More than 450 members attended the NJ State PBA Collective Bargaining Seminar. The record-breaking number of participants indicates the increased need for more and better strategies to negotiate Local contracts, now and for the future, as well as improving working conditions.
The speakers once again provided the wealth of information that keeps members coming back each year to learn more about interest arbitration, financial analysis, the negotiating process, navigating PERC and Civil Service, health benefits, worker’ s compensation, retirement and disability pensions and officer’ s rights.
In fact, so much valuable information was presented that members would need to – and should – attend a dozen or more seminars to get it all. In the meantime, below starts a review of some of the highlights from each session presented at the 2017 Collective Bargaining Seminar. d
2017 NJ STATE PBA Collective Bargaining Seminar
More than you bargained for
Photos by Ed Carattini Jr. Reporting by Mitchell Krugel and Amber Ramundo
Pending legal issues affecting collective bargaining in the public sector
PAUL KLEINBAUM Zazzali, Fagella, Nowak, Kleinbaum & Friedman
During the past eight years, Locals have been dealing with the assault on collective bargaining due to legislative issues. In 2010, Chapter 330 took away collectively bargaining health insurance contributions, and the Christie administration took another swipe with a 1.5 percent reduction in contributions. There was the 2 percent arbitration cap in 2010, which has bound arbitrators by law with no give, and of course the increase in pension contributions with Chapter 78.
But it’ s not all doom and gloom. Developments on the legislative and legal landscape have produced strategies to deal with these limitations, including:
• Interest Arbitration( IA), the process to settle contracts if negotiations are not successful, is not the best course of action. But in 2016, 11 IA awards were issued and five of those were repealed. The good news is that most Locals are resolving contracts without having to put them in the hands of an arbitrator.
• Negotiations with the employer can lead to salary increases of more than 2 percent. Arbitrators are not allowed to award more than 2 percent, and in some cases they have allowed less, which has been upheld by the Public Employee Relations Committee( PERC) and the courts.
• PERC has a good website where all IA decisions are posted. If
you go to IA, PERC will let you know who the arbitrator will be. Read the decisions that arbitrator has made in the past; only a few are doing these cases. See if the arbitrator didn’ t allow steps for longevity pay or if longevity was eliminated. Arbitrators are taking away benefits, and longevity is one of the primary targets.
• When you file for arbitration, you are required to spend some time mediating the dispute. Time starts to run when you file the petition, and the case has to be done in 90 days. The mediation process doesn’ t start the clock, so take advantage of going to mediation without filing a petition. The downside is that it takes more time, but it’ s an idea to consider, particularly if you are close and just have some minor issues. A good mediator can do things and say things that help either side. Avoid arbitration if at all possible.
• Some Locals have been able to negotiate a reduction in healthcare contributions that were increased under Chapter 78. If you are considering this, check with other Locals to find out what they had to give up in compensation or other benefits to get those reductions.
• With regard to employee furloughs, the courts have ruled that the existence of a fiscal crisis does not give a public employer the right to disregard obligations under a contract. There is no Civil Service rule that allows limiting hours of work or taking away salary without bargaining with the union. d
www. njcopsmagazine. com ■ FEBRUARY 2017 43