employers won't simply hand you anything, even though they may have the resources to do so.

As your business agent, and in response to what I have previously discussed in this column, please allow me to offer some thoughts that may be of assistance to you in the future. I offer this to all our members and not just our bargaining team members. If you are not currently on the bargaining team, you just may be in the future.

Identify Your Team and Get Together Early

Business Agent Fran McCarthy or I would be happy to meet with you well in advance of the first formal bargaining session. Procedural issues, political positions of the council, board, and manager should be identified and discussed at this time.

Identify Your Priorities

Collective bargaining is a dynamic process in that the proposal you start with oftentimes looks much different than what you ultimately agree upon. Having said that, oftentimes there are interests that do remain unchanged during the course of collective bargaining. One good example is pension enhancements. If a pension enhancement is a priority for your unit, this should be identified early. This allows for the time needed to obtain an actuarial study. It also allows the time to identify with the employer any cost sharing issues for the study itself. To propose this at your first bargaining session will generally delay further meetings for up to six weeks and until the actuarial is completed. It is difficult to continue to bargain over economics when the cost of the proposed pension enhancement has not been explored and identified. Be aware that arbitrators as of late tend to be sympathetic to employers relative to retro-activity when contracts run beyond expiration. Retro-activity is not automatic.

Identify the Actual Source of Employer Expenditures

How often have you been involved in a discussion with fellow employees regarding the economic status of your employer when the topic of the “purchase of a dump truck” or the “acquisition of a piece of property" was mentioned? If the employer can afford such things, they can certainly afford a larger wage increase.

This could actually be a great argument in support of your association's financial position. I would, however, strongly encourage you to first identify the exact funding source for such purchases before using such an argument. How was the “dump truck” purchased? Was it funded through a grant? Has the employer been setting aside a certain amount of money over a period of time for such purchase? Did the employer simply pull the money out of the general fund? The same questions can be asked regarding the purchase of land or any other expenditure.

In Conclusion

Being a member of a bargaining committee is no easy task and I fear it will become more difficult before things stabilize economically. One effective way to avoid some of the stress that accompanies collective bargaining is to think and plan. In addition – and of equal importance – you should work to educate yourself and your membership regarding the true financial status of your employer, be it good or bad. As you are probably aware, a fair amount of the stress in this process is often generated by members who are not involved in the direct discussions and are left to speculate.

I do not believe you will avoid all the stress that goes along with the bargaining process. If we can show that an employer’s potential claim of financial dire straits lacks merit, I suspect your stress level may even rise. Should this prove to be the case, however, mediators and arbitrators are seldom fooled. And that’s something in which we can all find some degree of consolation.