Local
Montgomery unions feel pressure to give up raises amid downturn
By: Leah Fabel
Examiner Staff Writer
January 27, 2009
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| Montgomery County’s final budget will be submitted for approval in May, but until then, County Executive Ike Leggett will negotiate police, fire and county worker’s contracts. (Examiner File) |
Last week, the Montgomery County Career Fire Fighters Association released details of a tentative contract with County Executive Ike Leggett that would eliminate holiday pay benefits and force a three-month delay of their 4 percent cost of living increases, but would not eliminate it altogether.
Earlier this month, school employers unions agreed to a contract revision that eliminated their scheduled 5 percent increases.
“It’s necessary for the county employees to match what the school employees have done,” said Montgomery County Council President Phil Andrews. “Anything less isn’t going to be sufficient to produce the one-year and multi-year savings that we need.”
While the County Council will take up the final budget for approval in May, County Executive Ike Leggett bears responsibility for negotiating police, fire and county workers’ contracts. The county school board negotiates all school employees’ contracts.
Montgomery currently faces a $500 million deficit, or about one-eighth of its $4 billion budget. The sacrifice by the county’s schools employees will save about $89 million. If the other county employees followed suit, Montgomery would save another about $36 million, Andrews said.
In addition, no raises would mean lower base salaries on which to calculate costs for the 2011 budget, which would save the county money in what could be even uglier economic times.
“What’s needed is an elimination, not a deferment,” Andrews said.
But union leaders are calling the pressure unfair, saying each negotiation is unique and made up of quid pro quos. While teachers are giving up raises, for example, they’re holding on to a health care plan steadily increasing in cost and far favorable to the plan shared by county workers, firefighters’ union President John Sparks said.
“The idea is to have a cost savings in the fiscal year where there’s a shortfall,” Sparks said, declining to offer further details of the plan because it is not yet officially approved. “If [the budget crisis] isn’t over next year, I’m sure they’ll come knocking on our door again.”
Montgomery’s Fraternal Order of Police and its Municipal and County Government Employees Organization are in negotiations with Leggett and are ready to demand the same options made available to the firefighters, said government workers union President Gino Renne.
