Resolution 12302CITY OF ALAMEDA RESOLUTION NO. 12302
PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY CHARTER OF THE
CITY OF ALAMEDA, UPON MOTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL,
AMENDING SECTION 17-17 OF THE ALAMEDA CHARTER
REGARDING THE RIGHT TO VOTE ON CERTAIN FINANCIAL
ISSUES CAUSED BY BINDING ARBITRATION AND REPEALING
ARTICLE XXVII REGARDING COMPULSORY ARBITRATION FOR
FIRE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE DISPUTES AND ADOPTING A
NEW ARTICLE XXVII REGARDING PROHIBITING FIRE
FIGHTER STRIKES AND REQUIRING BINDING ARBITRATION
OF DISPUTES OVER SALARY AND DIRECTING THE PROPOSALS
BE PLACED ON THE BALLOT IN THE NOVEMBER GENERAL
ELECTION TO BE HELD IN THE CITY OF ALAMEDA ON
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1992
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALAMEDA
as follows:
Section 1. The City Council, on its own motion, hereby
proposes to repeal Article XXVII of the Alameda City Charter (the
"Charter") related to compulsory arbitration for Fire Department
employee disputes in its entirety, and to adopt a new Article XXVII
related to arbitration of Fire Department salary disputes and to
amend section 17-17 of Article XVII of the Alameda City Charter
related to reserving the right of the voters to approve any
financial burdens occasioned by binding arbitration.
Section 2. As provided in Section 1 above, a new Article
XXVII is proposed to read as follows:
"ARTICLE XXVII
IMPARTIAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION
FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE DISPUTES
Section 27-1 Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared to
be the policy of the City of Alameda that strikes by
firefighters are not in the public interest and are
prohibited, and that a method should be adopted for peacefully
and equitably resolving disputes.
Section 27-2 Prohibition Against Strikes. If any firefighter
employed by the City of Alameda engages in a strike against
the City, said employee shall be dismissed from his or her
employment and may not be reinstated or returned to City
employment. No officer, board, council or commission shall
have the power to grant amnesty to any employee charged with
engaging in a strike against the City.
Section 27-3 Obligation to Meet and Confer in Good Faith.
The City, through its duly authorized representative, shall
meet and confer in good faith with the City recognized Fire
Department employee organization representing the
classifications of Firefighter, Apparatus Operator, Fire
Lieutenant, and Fire Captain, (the "Bargaining Unit ") on all
matters relating to the wages, hours, and other terms and
conditions of City employment as provided for in Government
Code Section 3505. Unless and until agreement is reached
through meet and confer between authorized representatives of
the City and the Bargaining Unit or a determination is made
through the impartial arbitration procedure hereinafter
provided, no existing regular monthly salary range for
represented Bargaining Unit employees shall be changed.
Section 27 -4 Impasse In Negotiations. All disputes or
controversies pertaining to regular monthly salary range which
remain unresolved after good faith meetings and conferring
between the City and the Bargaining Unit shall be submitted to
a three - member Board of Arbitrators upon the declaration of an
impasse by the City or by the Bargaining Unit involved in this
dispute.
Section 27 -5 Appointment of Three Member Arbitration Board.
Representatives designated by the City and representatives of
the Bargaining Unit (hereinafter collectively referred to a
"parties ") involved in the dispute shall each select and
appoint one arbitrator to the Board of Arbitrators within
three (3) days after either party has notified the other, in
writing, that it desires to proceed to arbitration. The third
member of the Arbitration Board shall be selected by agreement
between the City and the Bargaining Unit and shall serve as
the neutral arbitrator and Chairperson of the Board. In the
event that the City and the Bargaining Unit involved in the
dispute cannot agree upon the selection of the neutral
arbitrator within ten (10) days from the date that either
party has notified the other that it has declared an impasse,
either party may then request the State Mediation and
Conciliation Service of the State of California Department of
Industrial Relations to provide a list of seven (7) persons
who are qualified and experienced as labor arbitrators. If
the City and the Bargaining Unit cannot agree within three (3)
days after receipt of such list on one of seven (7) persons to
act as the neutral arbitrator, they shall alternately strike
names from the list of nominees until one name remains and
that person shall then become the neutral arbitrator and
Chairperson of the Board.
Section 27 -6 Arbitration Hearing Procedures. Any arbitration
proceeding pursuant to this Article shall be conducted in
conformance with, subject to, and governed by Title 9 of Part
3 of the California Code of Civil Procedure. The Arbitration
Board shall hold public hearings, receive evidence from the
parties and cause a transcript of the proceedings to be
prepared. The Arbitration Board, in the exercise of its
discretion, may meet privately with the parties and mediate or
mede -arb issues in dispute.
Section 27-7 Final Offers; Criteria for Arbitration Award.
In the event no agreement is reached prior to the conclusion
of the arbitration hearings, the Arbitration Board shall
direct each of the parties to submit within such time limit as
the Arbitration Board may establish a last offer of settlement
on regular monthly salary range issues in dispute. The
Arbitration Board shall decide the issue by majority vote by
selecting whichever last offer of settlement on the issue it
finds most nearly conforms to those factors traditionally
taken into consideration in the determination of regular
monthly salary range, including, but not limited to the
following: the financial condition of the City of Alameda and
its ability to meet the costs of the decision of the
Arbitration Board without adversely affecting City services;
changes in the average consumer price index for goods in the
Bay Area and services; private sector labor settlements;
supply and demand of applicants in the labor pool for Fire
Department positions; the wages, hours, benefits and terms and
conditions of employment of employees performing similar
services; the State and Bay Area unemployment rates and
economic conditions of the Bay Area.
Section 27-8 Submission of Awards. After reaching a
decision, the Arbitration Board shall mail or otherwise
deliver a true copy of its decision to the parties. The
decision of the Arbitration Board shall not be publicly
disclosed and shall not be binding until the ten (10) days
after it is delivered to the parties. During that ten (10)
day period the parties shall meet privately, attempt to
resolve their difference, and by mutual agreement amend or
modify the decision of the Arbitration Board. At the
conclusion of the ten (10) day period, which may be extended
by mutual agreement between the parties, the decision of the
Arbitration Board, as it may be modified or amended by the
parties, shall be publicly disclosed and shall be binding on
the parties except as provided in Article 17, Section 17-17.
Section 27-9 Arbitration Expenses. The expenses of any
arbitration proceeding convened pursuant to this Article,
including the fee for the services of the chairperson of the
Arbitration Board and the costs of preparation of the
transcript of the proceedings shall be borne equally by the
parties. All other expenses which the parties may incur
individually are to be borne by the party incurring such
expenses.
Section 3. As proposed in Section 1 above, a new Section 17-
17 of Article XVII is proposed to read as follows:
Section 17-17. In order to protect the taxpayers of the City
from incurring additional financial burdens which may be
imposed on the taxpayers as a result of binding arbitration,
approval of the voters shall be required as set forth in this
section. Any other provision of this Charter notwithstanding,
no regular monthly salary created by binding arbitration shall
be paid by the City that has not been approved by a resolution
of the City Council unless and until additional revenues and
appropriations therefor have been approved by a vote of the
people pursuant to Proposition 13 (Cal. Const. Art. XIIIA,
Sec.4) and are found to be within the appropriation limits set
out in Proposition 4 (Cal. Const. Art. XIIIB (Sec.4). The
City Council shall not be required to call such an election
more than once a year and may consolidate said election with
elections held for other purposes.
Section 4. The City Council hereby proposes to and does
hereby on its own motion, pursuant to Government Code section
4080(a) (2), submit these proposals to the qualified electors of the
City of Alameda in an election to be consolidated with and voted
upon at the November 3, 1992 general election.
Section 5. The proposals shall be designated on the ballot as
"Proposed Charter Amendment of the City of Alameda" and shall be
set forth, as follows:
MEASURE Proposed Charter Amendment of the
City of Alameda
Shall the City Charter of the City of
Alameda be amended to prohibit tax
increases without voter approval : YES
due to binding arbitration related
to fire fighters regular monthly • NO •
salary range and to prevent fire • • •
fighter strikes by adopting such
binding arbitration provisions?
The amendment will be
accomplished by repealing existing
Article XXVII, adopting new
Article XXVII and by amending
Charter Section 17-17 as
more fully set forth in Alameda
City Council Resolution No. 12302.
•
Section 6. The City Council hereby requests the Alameda
County Board of Supervisors (the "Board") consolidate the election
on the Measure with the statewide general election to held on
November 3, 1992.
Section 7. The Board is hereby requested to make its order
and to take such other and further proceedings as may be necessary
to effect the consolidation of said election with the statewide
general election all in accordance with the laws of the State of
California regulating and providing for the consolidation of
elections.
Section 8. The Board is hereby authorized and empowered to
canvass the returns of the election on the Measure and to certify
the results thereof, that only one form of ballot shall be used,
and that said consolidated elections shall be held in all respects
as if there were only one election.
Section 9. The consolidated election shall be held and
conducted, election officers appointed, voting precincts
designated, candidates nominated, ballots printed, polls opened and
closed, ballots counted and returned, returns canvassed, results
declared, certificates of election issued and all other proceedings
incidental to and connected with the election shall be regulated
and done, all in accordance with the provisions of law regulating
the statewide election.
Section 10. The City Clerk is hereby authorized, instructed
and directed to provide the Alameda County Registrar of Voters with
all pertinent information and material as required.
Section 11. The City Clerk shall publish, or shall provide for
the publication of, any notices as required by Division 14 of the
Elections Code and in particular section 22835.
Section 12. Upon completion of the election and canvassing of
the ballots and the results declared, the City Clerk shall certify
the results of the election in the records of proceedings of the
City Council at the next regular meeting.
Section 13. The City Clerk is hereby directed to file,
immediately a certified copy of this resolution with the Alameda
County Board of Supervisors and with the Alameda County Clerk.
Ballot:PB3
Rev: 8/03/92
I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution
was duly and regularly adopted and passed by the Council of the
City of Alameda in regular meeting assembled on the 4th day of
Auaust , 1992, by the following vote to wit:
AYES: Councilmembers Arnerich, Camicia, Lucas, Roth
an President Withrow - 5.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: None.
ABSTENTIONS: None.
IN WITNESS, WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the
official seal of said City this 5th day of August , 1992.
Diane B. Felsch, City Clerk
City of Alameda