Contract Negotiations Continue Between Benton County and AFSCME Local 2064
Representatives of Benton County management and AFSCME Local 2064 arrived to begin bargaining at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 15. A little after 5:00 p.m. the mediator asked if either party had further offers or bargaining for the day. Neither party did, so the mediator dismissed everyone.
The next bargaining session is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 19. The Benton County Board of Commissioners meeting set to take place on Monday, Nov. 18 was rescheduled to Friday, Nov. 22 so the County can prioritize negotiations.
In the previous session on Tuesday, Nov. 12, the County presented a new compensation proposal at 11:35 a.m. with a 5:00 p.m. expiration time in an effort to prevent a strike. The offer included a $2,000 payment to every AFSCME member on ratification of the contract, a higher annual increase in the first year of the contract, and matching contributions to employees’ Health Savings Accounts on top of the annual increases and salary schedule adjustments that were previously offered. The offer was not accepted and expired at 5 p.m.
Because Tuesday’s offer was not accepted before it expired, Friday’s bargaining began with the County’s previous offer that was presented with two implementation options on Nov. 1. This offer includes a $1,500 payment to every AFSCME member upon ratification of the contract, annual wage increases of 4.4% in the first year of the contract and 3% in the second and third years, and additional steps added to salary schedules to allow for future wage growth.
Market Study for AFSCME Positions
AFSCME members indicate they want to be treated the same as management and unrepresented employees when it comes to pay increases. They can be if they go through the same process to determine what is an appropriate increase: a market study like the one that evaluated unrepresented employees’ wages and determined if and how much they should be adjusted.
The County introduced something new to the bargaining by suggesting they employ an independent consultant to conduct a pay study for all AFSCME employees. This would determine how their wages compare with market rates for their positions. Setting wages this way would create equity throughout the County by using the same method to set salaries for all employees: management, union-represented, and non-represented.
A market study is an intensive process that takes several months to complete, so the immediate action, if agreed upon, would create a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with AFSCME committing the County to hire a consultant to begin the study after a labor contract is ratified. Once the study is complete, AFSCME employees’ wages would then be corrected to align with market rates.
Clarifying the Vacancy Factor
The Union has suggested the County is not using a vacancy factor which would reduce the cost of their proposal and bring it in line with available revenues. A “vacancy factor” is a tool used in the budgetary process to determine estimated savings that will occur over the course of a budget period from position vacancies.
Because the County has not been specifying a vacancy factor in its cost proposal calculations during the bargaining process, the Union has assumed vacant positions are taking up available funds, and, as a result, more money should be available to spend on pay increases for AFSCME employees.
While the County appreciates the Union’s concern, a vacancy factor is being used against the total cost of any proposal to ensure it is within the estimated revenues available. It would be inappropriate to use within the costing of proposals as it would not represent what the true cost is to support all necessary AFSCME positions. However, if applied this way, it would return the same result and show the current county proposal is within the estimated available revenue.