City worker unions hope for change in negotiating process
Union representatives made another pitch Monday night to change the way city leaders negotiate.
Groups representing city police officers, firefighters, laborers and police lieutenants met with the Columbia City Council and other staff members before Monday’s city council meetings.
Each group supported the push for the city to enter into written contracts with the unions. Currently, the city manager sits down with union reps in a “meet and confer” process, where the city listens to requests made by the unions. However, none of the decisions reached are binding, which Dale Roberts with the Columbia Police Department said creates discomfort for some employees.
“It’s what the employees sometimes refer to as ‘meet and deny,'” Roberts told ABC 17 News. “It’s a process where you turn in what the city sometimes openly calls your wish list.”
On Monday, St. Louis-based attorney Sally Barker outlined some of the Missouri Supreme Court cases dealing with public bodies and collective bargaining. Barker led a case for Independence school teachers, and secured the right for teachers to bargain with their district. The court ruled that “agreements…made with employee groups are to be afforded the same legal respect as contracts made between the district and individuals, although public employees – unlike their private-sector counterparts – are not permitted to strike.”
Sources tell ABC 17 News the city council will consider future changes to the process at a future meeting, after the council voted to go into a closed session Monday.
Roberts said he could only remember the city allowing police officers use of City Hall’s fitness center after business hours as a productive result of the “meet and confer” process. While the city council could pass an ordinance to sign any union wishes into law, Roberts said a contract adds a level of guarantee unlike other avenues. Ordinances can be undone “with just two weeks notice.”
“There have been some things that we accomplished through the meet and confer process, but they’re minimal achievements, they’re minimal accomplishments,” Roberts said.
