AFSCME New York Council 66, Local 418, which represents employees in the City’s Department of Public Works, had filed three grievances, which Arbitrator Douglas Bantle found the city failed to respond to or set a meeting in the time period required in the union’s contract.

Following a meeting between the union and city with the arbitrator in July; the arbitrator made a determination on August 8, 2022 that agreed with the request from the union that the city provide back pay for the three grievances and that the “City’s arguments were contractually and legally without merit.”
Under the Arbitrator’s ruling, both the city and union then had 20 days to request a modification of the award.

The lawsuit in State Supreme Court contends that no modification requests were received and that the “blatant refusal by the City to honor and implement the Award of Arbitrator Bantle is being done with no legal basis and contrary to the process negotiated by the Union and the City in their collective bargaining agreement.”

Judge Grace Hanlon confirmed the arbitration award set by Arbitrator Douglas Bantle and ordered the City of Jamestown to comply with the award, including following seniority rights when assigning employees to equipment.

AFSCME New York Council 66, Local 418, which represents employees in the City’s Department of Public Works, filed the suit in Chautauqua County Supreme Court.

The union had filed three grievances, which Arbitrator Douglas Bantle found the city failed to respond to or set a meeting in the time period required in the union’s contract.

The filing said Corporation Counsel Elliot Raimondo cited various scheduling and health issues on the part of both parties for why meetings were not scheduled or had to be canceled.

Following a meeting between the union and city with the arbitrator in July; the arbitrator made a determination on August 8, 2022 that agreed with the request from the union that the city provide back pay for the three grievances and that the “City’s arguments were contractually and legally without merit.”
Under the Arbitrator’s ruling, both the city and union then had 20 days to request a modification of the award.

The lawsuit in State Supreme Court contends that no modification requests were received and that the “blatant refusal by the City to honor and implement the Award of Arbitrator Bantle is being done with no legal basis and contrary to the process negotiated by the Union and the City in their collective bargaining agreement.”

The lawsuit had been filed in State Supreme Court on Wednesday, September 7, 2022. Council President Tony Dolce confirmed that Council was previously aware of the arbitration proceedings, but not of the litigation.

Jamestown City Council

The contract for AFSCME Local 418 covers January 1st, 2022 through December 31st, 2025. It includes a 2.5% wage increase in the first three years with a 2.75% increase in 2025.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said health insurance contributions will rise from 23% to 24% the first two years then to 25% in 2025, “In addition, the deductibles on the traditional plan have now been put in line with most of our management deductibles in other units. It will go up during the contract to $400 for a single deductible, $800 for a family. And then by 2025, it will be $500 for a single, $1,000 for a family.”

The contract also standardizes overtime and sick leave policies. Council approved a new contract with CSEA employees in September, leaving the Administrative management group’s contract to be approved before it expires at the end of 2021, as well as contracts for Police and Fire employees’ who are out of contract.

Council also approved accepting a $6,195 dollar grant from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation to put video surveillance cameras in Dow Park. There had been requests for cameras in that park following the theft of a statue and vandalism of the Underground Railroad Tableau this summer.

A resolution on the Chadakoin River Strategic Business Plan was tabled until the Planning Commission could vote on the proposal at its November meeting. Council President Tony Dolce said the commission did not have a quorum at its October meeting and, thus, couldn’t vote on the plan this month.

Jamestown City Council

The contract for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees , or AFSCME, Council 66, Local 418, is for a period covering January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2025. Mayor Eddie Sundquist had expressed he hopes to bring all outstanding union contracts before council for approval before the end of the year.

Council also will vote to accept a $6,195 dollar grant from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation to put video surveillance cameras in Dow Park. The grant was awarded due to the city wanting to increase monitoring of the park after the Underground Railroad Tableau had a statue stolen and was vandalized with hate speech this summer.

Council also will vote on the Chadakoin River Strategic Business Plan, which will have a public hearing for comments at 7pm in Council Chambers.

And budget hearing sessions will start the evening at 5:30pm. The remaining departments to report out to council include City Clerk, Treasurer, Assessor, Comptroller, Information Services, Corporation Counsel, Department of Development, and Fenton History Center. The budget sessions will be held in the 3rd Floor Conference room.

The voting session is scheduled to begin at 7:30pm in Council Chambers. All are open to the public.

On Monday night during a special voting session, the Jamestown City Council unanimously approved new seven-year contracts with employees from both the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 418 and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Local 1000. Both contracts are retroactive to Jan. 1, 2012 and will expire at the end of 2018.

Following the vote, Jamestown mayor Sam Teresi credited his staff for helping to finalize the contract, along with the leaders from both unions.

“I think as an indication that this was a good and fair agreement, both parties were able to negotiate a settlement where things that were important to them were addressed to everybody’s satisfaction, but neither side got 100 percent of what they were looking for, and that typically is a hallmark of a fair agreement,” Teresi said.

The mayor said both contracts include no pay increase for the years 2012, 2013 or 2014, adding that this year there will be a .5 percent increase and a 2.25 percent increase for each year after, through 2018.

“That’s a total of 7 percent over seven years, which equates to an annualized increase of 1 percent per year for the seven years that these agreements cover,” Teresi explained. “The agreements also have some significant changes on the healthcare benefit front.”

The mayor said both unions will also join the voluntary wellness program administered by Blue Cross-Blue Shield, which will help to reduce healthcare costs for both the employees and the city. The groups will also see a slight increase in out-of-pockets premium expenses for healthcare – going from 17 to 19 percent. However, any employee who does not enroll the in voluntary wellness program will eventually see their out-of-pocket contribution go up to 26 percent in 2016 and 27 percent in 2017.

CITY WILL NO LONGER PAY RETIREMENT HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR NEW HIRES

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi

The mayor also said there is a major watershed change in the healthcare program, with any new hire in either bargaining unit no longer being eligible for healthcare benefits from the city once they reach the age Medicare-eligibility age.

“This is something that will benefit taxpayers down the line,” Teresi said. “It’s a big step towards curbing the cost of the burden on the taxpayers for those retirement legacy benefits and is a huge step toward providing that relief to the city budget in future years. Our thought is that future mayors and city councils will be thinking this administration and this council, and these bargaining units, for making this watershed change.”

The mayor says that with the new change in how the city will deal with the healthcare of future retirees for both the CSEA and AFSCME, it may also be an option to consider for the four other bargaining units when it comes time to finalize their next contracts.

The CSEA local 1000 covers 18 city employees – primarily the clerical staff and support staff along with some junior engineers in the DPW. AFSCME Local 418 covers 58 employees in the DPW and parks department.