Transcript Interest-Based Bargaining & The City of Troy, MI

Interest-Based Bargaining
and the City of Troy, MI
ICMA’s 91st Annual Conference
Minneapolis Convention Center
John Szerlag, City Manager
Troy, MI
Interest-Based Bargaining
and the City of Troy, MI
Presentation Outline
1.
2.
3.
Introduction/About Troy
Labor Relations and Troy
IBB: Results in Troy
About Troy, MI
Supervisor Trowbridge reported in 1827
Receipts/Revenues
$72.50
Expenditure
$62.81
Balance
$ 9.69
City Manager Szerlag Reported in 2004
Receipts/Revenues
$117,944,690
Expenditures
$117,944,690
Fund Balance
$ 42,557,359
City of Troy’s
Table of Organization
VOTERS
CITY COUNCIL
City
Attorney
Assistant City Manager/
Services
Police
Chief
Building
Inspection
City
Manager
Fire
Chief
Boards &
Committees
Human Resources
Director
Real Estate &
Development Director
Planning
Assistant City Manager/
Finance & Administration
City Assessor's
Office
Building
Operations
City Clerk's
Office
Engineering
Community Affairs
Financial Services
Traffic Engineering
Library/
Museum
Accounting
Parks &
Recreation
Risk
Managment
Aquatic Center
Golf Courses
City Treasurer's
Office
Information
Technology
Purchasing
Public Works
Fleet
Maintenance
Refuse &
Recycling
Streets &
Drains
Water &
Sewer
Troy’s
Advantageous
Location
-Proximity to Detroit
-I-75 Freeway
-M-59 Freeway
-I-696 Freeway
-Major Roads
Quick Facts About Troy
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Retail Space
Office/Engineering Space
Industrial Space
Businesses
Employment Population
Number of Households
Average Cost of Housing
Median Family Income
Residents in 2005
Annual City Budget
7.7 million square feet
26 million square feet
19.8 million square feet
5,647
136,000
31,324
$282,149
$90,750
85,000
$138 Million
Components of Troy’s Success
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Professional Management
Stability of Staff and Council
Volunteerism (Including 161 volunteer firefighters)
Fiscal Conservatism
Tax Rate
Quality Residential Areas
Advantageous Location
High Quality School Districts
Balanced Tax Base
Diverse Community
Downtown Development Authority
Some of Troy’s Challenges
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Transportation (Lack of Transit)
Retention of Businesses
Maintaining Residential Diversity and Quality
Preservation of Environmental Features
Maintaining Good Management-Employee
Relations
Labor Relations and Troy
5 Bargaining Units
1.
American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
81 Mainly Public Works Field Employees
2.
Michigan Association of Police (MAP)
69 Clerical and Non-sworn Police Personnel
3.
Troy Command Officers Association (TCOA) – 34 employees
4.
Troy Fire Staff Officers Association (TFSOA) – 12 employees
5.
Troy Police Officers Association (TPOA) – 101 employees
Labor Relations and Troy
Total Number of Full-time Employees
= 490
Number of Unionized Employees
= 297
Percent of Employees Unionized
= 60%
Contract Negotiation Periods Prior to IBB:
» 8-20 meetings (13-90 hours)
» 6 months – 2 years
Labor Relations and Troy
The Move to Interest-Based Bargaining
WHEN:
WHY:
police
HOW:
Fall of 2000
Tension and strained union/management
relationship following the most recent
contract
Hal Stack, Director Labor Studies Center, WSU
» Informational Presentations to Union
» Training is part of the IBB process
5 Factors of Negotiations That
Should Produce a Range of Reason
1.
Take Community Needs Into Account
2.
Review the Legitimate Interest of Each Side
3.
Resolve Conflicting Interest Fairly
4.
Determine What Is Durable
5.
Produce A Wise Agreement
Negotiations Range Of Reason
Exploitation By
Management
Range Of Reason
Exploitation By
Bargaining Unit
Management Soft
Bargaining Unit Hard
Behavior
Management Hard
Bargaining Unit Soft
The Most Powerful Human Interests
are Basic Human Needs
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Job Security
Economic Well-being
Sense of Belonging
Recognition
 Self-esteem (Ownership of Tasks)
Some Elements of IBB
Training Period, Prior to Actual Negotiations
All participants in negotiations attend training together
beforehand
In Troy, 2 days
Flip Charts and Markers
To document brainstorming
Facilitator
Watches time and agenda
Takes notes on flip charts
Ground Rules
Rank dropped at the door
Sample Ground Rules
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Leave the past in the past (no archeological digs)
Don’t make it personal
No BS
Maintain a positive attitude
Treat each other as equals
Be open and honest
What is said in the room stays in the room
Move along as expeditiously as possible
Set agenda for next meeting before adjournment,
and time allocated for each item with timekeeper
4 Points of IBB
People Separate people from problems
Interests Focus on interests, not positions
Options Generate a variety of possibilities
before deciding what to do
Criteria Insist that the outcome be based
upon some agreed to objective standard
IBB and Feeling of Fairness
 Concept and feeling of fairness
 Participants believe a process is fair if:
•They have opportunity to participate
•They have more control over the process
•They feel treated with respect
Results in Troy: IBB
Better Union/Management Relationship
All 8 Contracts Resolved:
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AFSCME (2 Contracts) - 5 Meetings
MAP (2 Contracts) - 7 Meetings
TCOA (1 Contract) - 4 Meetings
TFSOA (1 Contract) - 4 Meetings
TPOA (2 Contracts) - 7 Meetings
Results in Troy: IBB
and What People Are Saying
• [IBB] was absolutely great…not playing games is
great…we were free to say things at the table
without being locked into them…all titles were left
at the door; everyone was on a level playing
field…we went into it with high expectations and
those expectations were met.
-Lieutenant Keith Lenderman, Staff Fire Lieutenant
• The best thing that IBB has done is to reduce the
'Us vs. Them’ mentality.
-Carol Anderson, Director, Parks & Recreation
Results in Troy: IBB
and What People Are Saying
• It was a very fair way for us to verbalize our
concerns in a…non-confrontational manner and
reach an understanding on items of mutual
interests. I feel we reached agreement on a
contract which is better than what we would have
gotten the old way.
-Gary Mayer, Police Captain
• IBB made us realize that both management and
union have essentially the same objectives.
–John Szerlag, City Manager
Results in Troy: IBB
and What People Are Saying
• …[IBB] was worthwhile…it is something that
every unit should try…I appreciate [the City
Manager] going out on a limb and trying it…
–Dan Gross, Heavy Equipment Operator
• The time spent in negotiations is reduced
resulting in timely contracts.
-Gary Shripka, Former Assistant City Manager/Services
Results in Troy: IBB
and What People Are Saying
• …people could be honest with one another and explain
their true feelings on an issue without fear of reproach.
This greatly expanded the level of trust between both
groups which in turn eliminated the game playing
which dramatically reduced the amount of time spent
in negations.
–Bill Need, Former Public Works Director
• I think IBB worked best at addressing relationship
issues (getting parties to talk openly, increasing level of
trust, decreasing skepticism).
-Peggy Clifton, Human Resources Director
Beyond the Bargaining Table
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Staff
Council Study Sessions
Boards and Committee Meetings
Ordinance Development
Evaluation Process of City Manager
Development of Organization’s Goals and
Objectives
Information Sources
A primary source for this presentation was Hal
Stack’s IBB Training Manual (Director, Labor
Studies Center, Wayne State University)
On the Web:
 National Public Employer Labor Relations
Association http://npelra.org/academy/interestbased.asp
 Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry
http://www.li.state.pa.us/lmc/ibb.html
 California Public Employers Labor Relations
http://www.calpelra.org/research/research_29.htm