Preparing for Interest Arbitration when you are California s 800-Pound Gorilla

Transcription

1 Preparing for Interest Arbitration when you are California s 800-Pound Gorilla By Andrew Lamberto Director, Employee Relations Los Angeles County Sheriff s Department OVERVIEW When you are a Human Resource and Labor Relations Manager in one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the country, the potential ramifications of binding interest arbitration can be mind-blowing. Due to recently approved memorandums of understanding, binding interest arbitration has not yet impacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff s Department, or any other department in Los Angeles County. However, thanks to statewide labor relations conferences, seminars, and symposiums in California, the Sheriff s Department in conjunction with the Chief Administrative Office in Los Angeles County has begun preparing for the reality of interest arbitration. The purpose of this paper is to outline the positive steps that the Sheriff s Department and Chief Administrative Office in Los Angeles County have taken to begin preparing for interest arbitration. Additionally, this paper will discuss how this planning involved whether or not we need to change our approach with non-arbitration bargaining units. In each situation, we have faced potential problems and difficulties. Finally, this paper will close with a summary of strategies and comments on what we would like to accomplish in the process. STEP ONE: CREATE A COMMITTEE CONSISTING OF COUNTYWIDE LABOR RELATIONS PROFESSIONALS Immediately following a seminar outlining the eventual reality of interest arbitration, the first action taken by the Department and County labor relations professionals was to create a task force committee appropriately labeled the SB 402 Task Force. Although the County does not anticipate any impact until negotiations for successor memorandums of understanding begin in the fall of 2002, planning and developing a strategy are of major importance. What better way to prepare than to gather all the labor relations professionals in the County family and begin the gathering and sharing of information? Initially, the following departments were invited to participate: Chief Administrative Office (lead), County Counsel, District Attorney, Employee Relations Commission, Fire Department, Office of Public Safety, Probation Department, Public Social Services Department, and the Sheriff s Department. Each group was asked to review the Senate bill and identify a list of classifications and agreements potentially affected by the legislation. 1

2 STEP TWO:IDENTIFY CLASSIFICATIONS WITH POTENTIAL INTEREST ARBITRATION IMPACT Although there are many obvious classifications that will impact the Sheriff s Department, several fence sitter classifications were identified. First, the obvious: Deputy Sheriff, Deputy Sheriff IV, Sergeant, and Lieutenant. Without a doubt, they are covered under interest arbitration. However, several support classifications raise concern. The most visible of these are: Security Assistant Security Officer Law Enforcement Technician Crime Analysts Civilian Investigator Communication Operator Forensic Identification Specialist Custody Assistant. These classifications may be included because the employees provide direct support to peace officers, are involved with solving crimes, are responsible for responding to lawenforcement-related calls for service; are involved in direct contact with criminals. In addition, they perform some or all of the following duties: direct support in custody facilities handling inmates, carry a firearm on-duty in fulfilling their job requirements, serve civil process, provide court security, provide custody perimeter security, responsible for station jails, dispatch 911 calls for service, conduct forensic or criminal investigations to solve crimes, work on tactical response force teams in custody facilities, and handle contraband. Finally, there are the some unlikely classifications that may be impacted. These are: Parking Control Officer, Communication Technician, Power Equipment Mechanics, Automotive Equipment Mechanics, and Helicopter Mechanics. Are these classes too far-reaching to be impacted by interest arbitration? Can a Deputy Sheriff answer radio calls without the radio? Drive to a call for service without a vehicle? Fly a helicopter in a freeway car chase without safe and operational equipment? The ramifications are staggering if a neutral third party concludes that the primary mission of the Sheriff s Department could not be accomplished without these support classifications and therefore brings them in the interest arbitration arena. After a thorough review and discussion of the classifications listed above as well as those in other County Departments, the initial recommendation for inclusion under the terms of interest arbitration are those classifications that are directly responsible for law enforcement (Deputy Sheriff, Deputy Sheriff IV, Sergeant, Lieutenant). The legislation is fairly clear for law enforcement but is not clear as to firefighters. If related support classifications in the Fire Department are included, the County will likely expect a challenge from the Unions representing similar law enforcement classifications. 2

3 STEP THREE: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM IMPACTED DEPARTMENTS The first homework assignment given to all participants on the SB 402 Task Force was to answer twelve questions prior to attending one of the regularly scheduled meetings. The questions covered common issues relating to the bargaining process that precedes interest arbitration.. Some questions were similar enough to require only one response. Listed below are the twelve generic questions as well as the accompanying answers submitted by the Sheriff s Department (also known as the 800 pound gorilla): 1. How many members should be on the management team? 2. Who should be on the bargaining team from the line departments and from central? departments? 3. At what position/level should these members be? 4. What areas of expertise should be represented on the team? Response to questions 1-4: The number of members per team is not significant if the members present are able to speak on such matters as budget, agency comparison surveys, department specifics. I believe the most important component to ensure is County-wide consistency. To prepare properly for potential binding interest arbitration, the team should have a core group, including: The lead (Chief Administrative Office representative - Division Chief or designee) Department Executives (Assistant Sheriff level for Bargaining Units 611/612) Department of Employee Relations (Director and/or Lieutenant) Department experts (Captains or Lieutenants) when necessary for certain issues Budget representative (Chief Administrative Office) Legal counsel (County Counsel or outside Counsel). Also, I suggest using an experienced firm such as Liebert Cassidy Whitmore from the very beginning to prepare for binding interest arbitration if County Counsel does not handle it directly. Lastly, an official note-taker should attend all meetings (Line Department). 5. What role should each member play? Response to question 5: The lead (Chief Administrative Office) should designate each member s role and follow the same protocol as in past negotiations. The Sheriff s Department did not recommend many changes to the process, except including legal representation at the table. Whether directly or indirectly involved, legal counsel should be involved from the beginning of negotiations to be prepared for the inevitable binding interest arbitration on economic issues. 6. When should positions regarding departmental operational issues be developed and by whom? 3

4 Response to question 6: The Director of Employee Relations for the Sheriff s Department will coordinate the final positions on operational issues at the direction of the Department Executives. They should be developed no later than six months prior to the beginning of negotiations. 7. What is your department s definition of economic issues? Response to question 7: Salaries, wages, overtime pay, health and pension benefits, vacation/holiday/sick leave, other leaves, reimbursements (mileage, etc.), incentives (patrol retention bonus), other special pay practices, shift differentials, uniform allowance, and equipment allowance are the obvious economic issues. But such topics as civilianization of positions (taking work out of the unit), arbitration hearing costs, drug-testing costs, may be included. 8. When should the bargaining strategy be developed? 9. Should this include the scope of bargaining and by whom? Response to questions 8-9: The strategy planning sessions should begin no later than six months in advance of bargaining and include the lead negotiators from the beginning. The Departmentspecific positions should be developed internally before beginning the strategy sessions with the lead of the bargaining team. In the opinion of the Sheriff s Department, the problem with the last round of negotiations was inconsistent information going to the line departments. For example, some negotiation teams were simultaneously putting out different bottom line COLA percentages, causing inconsistency and embarrassment. The scope of bargaining should be discussed to define the extent of the Department s support of each issue. In this scenario, the SB 402 Task Force explores each article to determine if changes are being recommended by the Department or Chief Administrative Office. Items specific to the Sheriff s Department should first be discussed with the Sheriff and his Executive Planning Committee staff to determine initial bargaining positions and items to be presented, realizing that some may end up as throw away items, and also to explore last, best, and final positions. The lead negotiator (Chief Administrative Office) will then receive the Sheriff s recommendations for evaluation and review. Once all Countywide and Sheriff-specific issues are evaluated, the Chief Administrative Officer and Sheriff s Department Executives will meet to consolidate viewpoints and final bargaining positions. Legal Counsel will participate in these preparatory meetings and strategy sessions to assist in determining an appropriate bargaining position before negotiations begins. 10. What should be included in the team strategy and what support documentation is required? Who should develop these supporting documents? Response to question 10: Surveys of other agencies will play a larger role under SB 402. Since economic issues may be decided by a panel, the more supporting documentation you have proving your point, the better. I believe it should be a joint effort between the line and central 4

5 departments. However, if the line department s information is going to be ignored, and the Chief Administrative Office validates the same information, only one group should be responsible. Since the Chief Administrative Office makes the final determination on whether or not the County will support the economic issues, then the Chief Administrative Office should conduct the generic research. 11. Who should lead the team at negotiations and at arbitration? Response to question 11: The Chief Administrative Office should lead the team at negotiations, as long as either County or outside counsel is a participant (directly or indirectly) throughout the process. At arbitration, legal counsel should develop the strategy and lead the team. 12. Will the members roles and responsibilities change at arbitration? Response to question 12: The strategy may change at arbitration. Depending on the issues, legal counsel should direct team members in what roles they will play. Departmental experts with practical experience will be needed to articulate an organizational position when called upon to do so. Since the disputes are economic in nature, it would be safe to assume that the Chief Administrative Office budget representative will address the financial impacts to the County. However, the line department s Executives should be prepared to speak on behalf of the Department Head to maintain a consistent strategy. The responses to the questions were considered to be the consensus of the task force. Although preliminary, the task force members possess an outline of who should handle what role in preparing and participating in negotiations. Without such guidelines, departments may take a divergent directions and inconsistency would result. STEP FOUR: DISCUSS THE PHILOSOPHY OF SB 402 WITH THE UNIONS The task force came up with a brilliant idea in the process of deciding on a strategy and compiling potential classifications impacted by SB 402. The idea was to talk to the affected bargaining units and see what we have in common on the thought process behind the new legislation. A major concern management has are the significant time constraints and limitations that are mandated once the union invokes binding interest arbitration. Before the change, both labor and management in the County of Los Angeles operated under its Employee Relations Ordinance impasse resolution procedures in the Los Angeles County Code. Under this process, once impasse is declared, the Employee Relations Commission has the authority to move the process to mediation or fact-finding. Ultimately, if the deadlock is not resolved, arbitration may be invoked by mutual consent of the parties. This scenario has worked on many occasions in Los Angeles County. However, will SB 402 bifurcate the process? The bargaining units were receptive to a meeting of the minds regarding the potential of interest arbitration. In a candid discussion, the parties agreed conceptually to allow the existing process outlined in the Employee Relations Ordinance to continue without change. That does not 5

6 mean the bargaining units are forfeiting their right to declare interest arbitration. However, it appears that before declaring interest arbitration, the bargaining units are willing to exhaust the existing remedies. That would mean that both parties would have several opportunities to resolve their differences before going through the interest arbitration process. Additionally, if this agreement in concept were formalized, both sides would have ample time to prepare for interest arbitration. Based on the information provided above, the consensus was consistent with the responses provided by the Sheriff s Department. An important point is that the County and Line Departments must provide a consistent, unified front when preparing for bargaining under the potential of interest arbitration. STEP FIVE: TO USE LEGAL COUNSEL, OR NOT? The most intense discussions regarding interest arbitration by the Task Force was whether or not to include legal counsel at the bargaining table. Additionally, if we did decide to include legal counsel, when should they begin their involvement? First and foremost, none of the labor professionals in the room had any hands on experience participating in interest arbitration. Most have had some training, whether through seminars, symposiums, or conversation among their peers. That fact alone did generate some support for the concept of including legal counsel in the bargaining process. Most people realize the impact interest arbitration can have on the final outcome of bargaining. But when do you bring in legal counsel? After numerous discussions, the unanimous decision was to bring in experienced legal counsel from the very beginning of data collection and preparation for bargaining no later than six months prior to opening negotiations. From the outset, it is crucial to prepare appropriately. Gathering data, preparing surveys, and identifying subject matter experts are vital to the success of interest arbitration. Who better to prepare the entire team than a seasoned legal counselor? Additionally, if brought in from the beginning, the legal counselor can identify with the negotiation team members to determine their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, with familiarity of the team members, the legal counselor can decide who would be our best panel member in the arbitration hearing. Based on these facts and opinions, the task force unanimously agreed to include legal counsel in the process. STEP SIX: WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON NON-ARBITRATION BARGAINING UNITS? The SB 402 Task Force did not seem overly concerned with the non-arbitration bargaining units. Why? In most cases, the County treats each bargaining unit very much the same. Cost of living adjustments are almost identical, and the differences in special pay practices typically focus on specialized skills only applicable to specific bargaining units. In those cases where there will be impacted and non-impacted classifications in the same bargaining unit, the preliminary recommendations generally lead towards treating them the same even though one group does not have the option of interest arbitration. For the same reason, the County attempts to give similar compensation on comparable issues across all bargaining units. 6

7 CONCLUSION Probably the single most important accomplishment of the Sheriff s Department and other Los Angeles County Departments was to assemble a task force to consider the potential ramifications of SB 402. Every possible scenario has already been outlined, and a basic game plan has been created. The County has solidified recommended classifications for inclusion under SB 402, prepared a strategy outlining the bargaining team members, areas of expertise needed to provide research and statistics, data collection, and legal counsel participation. Additionally, the County has been pro-active in conducting informal discussions with the affected bargaining units to discover if both parties would be willing to conclude preliminary ground rules for application of SB 402. With a common understanding between the parties that the ultimate success would be reaching an agreement without invoking the terms of the new legislation, the County of Los Angeles and the bargaining units feel they are one step ahead of the finality of SB 402. However, if the bargaining units invoke the terms and conditions of the legislation, the County should be adequately prepared based on the recommendation of the SB 402 Task Force. Andrew Lamberto Director, Employee Relations Los Angeles County Sheriff s Department 4700 Ramona Boulevard Monterey Park, CA (323) May