Letter to the Editor: Unfair Labor Negotiations

Copies of the following letter have been sent to City Manager Gabe Gonzalez and members of the City Council by the RPEA.

Honorable mayor and members of the City Council,

On July 28, 2011 the City Council approved the Rohnert Park Employees Association tentative agreement. The new contact was accepted for the period of one year. In more than 22 years, the RPEA has never been placed in a situation where its members were forced to accept the city's terms and conditions without having had the benefit of adequate time to meet and confer with its members and explore alternatives to what was being propose. 

We were not given a chance to negotiate; meetings were repeatedly cancelled and the facts and figures provided were missing and/or incorrect. Before we had an opportunity to absorb and work through the details of what was being proposed, we were being presented with a last, best and final offer. To make matters worse, the city's negotiating team left us with little or no time to meet with our members and react to the offer. RPEA was given a choice, take the last, best and final offer or go to impasse.

On top of everything else, the RPEA found several more errors that had to be pointed out to the city's representatives and corrected before the final agreement could be reached.

RPEA was clearly told by the city's negotiating team and others that all departments were getting the same cuts. We found this to be untrue and are saddened by the lack of integrity shown in the bargaining process. RPEA members were absolutely prepared to support the city through cuts. What we were not prepared for was the inequitable manner in which the city's cuts were ultimately distributed. When you see the breakdown, you will gain a greater understanding of our frustration with the end result of the bargaining process.

RPEA's members consist of exempt and non-exempt, full time and part time employees. RPEA clearly bore the brunt of cuts as compared to its counterparts. Certain members, who are among the lowest paid and are least able to absorb such as large cut, will be harmed by this action. Others will be performing tasks similar to those performed by their peers who are in the same job class, but for 6.06 percent less pay.

Some of the exempt employees, who do not receive overtime, are working 65-plus hours per week. These individuals, and the other members of the RPEA, are working hard every day to absorb additional responsibilities so that the city can maintain acceptable service levels with fewer staff an weather the economic storm. 

There is not one of us out there that would not have graciously accepted a cut in pay. We are simply asking for the equality in the manner in which we all, as employees, are asked to contribute to the bottom line. To that end, we hope that you will take the time to review the documentation that has been provided so that a more thoughtful approach might be taking when negotiating with the city's labor groups.

Sincerely, members of the Rohnert Park Employees Association.

Editor's notes: see attached PDFs with details of the union's givebacks referred to in this letter. This letter has been edited for style. Also, stay tuned for an in-depth look at the city's labor talks tomorrow. 

The City Council has ratified labor agreements for every city union.