Friday, November 09, 2012

Hennepin County Artbitration Award

Congratulations Hennepin County on winning your Arbitration with the Detention Deputies, Techs, Dispatch and Crime Lab Techs. You have the honor of running the LARGEST, BUSIEST AND MOST DANGEROUS JAIL IN MINNESOTA AND HAVE THE DISTINCTION OF THE LOWEST STARTING PAY AND THE THIRD LOWEST TOP PAY!

This is the award from Arbitrator Mary Jo Schiavoni:   Arbitration Award 

There hasn't been a cost of living raise since 2008 and no step increases for new hires since 2010. This has caused us, the largest jail in Minnesota, to fall to dead last in starting pay and our people remain there for years! The MNPEA asked for a 1.5% Market Adjustment, a 1.5% Cost of Living Raise and Steps for 2012.

Some highlights:

While, the County acknowledges that it has the ability to pay, it argues that it 
should not have to pay given the state of its finances and the economy. The MNPEA 
argues that  the County cannot use the excuse of a weak economy to justify its zero 
percent offer when it weathered the recession with a budget surplus and growing cash 
reserves.  The previous history of wage freezes has moved Hennepin County to the 
lowest starting wage of any metro area county and it now ranks dead last compared to the 4
Met Council 7 County Metro counties in starting detention wages.


Some interesting findings of the Arbitrator are that,


There is no question that the County has the money to meet the MNPEA’s 
requested increases inasmuch as it would constitute a minor percentage of the County’s 
overall budget.

and,

Even recognizing that  four of the non-essential units have not settled for the 
County’s offer, four other essential units represented by AFSCME and Teamsters and 
independent units of Sheriff’s and Social Service Supervisors have accepted the wage 
freeze and $500 lump sum.  There are correctional employees in those bargaining units 
whose job positions are very similar, if not identical, to those of the Detention Deputy 
position in this unit.  It is difficult to conclude that the employees in this particular 
bargaining unit are entitled to more than those similarly situated from an equity 
standpoint.  This has established, as the County argues, a strong internal pattern favoring 
the County’s position.  

So the AFSCME Workhouse CO's and the TEAMSTER Juvenile Center CO's hurt everyone by rolling over, yet again! No wonder we left the Teamsters!


With respect to market  considerations in  recruiting and  turnover for this 
bargaining unit, the MNPEA has not been able to establish that the County is having any 
serious difficulty in the recruiting or retention of bargaining unit employees under the 
current wage schedule.

As of today 25% of the Detention Deputies hired a few short weeks ago have quit to work for better paying jobs in other departments!

So again, congratulations Hennepin County. I'm sure the results of this victory will be less staff, lower morale  and more overtime.

The estimated cost to Hennepin County for the MNPEA proposal was $143,298.  At a cost of about $25,000 to hire and train a new employee I'm sure that savings will be gone in a couple of months.

Let me put this in perspective. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office spent over $400,000 on one vehicle last year.









1 comment:

  1. A couple more points.

    1) We are THE ONLY jail in Minnesota that is accredited. We are accredited by the American Correctional Association (ACA). THIS is one of the many things that makes us not "similarly situated" with the Work House or the Juvenile Center besides the volume of booking in about 40,000 inmates a year.

    2) While Arbitrator Mary Jo Schiavoni lists the things, "Arbitrators in interest arbitrations in Minnesota generally consider." She omits the big one...Arbitrators are supposed to consider what it would have taken to settle a STRIKE because we are not allowed to. I guarantee we would have gone out on strike if we could over yet another year of no raises. We would not have settled a strike without getting at least one of the very reasonable things we were asking for.

    Finally a personal note.

    Last time we accepted no raises and only asked for some language changes. Hennepin County made us go to arbitration then and we got nothing.

    This time after years of no raises we asked for a modest increase. Again Hennepin County forced us to go to arbitration. Again we got nothing.

    Being an essential employee for Hennepin County means only one thing. We have to go to work when the roads are bad and the other county employees stay home, and work the Holidays and weekends the other county employees have off.

    In my opinion the arbitration process is a fuckin' joke and a poor substitute for a strike.

    Arbitrator Mary Jo Schiavoni, MNPEA will never chose you again.

    I think I'm done venting now.

    ReplyDelete