City, fire union talks stalled

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May 6, 2010

Impasse now at 29 months

By JOE LoTEMPLIO Staff Writer The Press Republican Thu May 06, 2010, 03:20 PM EDT

PLATTSBURGH — Contract negotiations between the City of Plattsburgh and its Fire Department union continue to lag as both sides enter the 29th month of impasse.

The Fire Department contract expired Dec. 31, 2007, and negotiating sessions continued for months. But talks broke down last October, and the two sides have not met since.

The city requested the matter be brought before an arbitrator, but the union would not do that.

ACCUSED OF STALLING

Mayor Donald Kasprzak, whose term wraps up at the end of this year, says he believes the union is waiting in hopes that he does not run again so they can try their luck with another mayor.

Kasprzak has been a harsh critic of Fire Department finances, not only as mayor but when he served as a councilor from 1990 to 1993.

"It is clear to me that they are waiting for a more generous mayor to give them what they want," Kasprzak said, adding that he has not yet made a decision whether he will run again.

NEW STRATEGY

Union President Edmund Sanderson said it is not true that they are stalling and that the union will ask for another negotiating session shortly.

"He is the mayor, and we fully expect he will be, and we intend to ask the city for another meeting."

Sanderson said the union did not go to arbitration because the rank and file wanted to continue negotiations.

The union has been meeting since the last negotiating session in October to devise a new strategy, which takes time, Sanderson said.

"The previous strategy led to impasse, and we hope that the next time we will have a strategy that will lead to success."

INSURANCE CO-PAY

The mayor said the city continues to face difficult fiscal times and that the union's demands are not acceptable. He said a health insurance co-pay and reasonable raises are musts for the city.

City Police, the Municipal Lighting Department and the Public Library union have all agreed to health-insurance co-pays since Kasprzak became mayor in 2007.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the city's largest union, is now negotiating with the city for a new contract, the mayor said, and health-insurance co-pays are a leading point of discussion.

"Salary demands of more than 5-percent raises are unacceptable and not in the best interests of the finances of this city," Kasprzak said. "I work for the taxpayers of this city and not the union."

GIVE AND TAKE

Sanderson said all items are on the table, including health-insurance co-pays. At present, 21 out of 36 department members have a 15-percent co-pay.

"It's about finding a balance between all issues," Sanderson said. "An agreement can be reached on almost any issue with some kind of concession on another.

"It's all give and take, and I would think that the mayor has a responsibility to get a contract that is not only fair for the taxpayers but also for the workers, to ensure that quality services are maintained."

UNION FINANCES

The mayor said Sanderson and other union leaders have alienated members by increasing union dues to $30 a week in order to pay for legal expenses incurred from filing 26 grievances against the city over the past three years.

He said the union's finances have gone from about a $20,000 surplus to a deficit of about $60,000 over that same period, which has prompted one veteran firefighter to request to leave the union.

"Under the present union leadership of Ed Sanderson, not only have union dues gone up to $30 a week, but he has been unsuccessful in negotiating a contract for the good, hard-working firefighters of that department," Kasprzak said.

The union's fiscal condition is none of the mayor's business, Sanderson said, adding that Kasprzak should be more concerned about costing the city money by violating the contract and workers' rights.

"The union's finances are an internal matter, and I won't comment on what the dues are or the state of our treasury," he said.

"The expenses that we have incurred are from the grievance process, and they arrive from the city violating our contract. I do think the mayor should pay more attention to what these violations of the contract are costing the city than what it is costing the union."

CITY LABOR ATTORNEY

The city retains Albany attorney Brian Kremer to handle matters with all five unions, with about $30,000 budgeted each year for that.

The city also pays separately for grievance cases at a rate of about $170 per hour, plus travel expenses.

"There is a price to pay under any administration to protect the taxpayers from frivolous lawsuits and petty grievances," Kasprzak said.

"We certainly get our money's worth from Brian Kremer, and I wouldn't change it."

E-mail Joe LoTemplio at: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com