The City of Monterey Park reached labor agreements with Service Employees’ International Union, Local 721, the Monterey Park Mid-Management Association, and the Monterey Park Confidential Employees’ Association, city officials announced Oct. 19.
The City of Monterey Park has approved thirty-three month Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with their three non-sworn employee association groups. The MOUs were approved at a City Council Meeting on October 17, 2012 and conclude a three month negotiation process. The new MOUs are effective October 1, 2012 through June 30, 2015.
“The City Council is pleased to announce the successful conclusion to negotiations with miscellaneous groups,” said City Manager Paul Talbot and Mayor Mitchell Ing.
All three agreements contain similar modifications:
* Thirty-three month term. For the term of this agreement there are no salary adjustments
* Extension of 10% furloughs for eighteen months ending March 30, 2014
* 5% furloughs for nine months beginning April 1, 2014 and ending December 31, 2014
* City Hall will be open Monday thru Thursday, 7:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M. and will be closed every Friday for twenty-seven months or until December 30, 2014
* For the last six months of these contracts, from January 1, 2015 thru the end of the contracts on June 30, 2015, furloughs will end, employees will work 40 hours per week and City Hall will re-open five (5) days a week for a minimum of 8 hours
* Employees will continue to pay 100% of the 8% employee share of retirement costs
* Slight increase for medical premiums for all units
* Effective January 1, 2013 the PERS retirement formula 2% @ 62 with the average of the three highest years of compensation begins for all miscellaneous new hires.
These three labor bargaining units were impacted significantly during these last few fiscally challenging years. Since 2010 the City has laid off approximately 15% of its miscellaneous members and for the past year and a half the employees of these units have been furloughed 5%-10% of their working hours.
This furlough agreed to by these three miscellaneous units represented a savings to the City’s funds in excess of a million dollars annually. This thirty-three month agreement will slowly phase out these furloughs.
The City’s financial circumstances have required significant cooperation from all of the City’s employee groups. The Mayor and City Council would like to acknowledge and thank the bargaining teams and the individual members of SEIU, the Mid-Management Association (MMA) and the Confidential Employees’ Association (CEA) for coming to the table and agreeing to continue to help the City during these challenging fiscal times by continuing furloughs for next 27 months. This is a significant contribution on their part by assisting with the difficult but necessary steps to ensure the City’s future financial health.
Visit the city website at www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us for more information.