NLV union says no to opening City Hall on Fridays

Friday, Aug. 26, 2005 | 9:21 a.m.

A union representing nearly one-third of North Las Vegas employees has rejected holding talks on making Friday a business day at City Hall, but city officials said it's an option they will pursue in the future.

The issue of opening City Hall five days a week came up as part of negotiations between North Las Vegas and Teamsters Local 14, which represents nearly 500 employees.

The Teamster members have been working without a contract since July 1, and the chief executive officer of Local 14 said it's likely an arbitrator will have to settle what he termed confrontational negotiations.

The two sides met on Thursday without reaching an agreement, but City Manager Gregory Rose said he doesn't view the negotiations as confrontational and hopes a deal will be struck soon.

The city and union are in dispute over pay raises and out-of-pocket insurance costs, Teamster officials said.

The most volatile issue raised in the monthslong negotiations, however, has been opening City Hall on Fridays, said Teamsters head Gary Mauger. That created considerable anxiety among the membership, who prefer their four-day, 36-hour work week enacted in 1977 remain intact.

It would take an arbitrator to rule against the union to make any changes, he said.

"Absolutely not," Mauger said of the group's unwillingness to go to a five-day-a-week schedule. "When they introduced that in negotiations, it was extremely emotional. That is a dead issue for us."

Although City Hall is closed on Fridays and with it such services as the city clerk, administration, personnel and permit services, North Las Vegas' operations aren't completely shut down.

The Municipal Court, libraries and recreation centers are open. The police and fire department offices are open, building inspections are performed and utility services provided. Teamsters are among some of those working on Fridays.

Rose said the issue of having City Hall open on Fridays hasn't been dropped, but he said it's not part of any Teamster contract discussions.

As a fast-growing city, North Las Vegas has some critical services, especially for the development community, that need to be provided on Fridays. He suggested one possibility is a staggered work force with schedules of either Monday through Thursday or Tuesday through Friday.

Rose said he doesn't have a timetable on when he would bring the issue to the council for discussion.

Mayor Mike Montandon admits the issue of opening City Hall on Fridays has been a "bone of contention" with the Teamsters but expects talks on it to resume at some point. He said the closure of City Hall on Fridays is one of the most common complaints he receives as mayor, and that the city needs staff available for plan checks for issuing building permits and business licenses.

"Right now, it is necessary to open five days a week," Montandon said. "We are one of the fastest growing cities in the country."

Montandon said he has no interest in a schedule that staggers the work force and has some employees working Monday through Thursday and others working Tuesday through Friday. The city did that in 1997-1998, and it didn't work well because the full complement of staff only worked three days a week, leaving some gaps, he said.

City officials aren't saying what opening City Hall on Fridays will cost. Officials said it depends on which services are provided and how the work week is staggered.

Mauger contends it would cost North Las Vegas $20 million just to launch a Friday schedule and said the expense alone should prevent officials from proceeding.

North Las Vegas implemented the four-day work week because it didn't have the money to give pay raises and offered a curtailed schedule instead, Mauger said.

"It has been that way in Henderson and Boulder City," Mauger said. "It wouldn't be good for the taxpayer, and it doesn't given anything added to the taxpayer. Everything essential is now covered on Fridays."

North Las Vegas City Hall is open from 8 a.m. until 5:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Las Vegas and Clark County offices are open on Fridays. Henderson, meanwhile, closes the Municipal Court and such offices as the city attorney, neighborhood services, redevelopment, economic development, but the city, whose employees work a 38-hour staggered work shift, provided most of its services on a Monday through Friday schedule. That includes development services, the city clerk and human resources department, which are closed in North Las Vegas.

The Teamsters cover a variety of employees in North Las Vegas, including civilians in the police department and detention center, building inspectors, and street and park maintenance workers, personnel staff, recreation staff, management analysts, planners, and some managers.

One of the holdups to contract accord is the union's unwillingness to accept the city's offer of giving employees an annual pay raise based on the national Consumer Price Index, which this year comes to 3.16 percent, the same raise given to council members.

The Teamsters want locked in raises to let members know what they will be earning over the life of the contract, union officials said. In the five-year deal that expired, the Teamsters earned 3 percent in 2000 and 2001, 4 percent in 2002 and 5 percent in 2003 and 2004.

Rose called the city's cost-of-living proposal fair, saying it is used for the council. Police officers and firefighters have set annual pay increases.

In negotiating contracts, he said he needs to be mindful of taxpayers and not place an excessive burden on them.

North Las Vegas is also pushing for a more progressive pay schedule that awards employees, especially long term ones, for their performance. City workers can now top out at what they are paid after one year on the job when they can get an increase as high as 40 percent, Rose said. That's unfair to long-time employees who can't be rewarded for merit, he said.

Maugher said it's the city that put the existing system in place five years ago as a way to more easily track employee pay and raises. In return, the union accepted an employee probationary period extension from 90 days to one year.