Agenda Text
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Urging the City to support evergreen clauses in all collective bargaining agreements.
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Official Text
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF EVERGREEEN CLAUSES IN THE CITY OF SOMERVILLE PUBLIC SECTOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS
WHEREAS: Somerville City workers are vital to the health, safety and welfare of the residents and business of the City; and,
WHEREAS: The City and its residents and businesses are appreciative of the high quality of service provided by City workers; and,
WHEREAS: Collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated between the City and unions representing City workers establish the terms and conditions of employment under which the workers provide City services, protect those workers from unfair treatment, and provide the City with important management rights; and,
WHEREAS: Recent negotiations between the City and unions representing City workers have taken years to complete, extending well beyond the expiration dates of their CBAs; and,
WHEREAS: Leaving workers without the protection of a CBA while contract negotiations are completed makes it more difficult to resolve disputes, drags those disputes out, often requires involvement of state labor boards, and therefore hurts the relationship between the City and its unions; and,
WHEREAS: The Massachusetts General Court has expressly made lawful the negotiation of evergreen clauses that maintain CBAs in force beyond the expiration of contracts; and,
WHEREAS: The December 22, 2016 decision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Joint Labor Management Committee for Municipal Police and Fire in the matter of arbitration between the City of Somerville and the Somerville Police Employees Association stated: “The facts show that, except for the City of Somerville, evergreen clauses are almost a universally accepted provision in labor agreements in the Commonwealth.” (pp. 13-14);
WHEREAS: Many of the CBAs negotiated by the City with its workers in recent years do not contain evergreen clauses and in recent years City negotiators have vigorously opposed their inclusion in newly negotiated CBAs; and,
WHEREAS: The vast majority of cities and towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts support the inclusion of evergreen clauses in public employee CBAs; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED: That this Board of Aldermen recognizes the fairness and stabilizing value of evergreen clauses and their benefits for both the City and its unions; AND BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED: That this Board of Aldermen strongly urges City negotiators to support evergreen clauses in all City Collective Bargaining Agreements.