FREQUENTLY ASKEQQUESTIONS

What is a labor union? A labor union is a business entity that runs similar to any othersbusiness which offers.tts services for. money. The union and/or unionrepresentativebecomes>your-only voice whell'dealing with management on wages, hours and othercondltlorrsef.emplovment. Currently you can deal with City rnaneqementtaboutivour pay, hours, ben~fits<al"ld working conditions. If a union is in place, that ability is stripped away. Management can no longer deal with a bargainJn.gunit member directly about those issues and cannot work with you to adjust your needs in those areas.
-\iVbicWlii'ii-on"f~gtoc;i1.iiOI1iza=ttY~~~--;'-Y'.c~"","",-~",",,>.'--::"~-'~--'-~ '--.' The full name is Florida Public Employees Council No. 79 of the Arnerloan Feder-a on of staterCounty ti and Municipal Employees (AFSCME),AFL-CIO, the second largest unlonInFlorlda. CouncH79<is part

ofAFSCMEIntemational which has 1.3 million members.

Do I have to pay dues if I become a member?

untonscharqe.rnernbers monthly and annual dues.Membership' dues and, tnsornecases.unltiatlon fees.. retheiblJl.Yiso-urcesi?freV~nUeunJons receive in exchange.for what they do. Althoughyou are a not requiredtq/p~t<;94~~,Irr.-C)tdertob7 union-represented bargaining unit, you may be sure-that ina at som.epoiljFyq9~m~prssured ,to join and pay dues.vunlons, like every other business, do riot work for nothinq, ".
do memt;ership du~sgo? .': :,~,:;, _ It depends on the union. Ingeneral,the:!'oca! union collects the dues and most flow up to the international union to be used on-interests such -as polltlcal campaigns and salaries and benefits of paid union representatives. This union hasalarg,e nomherof paid employees, many of whomearn significant amounts of rnonev. All that comes from membership dues. Where If there is an election, what is the most important thing I shOUlddo? VOTE Regardless if your vote is YES or NO tounionizatioo,itis extremelv.rmportantthatvou

vote. If only nine people vote andfi~~of th?senine say. yes t~. unioniz.a~ion(, AL.!-,~~p!,~ligi~le~tnp!oy~~.?"_-'_L __ becom-e-rep't'es'et1t~Tej(-Cl'u$'I~trbV"the<ffiilbn.:7;:11nJ:6rnzat1QnlsaeCicfea.'liYDa-il1laJorlty Of.fhosethat voted. Sometimes employees who are not in favor of the union think they are accomplishing their purpose by abstaining. But, in essence, abstaining :is the same as voting yes. Therefore.vno matter how you choose to vote, it is in everyone's interest, including yours, for there to be 100 percent participation.
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When is the vote expected

to take place?

Probably sometime in July or early August.

How will the vote be conducted?

The Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) will decide, but the election will either be by secret mail ballot or.secret on-site ballot. The votes are also counted by PERC.

What if I'm on vacation

at the time of the vote? 1

If it is a mail ballot, typically PERCallows a three-week window so the ballots can be mailed back In time. If you are out for a week or so, you should still be able to vote.

How many employees are eligible to be in thebitrgaining unit?

There are about 150 employees that are eligible from the Fleet, Parks & Recreation, Public Works, and Water & Wastewater Utility departments.

What can this union do for us?

That is unpredictable. Possibly, nothing. History has shown that union-represented City employees have not received anything different than non-union employees. Neither the City nor a union can promise or predict anything. Basically, all any union can do in bargaining is make proposals: it can't require an employer to do anything but consider its proposals in good Jaithj(other than collect dues from anyone who authorizes that). The City has the right to reject any union proposal whlch is against the City's interests. A long period of bargaining may result with no beneficial result to employees.

What is the bargaining process? 1. If the union wins the election, the bargaining process begins.
2-. The-union then has thertqht to-barqaln-wlth the City b'yo, presenting- proposals. -." 3. The City can agree to, reject or revise the union's proposals,and present its own. If both parties agree on all issues, a contract is signed. 4. At the end of bargaining, (which can bean extended period of time, sometimes years),if an agreement cannot be reached, one party can declare impasse. 5. The disputed issues go to a Special Magistrateforarecommendatibn on each. 6. If either side disagrees with the Special Magistrate's recommendations, the contract articles rejected remain in dispute and are placed before the City Commissionforafinal decision. 7. The disputed articles are decided and imposed by the City Commission. -

How long will bargaining take?

No one can predict. It may take a very long time. Maitland has been bargaining with the Teamsters over certain police employees for over five years without a contract.

Why did the City hire Kulture,LLC?

The City's core business is providing city services - parks, streets, water, infrastructure, public safety, things that you do on a daily basis. Dealing with unions is not our area of expertise. We hired Kulture because they are the experts in dealing with labor laws and union issues. Just like if you have a heart condition, you wouldn't see your general practitioner, you would see a heart specialist. Kulture is our specialist that is here to train us on things we can and cannot sayar do to avoid unfair labot;:pract!G~claimsTh~y I'1py~.,exper:ieQ<:~Qn .both side? of t_l'1~ ~~rg_Cli!liDgt~bl~al'"lci~ClV~~s.cessto resources that Wm'help ijsprovideyou with facts'and acc'urateiilf6rmatiOri'bef-Ore:-y6t(vot.e~:';,:,~~",-", The arrangement is for a not-to-exceed $105,000 amount. Currently we've incurred approximately $2,500 in expenses and that was for one day of management training. Kulture will only be paid for services rendered, which is not expected even to come close to the $105,000 maximum. The City expects this cost to be considerably less than the costs that would be incurred if a union is elected.

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How can the City spend money on a community center and an ice rink, but not give employees merit increases?
Things like the community center and the ice rink are funded from the Community Redevelopment Agency (eRA) funds, not from the general fund. The CRA fund is specifically to be used for improvements to the eRA district (generally the downtown area), and cannot be used for employee compensation. As we mentioned before, our core business is providing city services. We exist for one purpose - to serve this community. In fact, approximately 65 percent of our expenditures are personnel and the

other 3S percentts.ellocated towards getting ourjobsdone. Although our core business is service, we also need to allocate a portion of the budgetto other items the community wants,

Why does the City oppose union representation?

1. You don't need it. The City is not required to and does not intend to agree to union proposals which it believes to be against its interests, including its financial interests. You already know how the bargaining process works, and what the final result is in cases of impasse. It is our opinion that the union will not achieve anything that will be of benefit to you. 2. Expense. Unions typically drive up the costs associated with legal fees and consumes a tremendous amount of staff time. History has shown that our dealings with the local firefighters' union and the Teamsters union, which represents some of the police officers, have been very expensive and time consuming. 3. 'Adversarial wedge. Union representation usually drives an unnecessary wedge between the employer and the employees as well as dampens the "city family" feel. In recent years, the City's dealings with the firefighters' union and the police union have been associated with some hostility and antagonism on the part of some of the employees. This is unfortunate, but it happens and is not necessary.
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.tfc.Ive4heGf~efighte'$>w.e""'fl!Ceh."ed~4Jehefi~gfeat.:eFtha~Se-~ffel'ed .-to--the, general-

employees because they were in aunlon, and how was the mostrecentfirefightercontract arrived at?
The firefighters union has been an exclusive bargaining agent since about 1974. Through the years, multiple agreements were reached and for the most part, the salary and benefits awarded to the firefighters were consistent with those given to other employees. Other benefits specifically pertaining to the firefighters. have been negotiated with the City over many years. There were years when the City Commission had to impose disputed; provisions. Unlike AFSCME Council 79, the firefighters' union (Local 1598), is run by its own members who are employee-elected officers. In September 2009, the firefighter's union contract expired, Because there was nota contract in place, the firefighters' benefits remained "status quo", which means they did not receive anything new, but, consistent with state law, could not lose any benefits that were currently in place until the end of the bargaining process. That is how the firefighters kept the longevity bonus and step plan longer than the rest of the City employees. A status-quo arrangement is not always in the employees' best interest. If you are newly unionized, and a contract is not in place by the new fiscal year, your current status quo would be "as is", meaning no merit increases, longevity, or COLA; If the general employees receive an increase, you, as a member of a union-represented bargaining unit, woukinot.recelve anything new unless it were the product of collective bargaining with your union.

,W-hat's-the-fi-refighterls-union status::now~ During the 2010 negotiations with the firefighters, an impasse was declared and a special magistrate hearing was 'held. At that time, the City and firefighters both rejected the recommendations of the magistrate which were not in their interest. No agreement was made. In 2011, the firefighters elected new leadership and asa result of continued negotiations the firefighters and City agreed to a three-year contract, which resulted in no pay raises for the current fiscal year. The new contract does provide for a two percent cost-of-living increase in year two, which will begin October 1, 2011; and a performance-based increase in year three of the contract beginning October 1, 2012. In addition, as a result of this most recent negotiation the firefighters agreed to eliminate the previously awarded longevity bonus, as it had already been for other City employees, including management. Also, while the previous pay-step plan had been frozen for two years through negotiations, the plan was completely removed in the newly agreed to contract.

What happened with the City's bargaining with the Teamsters over police officers? The bargaining resulted in impasse. The City Commission imposed all the articles which City management asked it to impose after having rejected the recommendations of a Special Magistrate. Among the articles imposed -were removal of take-horne automobiles and longevity pay. The Teamsters union gained nothing. Is the union allowed to use my picture without my approval? If you've had your picture taken by any union representatives, with or without your permission, it can use your image and likeness to serve its purposes. So, just because you see someone'spicture on a union flyer does not mean they are a union supporter. Have there been any recent changes at the Commission level that could impact our pay and benefits? . Two new City Commissioners were elected in March 2011. During their campaign, and even publically after they were elected, they.have been very supportive of City employees. One recent example of this support is the Commission's approval for management to conduct a survey to see how our wages and benefits compare to cities similar to Winter Park. The Cltv Comrnlsslon al~o approved City management's goal that our employees be in the top 35 percent in>wagesandin the top 50 pe... cfi!l1t in benefits -as-bencfHnarkedwithothercommunj~ie5 in the tn-is region. This decision was madeasa measure of good practice and is not related to union organization or representation. What will come of it is unpredlctable at this time.

Can we stop unionization before the vote? Yes, you have the right to decline to engage in union activities and to decline to be represented. There have been cases when unions, realizing that employees have learned all the facts and have turned against it, have withdrawn their petitions for etections;
Can we-get out of a union once it is in place? Yes, the process to decertify a union is similar to how the union got in place but in reverse. It has proven to be a difficult process. Cards would need to be signed to decertify the union and a vote would need to take place. A majority of that vote would determine the outcome. Who can I talk to for more information regarding unionization? You are always welcome to talk to any member of City management. Here is our contact information if you have any further questions: City Manager Randy Knight 407-599-3383 o rknight@cityofwinterpark.org Assistant City Manager Michelle del Valle 407-599-3413 o mdelvalle@cityofwinterpark.org Human Resources Manager Mary Greenwood 407-599-3590 o mgreenwood@cityofwinterpark.org The City wants to make sure that you have all the facts and accurate information before making this important decision.

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