Arbitrator awards union contract in county’s favor

An arbitrator has awarded a contract in favor of Clark County, ending the county's two-year stretch of negotiations with its largest union.

The arbitrator sided with the county, agreeing to end longevity pay for future hires. The Service Employees International Union Local 1107, which represents more than 4,000 county workers, had sought to preserve longevity pay for future employees.

Under the decision, county employees get a cost-of-living increase of 2.5 percent retroactive to July 1, 2014; and a 2 percent cost-of-living increase retroactive to July 1.

The decision, which the county received Tuesday, almost entirely ends a longevity system for future county employees. In the past 13 years, the county has gradually abolished longevity pay for future workers in other employee groups, including non-union workers and those with union representation. Employees on the job before longevity pay ended will continue to get the perk until they retire.

The only remaining county workers to have longevity for new hires are University Medical Center employees, who are represented by the SEIU and fall under a separate contract from the one that arbitrator awarded.

The SEIU represents a variety of other county employees such as public works staffers, Family Services caseworkers and clerical staff.

The county argued that eliminating longevity pay for new employees would save $264.4 million across a 30-year period. Longevity pay kicks in after eight years of service.

"It's been a long time coming," County Manager Don Burnette said, adding that the county had a strong case. "I'm pleased to have the decision behind us."

While pleased with the decision, Burnette said his preference is always to negotiate and reach agreements without a third-party arbitrator. Both sides agreed to use the independent arbitrator.

"This contract should have been reached a long time ago," he said.

The county unsuccessfully offered a variety of proposals, including one with a one-time bonus of $500 per employee in exchange for giving up longevity for future hires.

The union offered to lengthen the eligibility period from eight years to 11 years. It also sought a 2.5 percent cost-of-living increase retroactive to July 1, 2014, followed by a 2.25 percent increase retroactive to July 1, 2015.

In his decision, arbitrator Ross Runkel said "providing longevity pay for newly hired employees is rare nationally and in Nevada, and is totally nonexistent for employees in other Nevada counties and for other employees of Clark County."

SEIU Local 1107 President Martin Bassick was unavailable for comment.

The dispute between both parties isn't over yet. The two sides disagreed over how the county implemented a new collective bargaining law that the Legislature passed this year.

In June, the county said it could no longer provide paid union leave to the SEIU because its contract was expired. That paid leave allows union officials who are county employees to do union work while on the county payroll. However, the new contract allows paid union leave to resume.

The county, citing the new law, also froze pay increases for employees, who were impacted based on their hire date because merit pay raises comes on an employee's anniversary.

One point of contention that remains is whether employees who didn't get merit increases when the contract had expired will get them now. The county has maintained the law didn't allow that when the contract was expired.

The SEIU has filed a complaint over the county's actions tied to Senate Bill 241 with the state Employee-Management Relations Board. That complaint is pending.

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1