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REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 24, 2016 INDIANA FIXING MAXIMUM WAGES OF TEAMSTER EMPLOYEES FOR CALENDAR YEARS 2017 -2020 Councilmember Oliver Davis made a motion to accept Substitute Bill 61 -16. Councilmember Tim Scott seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. Councilmember Karen White, Chair of the Personnel and Finance Committee, reported that they met and send this forward with a favorable recommendation. Michael Schmidt, Assistant City Attorney with offices on the 12th Floor of the County -City Building, served as the petitioner and presenter of this bill. This is an agreement that could not be presented without the help of a number of the Council's colleagues and City employees. He thanked Councilmember Jo M. Broden for her work, Council Attorney Cekanski - Farrand, Eric Horvath and Aaron Perri as Department Heads, Jennifer Hockenhull for providing financial support and guidance, John Martinez, and other people for providing additional insight. We came in with the goal of trying to find the best agreement for the City and best agreement for the Teamsters. These are men and women of the City who provide. a valuable resource day in and day out. We fully understand the value of the work that the Teamsters provide for the City. This is a four (4) year agreement which was a priority for all involved. It provides stability both with what wages will be for the Teamsters and also in the City's management of having stability of what our expenses are going to be. This is important as we get closer and closer to that much talked about 2020 fiscal curb. We are providing a wage increase over the four (4) years of one percent (1 %), point seventy -five percent (.75 %), point seventy -five percent (.75 %), and one percent (1 %). Supplementing that wage increase will also be additional funding of one and half percent (1.5 %) through the state mandatory PERF funding. The. City has also instituted the Activate Health Clinic and this agreement here is the first opportunity for the Teamsters to have it specifically recognized that they have time to participate in this clinic. They will be afforded eight (8) hours to spend time at the clinic, to implement health plans, and this of course is great to the City as it provides a healthy work environment. There are also longevity bonuses in place in this agreement that recognize the dedicated service of so many employees in the union. Some of these employees have been with the City for thirty (30) plus years. What we did was find a financial way to reward this service and dedication to the City. Councilmember Oliver Davis asked if this is the best package to retain and seek our Teamsters on a long -term basis compared to other cities. Mr. Schmidt stated he believes it is. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of this agreement and that in some extent is the proof in the pudding. These guys had an opportunity to sit down and listen to us and we put our offer up and it was overwhelming the support that they had. In this particular agreement, adding things like longevity bonuses and funding PERF at one and a half percent (1.5 %) are incentives other communities had and the Teamsters stated they would like to see those programs. We found a way to fund it. We are getting closer and closer to having a baseline wage that matches some of our other neighboring communities. We also found our total compensation between wages, benefits, longevity, PERF help, and the health clinic put us at or even above our neighboring communities. Jim Szucs, Business Agent for Teamsters Local #364 with offices at 2405 East Edison Rd. South Bend, stated he would like to add a fourth "R" to the other three (3) discussed earlier, which is respect. Both parties listened and were flexible and open minded. Although the wage could always be higher, the respect that the parties showed for each other in listening and reacting to each others' needs was unparalled in any negotiations he has been in since 1995. Councilmember Davis asked how many employees are in the Teamsters Union. Mr. Szucs responded over two - hundred (200) in the bargaining unit and we also represent employees in Goshen, Elkhart, and Mishawaka. South Bend is making gains to become competitive with those municipalities to retain employees. Those from the public wishing to speak in favor: 10