NEWBURYPORT — The city and its second-largest union will head back to the bargaining table this week after the City Council rejected a new agreement Monday, saying they had problems with the size of the proposed salary increase and new clothing allowance.
In a 5-4 vote, councilors rejected an 18-month contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union that includes Department of Public Works, library and City Hall employees.
"We'll go back and renegotiate with the union; we have to," Mayor John Moak said yesterday.
The contract would have been retroactive to July 1, the start of the new fiscal year, and would have ended Dec. 31, 2009.
Under the terms of the agreement, the employees' base wages would have increased by 2 percent. Other new additions included a $600 per year "clothing allowance" for full-time employees and a $300 to $400 clothing allowance per year for part-time employees, depending on the number of hours worked.
Public works employees would get an additional $200 boot allowance per year.
Changes to the sick leave/vacation time would have changed to show less sick leave credit with more vacation time — the maximum reaching six weeks vacation for employees who have worked for the city for 15 years or more. Employees working for one year would get three weeks' vacation, four weeks for employees who have been with the city for five years, and five weeks for those who have worked at their job for 10 years.
The sick leave total would change from 18 days to 12 days to balance the boost in vacation, Moak said. The switch means employees would plan their time off as vacation, and it could be scheduled for, rather than just using sick days up.
"I felt good about this," Moak said. "You have to give to get something."
At-large Councilor Tom Jones said the terms of the contract concerned him, questioning the clothing allowance clause.
"We're buying clothes for people to come to work in," he said, noting that the members of the union do not wear uniforms.
Jones said if the time is added up between vacation and sick days for employees, the number of days that employees are paid and not working is "amazing." Employees in the private sector do not get six weeks' vacation a year, Jones said.
He also questioned the 2 percent salary increase, saying he thought the city was trying to keep the wage increases to 11âÑ2 percent.
Looking at the contract, Jones said, he would have a difficult time urging people to support a debt exclusion in November.
"I can't vote for this agreement," Jones said.
Moak called some of the claims made by councilors "incorrect."
Councilors were given the contract to review several weeks ago, Moak said, questioning why concerns were raised during the meeting rather than beforehand.
The city unions do not have a stipulation that says they can come back and renegotiate their collective bargaining agreements if another union gets a higher wage increase, Moak said — something that was questioned by councilors Monday. That clause ended this year, the mayor said.
"It's difficult when you can't correct those errors," Moak said.
The mayor is not allowed into a City Council meeting that is in session.
At-large Councilor Donna Holaday argued that the AFSCME members are among the lowest-paid workers by the city and a 2 percent increase for that group is "sufficient and adequate."
The clothing allowance will give some "extra help" to those employees who don't make that high of a salary, she said.
Moak said yesterday he knew the clothing allowance would be controversial. The mayor said he approached the negotiations looking for unique ways to give employee benefits at a set cost each year, rather than costs that would multiply over time.
Everybody who works for the city works with the public, Moak said, and it is important for them to dress in an appropriate way.
The city does have a dress code, but with a clothing stipend, it would make those rules all the easier to enforce since the stipend would have allowed employees to meet that criteria more easily, Moak said.
"This one didn't work out that well for the staff and the city," Moak said.
He said he would not include a clothing allowance for that union during the next round of negotiations.
"I think the unions have been very fair in negotiations," Moak said, adding that the past two years have seen only 11âÑ2 percent pay raises for the unions.
In the private sector, pay raises can be much higher, Moak said, noting that Verizon just agreed to give employees a 101âÑ2 percent raise over three years.
"To say this is not happening in private industry is incorrect," Moak said.
Voting to approve a transfer to fund the contract were Councilors Ed Cameron, Greg Earls, Holaday and Larry McCavitt; voting against it were Councilors Brian Derrivan, Jones, Steve Hutcheson, Kathleen O'Connor-Ives and Tom O'Brien. Councilors James Shanley and Barry Connell were absent.
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