Palm Beach County is not Wisconsin
On Tuesday, a sea of yellow shirts packed the commission chambers. None of the shirt wearers, who are members of IAFF local 2928 as well as employees of County Fire Rescue, took the podium to speak. That wasn’t why they were there. As acting union President Ricky Grau spoke in favor of “three men on a truck” and accused the county of understating the amount of reserves they have to spend, the sea of yellow shirts were there to... [Read More...]
Fire/Rescue Contract Negotiations – Back to the BCC
TAB members have been attending these, mostly once/monthly, negotiations since mid-June. It was clear that little or no progress had been made in six months, and we of TAB wondered how many more billable hours would be spent for attorneys from both sides, sans resolution to anything. Well – apparently, the County management team’s patience has been exhausted. The County expected the Union to appear with a wage proposal, or... [Read More...]
Fire/Rescue Contract Talks Postponed for Another Month
Meet the Negotiating Team For the county: Steven Jerauld Appointed to the top Fire/Rescue position in 2009, Chief Jerauld came up through the ranks. He participated in the last contract negotiations as Deputy Chief of Operations. Robert L. Norton Partner in the firm Allen, Norton & Blue, P.A. which calls themselves “The Management Labor & Employment Firm”, Robert Noyce has 38 years of practice in Labor and Employment law.... [Read More...]
Fire / Rescue Contract Talks continue on Wednesday
Contract talks that have been ongoing since June for a new three year contract with IAFF local 2928 will continue this week. Three all-day sessions are scheduled for Wednesday through Friday, from 10:00AM to 5:00PM in the Everglades Room at the Chief Herman W. Brice Administrative Complex on Pike Road. The last meeting was somewhat contentious as reported by Mike in “F-bombs Fly at Fire/Rescue Negotiations“. Given a month has passed, we... [Read More...]
Tax Rate Proposal Still Too High
The current proposed millage on the table for the 2012 budget is $4.79 per thousand dollars of valuation, up 0.8% from the $4.75 of last year. With declining valuations, that millage would collect $596M in taxes, $7M or about 1% less than last year. An “alternative” offered by Bob Weisman differs by about $700K – hardly worth mentioning. At the September 13 preliminary hearing, commissioners Abrams, Burdick and Marcus voted against... [Read More...]
F-bombs Fly at Fire/Rescue Negotiations
TAB has been attending the meetings between County Fire/Rescue management and IAFF Local 2928 since they began four months ago (See Genesis of a Collective Bargaining Agreement, Fire / Rescue Contract Talks Continue, and Little Progress in the IAFF Contract.) We had been advised that the meetings tended to be raucous and filled with stunts and theatrics on the part of the union, but in three meetings we saw none of that. While very little progress... [Read More...]
Fire Salaries Frozen in Martin County
Martin fire-rescue workers forgo raises in contract approved by County Commission Tuesday, August 23, 2011 STUART — Martin County’s 300 fire-rescue workers will not receive raises in the next three years under a contract approved Tuesday by a divided County Commission. That, combined with additional givebacks could total as much as $460,000 in savings. Read the entire story by George Andreassi in TCPalm HERE Read More →
Little Progress in the IAFF Contract
The “negotiations” between Palm Beach County and the International Association of Fire Fighters, local 2928 have now been in progress for three months. With the exception of some minor cleanup in the text, there has been no agreement on anything. The major issues of starting salary (the county wants a 22% reduction) or employee contributions toward health insurance (3%) have not even been broached in the public meetings. Seemingly minor... [Read More...]
Fire / Rescue Contract Talks Continue
The July meeting of the negotiating teams for the 2012 IAFF contract did not move the ball very much, at least as far as we could see. As the meeting wrapped up, Chief Jerauld proposed holding additional sessions prior to the scheduled one on August 17 as there is a lot to do and little time to complete it. More observers for the public attended this session, including TAB members, a reporter for the Palm Beach Post, and a representative of the Office... [Read More...]
Next Fire/Rescue Contract Negotiation Scheduled
At the initial meeting between County Fire/Rescue and the IAFF on the 2011 contract, the county proposed a 22% reduction in starting salary among other changes. (See Genesis of a Collective Bargaining Agreement) The union response was deferred to the subsequent meeting which has now been scheduled for July 19. NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE Contract Negotiations Please be advised that a Contract Negotiations meeting between... [Read More...]