Eastpointe

Patrol union arbitration settled, fire union negotiating

By Sara Kandel
C & G Staff Writer

EASTPOINTE — The city’s savings in union negotiations continue to grow after a three-man panel made a decision in arbitration between the city of Eastpointe and the patrol officers union Aug. 20.

The decision came after a similar agreement was made in arbitration with the command officers union earlier in the month.

City Manager Steve Duchane estimated a total savings of at least $650,000 from arbitration awards with the command officers union and the patrol officers union. That number could creep even higher in the coming months, as some officers may decide to retire before the new contract goes into effect.

The agreement with the patrol officers union closely mirrors the command officers’ contract.

“Changes were made to health care, retirement and bonus pay that will have a direct material impact on the fiscal health of the city,” Duchane said. “And with (both unions) there is an additional reduction in salary of 2.5 percent and the elimination of longevity through the balance of the contract.

“Included also in the award is a new tier of benefits for new hires. They are going into a different pension plan with much lower costs. It’s a long- and short-term benefit for the city.”

If officers leave prior to when the contract goes into effect later this year, the city will be able to save even more money on contracts with new officers.

Cuts were also made to paid holidays, which will decrease from 14 days a year to 10, and the city will no longer reimburse for the costs of tuition and books.

Also under the new contract, death benefits will increase from $5,000 to $10,000 for retirees and from $30,000 to $50,000 for active employees. The city insurance policy will cover those costs though, so while it does give a little something back to the officers, it doesn’t put the city at risk.

Tom Ostrowski, president of the command officers union, wasn’t surprised by the cuts.

“This is nothing new,” Ostrowski previously told the Eastsider. “Throughout the course of negotiations we had a feeling that the city wanted us to be as cost-effective as possible. Our goal was just to limit the takeaways. However, understanding the financial situation of the city, we knew this was coming.”

Arbitration between the city and the two unions began earlier this summer after almost two years of attempting to negotiate contracts. Their previous contracts had expired in June 2010.

The arbitration award is a step further toward Duchane’s five-year plan for fiscal sustainability in the city, but he explained it’s not the type of step the city can really celebrate.

“This isn’t one of those things that you go and cheer the victory of; it’s something we had to do,” he said. “It’s necessary for the long-term survival of the city, but it’s money coming out of somebody’s pocket, and I don’t necessarily feel good about that. Unfortunately, it’s something we have to do to move forward with the five-year financial plan I proposed at budget time to keep the city out of the red.”

Negotiations with the fire union, which Duchane previously thought were heading toward arbitration, appear to be nearing an agreement, as well.

“I’d say they are about 90 percent done,” Duchane said. “(Firefighter) Nick Sage came to us with some concessions. I think he saw that we were heading towards arbitration and what happened with the other unions there, and realized they had to come up with something.”

Details on the possible contract with the fire union have not been made available yet, but Duchane said it will bring savings similar to those in the command and patrol officers’ contracts. There is no word on when negotiations with the clerical and labor unions will begin.

“We were waiting to take care of the other contract negotiations first,” Duchane said. “Now that we are moving forward with those, we can take a look at the contracts with the other two unions.”

The patrol officers union could not be reached, and Sage declined to comment.
 

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Sara Kandel at skandel@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1030.