Teamsters reject deal with North Las Vegas

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 | 12:24 p.m.

Metro Police union ratifies contract without cost-of-living raises (4-6-2009)
Police union for civilians OKs more meager wage increase (4-3-2009)
Police union for civilians OKs lower wage increase (4-1-2009)
County, employee union agree to cut pay increases (3-20-2009)
Rival unions’ efforts to reconcile will be visible to valley nurses (3-20-2009)
New coalition, backed by SEIU, leaves Culinary out (3-17-2009)
Culinary parent's battles threaten national union federation (3-14-2009)

North Las Vegas City Manager Gregory Rose recently presented the City Council with a tentative budget that would cut about $13.5 million if the three unions that represent city employees agreed to concessions.

Last week, the union representing the city's 200 firefighters agreed to the city's concessions. Last night, the Teamsters Union Local 14, which represents about 1,200 city employees, voted against similar concessions by a 3-1 margin.

The deal with the Teamsters would have deferred employee cost-of-living increases in return for better vacation benefits, City Manager Gregory Rose said.

"We believe that the plan that we put forth to the Teamsters was very generous from the standpoint that it would have a minimal impact on them. If there are other plans that they would like for the city to consider, we're certainly still open to that," he said.

The firefighters represented by the International Association of Firefighters Local 1607 have agreed to forgo a 3.5 percent cost-of-living increase this year and defer part of that increase to a time when the economy improves. The deal also cuts the firefighter uniform allowances in half and defers for one year a plan in which employees can sell back to the city a portion of their holiday and sick leave.

The deal is pending City Council approval.

"The North Las Vegas Fire Fighters Union takes great pride in its partnership with the City," said I.A.F.F. Local 1607 President Jeff Hurley. "I am proud to announce that our members overwhelmingly supported and passed these measures."

Rose said he hopes to reach a deal with the North Las Vegas Police Officers Association by the end of the month.

The city has already instituted a hiring freeze, eliminated 70 vacant positions and cut $14.4 million from the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. In the 2009-2010 budget, the staff recommended cutting an additional $34.3 million.

"For the long-term financial health of the city, it's very important that we're able to reach an agreement with the bargaining units or that we make reductions in expenses," he said.

Those reductions could mean layoffs in areas other than public safety, Rose said. The city also could consider privatizing some city operations such as parks maintenance and fleet operations.

Rose will seek the council's direction on reducing expenses at their next meeting on April 15.

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By neiman1

April 7, 2009

4:20 p.m.

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Fire all the Teamster employees and replace them with less expensive people. There are plenty of unemployed that would love a government job.
By sugarbear0119

April 7, 2009

4:49 p.m.

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People need to think about the 89 people that voted for this deal. They don't deserve to lose their jobs. The people who voted against this have seniority with the City and aren't at risk. Where's the humanity?
By gdeupgrl

April 7, 2009

4:50 p.m.

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I'm sorry but where is the truth in reporting. Maybe you should get ALL the facts and what was really offered and rejected before reporting? Just a thought.
By rslc_john (JOHN WILSON)

April 7, 2009

5:51 p.m.

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I wonder how does cutting income to any group help put money into our fragile economy.

Henry Ford was forced by the federal government to cut wages during a similar recession period, and the nation fell into a depression.

I hope the unions realize that cutting or freezing wages will hurt the overall economy rather than help it. We cannot expect firefighter, police officer, nurses, teachers or government workers to take a cut in income any more than we can expect private sectors to take a cut in pay.

This economy will not get better by workers sacrificing while corporate American still remains oblivious to its mistakes.

Las Vegas is an island, that is surrounded by sand instead of water. Take away the very income that keep everything but the strip alive and the economy will go bust...

And for those non-union workers who say "yea cut union wages". Just remember the blade goes cuts both ways... you will be next ... Your bosses will say "it you don't take a cut I might as well go union"...don't kid yourself..

The new slogan by all workers should be "What is made in Vegas stays in Vegas....
By bdover

April 7, 2009

7:22 p.m.

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What does the Teamsters Union have to do with the City of Henderson? Are the people in HR former truck drivers? Nah, they're just a bunch of loafers being protected by Jimmy Hoffa types. And it will go on and on-Where are the inspectors who are inspecting nothing? Hey, Redevelopment Department-wake up those bums over in the corner-it's lunch time....
By tbvegas

April 7, 2009

7:45 p.m.

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Why the heck do these peasants have contracts anyways! Who has a contract in the private world? Maybe a few necessary and highly skilled. Out of all the employees at NLV, maybe 5 qualify.

The secret is finally out and it's at least nice to know who is working for whom and who is serving whom.
By forhonesty

April 7, 2009

7:58 p.m.

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What a liar. I cannot believe the Sun worte such a lie filled article. Rose would not consider alternatives. In spite of concessions he indicated he intended to go ahead with lay offs and privatizing (contracting out) full time positions even if the union voted for the concessions. Almost all the employees would have taken concessions if he had agreed it would save jobs, but he would not. He is no more than a liar who all but promised lay offs in addition to the concessions. So he takes cuts from his employees and then lays them off and hires minimum wage people in their place. There was no negotiation, no trying alternatives; he refused to even sit down and discuss it. He merely wanted to get rid of his city employees. Of course with his outlandish benefit package and a golden parchute that would make him a rich man if they try to get rid of him, why should he care about any one. I am sure he will get an impressive bonus. There is little difference between him and the people at AIG. Shame on the Sun for such unfair, biased and down right ignorant reporting.
By maybevegas

April 7, 2009

8:13 p.m.

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mcmc_john & forhonesty;
You are both right, it is all Rose's fault and Mr. Ford's decreased pay drove us into the depression. Everyone else is lying and you guys aren't giving up nothing without guarantees. mcmc do you really believe the unions are giving up anything compared to the private sector? I know of numerous firms that in addition to layoffs cut wages 20% across the board. Ever hear of a union doing that? All of the govt. sectors are getting minimal concessions and saying "we saved xx millions through hiring freezes". Yeah, but guess what, nobody's been laid off! GET REAL, the mess we are in won't be fixed by hiring freezes. So you can give a little now and a little more in the future, deal withit. Either way you guys will cry that you are the only ones sacrificing anything. Unfair and biased, everytime the union doesn't get the COLA and seniority provision, it's something like that...
By Fairdeal

April 7, 2009

8:51 p.m.

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Jeff Pope? How come you do not research the facts before you go public with so called news (propaganda). The only thing truthful in this article is the title.

Fact is, City management has not negotiated in good faith. There are already contract provisions in place that can be exercised by management. Fact is, they have no plan. The city just signed this contract for which they have failed to continue in good faith. They refuse to make any concessions with regard to their benefits, temporary employees, or give anything in return.

Has any one looked at the 'empire building' of Sr Staff that Gregory Rose has managed to assemble? Not to many years ago, there were only 4 directors. How many Directors, Assistant Directors, Project Managers, Managers does it take to manage a small city? Soon they will out number the laborers. This is a system where managers get promoted/hired before they have anyone to supervise, and when they fail at their job, the solution is to hire an assistant. Has anyone looked into how much poor management is costing? How much they cost? How many have golden deals?

How about the cost of projects that cost millions, and events that are nothing more than political frills at the cost of tax payers.

How does the City Council get away with this crap????

Clearly, Gregory has FAILED at management. Send him packing and you will hear the complaints when citizens see how much money he takes in his golden deal, not to mention what is under the table.

You know what the proper title of this should be??? Something Stinks in North Las Vegas, and it is not RC Farms.
By inmyrightmind

April 8, 2009

12:20 a.m.

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As one of the people that voted to reject the contract, I went in knowing that no matter what the outcome, it would be bad for me. If I vote yes, I am giving up alot more than just the 4% COLA and the other things they want to take away. Now if I say no, then the perception is that I'm a greedy teamster. I'm not an old timer that is just days away from retirement, quite the contrary, I've been with the city just over a year, and just to try and make ends meet, I have to work a second job. If anyone is at threat of a layoff it's me.

Now, the City of North Las Vegas has worked hard to improve it's image and give the citizens the best possible service. My co-workers and I strive to do the best job we can for both the City, and it's citizens. I could not tell you how many times I've heard a citizen either tell me, or call my supervisor about how quickly their issue was resolved.

I'm not saying that we didn't want to make concessions, but for myself, sitting in the meeting, reading the concessions that were there for me to read (on City of North Las Vegas letterhead) and being told that the City's deadline was that night. My first thought is, if I have to make an immediate decision, the answer is no... The best and final offer was not given to me so that I could bring it home and even discuss it with my family. If you were faced with the fact that there were NO guarantees of any sort in this proposal, so even if I did give my COLA up, would it keep my job? What was to stop them from laying me off and hiring out a contractor to do my job?

We just signed our current contract about 6 months ago. Since the City is in charge of issuing building permits, they would know more than anyone when the growth cycle is ending. When we have had meetings and mentioned concerns about the economy getting bad and at risk of layoff, we were always told "the City is in great shape, we've been very conservative with our spending and budget practices" Atleast we were told that until the middle of February. Then suddenly, we have to give up everything?? What happened in the middle of February that suddenly cause the City's finances to plunge in the tank? Where I work, almost 1/2 of the employees have been there two years or less.

Why didn't they start this warrant and ticket moratoriam(sp) back in January just to see if they could get 25% of the $40,000,000 that they are owed?? wouldn't that solve the problem without having to pick the pocket of your employees?

Mr Rose, if you saw this coming, why did you hire all of us?
By punkinlover

April 8, 2009

8:55 a.m.

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Unfortunately unless you are one of the people who are affected by this vote you do not really understand what it means. The reason the firefighters accepted their propsosal is because they are Public Safety and do not have to worry about layoffs, nor does the Police. The teamster's only wanted a guarantee that if we gave up our 4% raise there would be NO layoffs. Mr. Rose would not agree to that, nor would he agree that the temporary workers, the summer interns, and the seasonal workers would be let go PRIOR to the full time employees. Would you agree to give up your income knowing that the layoffs would happen anyway? It is an awful situation for people to have to make a decision like that and to have to make it on that night. That was the deadline the Teamsters were given. Mr. Rose offered to give up 5% of his raise IF the City Council would approve it, well that was really nice of him as he received a 12% raise so he is still going to see an increase of 7% which is considerably more than any teamster will see this year or next.
By rslc_john (JOHN WILSON)

April 8, 2009

2:13 p.m.

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maybevegas, I am from the private sector. But what does that have to do with the idea that big business and government officials are again asking for labor (union and non-union) to give up part of their income in order to help the economy? It was not labor, at least the blue-collar or white-collar workers that did not run corporations or wall street that made the mistakes that put this country in a recession. Why should they be asked to sacrifice again?

Look, if you tax a worker 35% of their $60,000 dollar income, the government receives approximately $21,000 dollars per year in tax revenues. Reduce that income by 20% (your suggested number) to $48,000 dollars, the tax revenue would drop to approximately $16,800. This will produce a loss of revenues for the government of $4,200 per family or worker. The family would loose about $12,000 of income, minus the tax difference of $4,200 which would leave a negative of disposable income per wage earner or family of $7,800 per year. How will these two losses help the recovery?

Stupid is as stupid does " we tried this program of sacrificing during the 80's under Ronald Reagan.

During the 80's recession workers gave up benefits and wages in order to see America become strong again (both union and non-union). President Ronald Reagan talked about trickle down economics and supply-side economics. He believed that workers would gain back what they were willing to give up once the county was back on the road to recovery.

Only a blind deaf and dumb republican would believe Ronald Reagan was not for increases in pay and benefits for the workers. [and yes, I am a republican] Look at his leadership of SAG during his two terms as their president. Yes, he was against Union abuse as much as he was against all types of abuse in the work place. But lets not kid ourselves into believing that he was against workers uniting for protection of their well-being. And the city workers in North Las Vegas are not abusing the city, but trying to maintain what they have in order to feed their families.
By rslc_john (JOHN WILSON)

April 8, 2009

2:13 p.m.

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America doesn't need to go back to the .25 cent hamburger or .10 cent coke in order for us to come out of this recession. But for us to come out of it faster and stronger we need to return to a fair wage for everyone. And I define a fair wage as one that allows one wage earner to earn enough to provide for his or her family; a fair wage that requires employers to pay for benefits so government's subsidies to pay for health care; a wage that will support the ridiculous policy of the debt ridden Social Security system but also pay into our own retirement so we don't pass this debt onto our children" We can do this.

This is a country of the people, by the people, and for God sake for the people" this time around let the banks, the insurance company and wall street wait until the people get healthy before they get healthy and greedy again. And if the government wants to get healthy they can do it by making sure the people get healthy first".for every $1,000 per year increase the workers make the government will increase their tax base by $350 dollars, and that is without raising our taxes". The more workers make the more they will spend and the quicker we come out of this recession " especially in Nevada where the tax base is levied on the backs of spending"
By forhonesty

April 8, 2009

7:50 p.m.

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For every one who hates government employees, are you going to go stand in line for jobs that Gregory Rose would pay less than McDonald's or Walmart? "Fire them all," just like Rose wants, and then perhaps he can hire daily on Bonanza Rd for the replacements. But do not complain if your water lines break, your traffic signals and street lights go dark, your neighborhood is covered with graffiti, your parks turn into weed fields and the play equipment is destroyed by vandals, you cannot pay your water bill so it is shut off, your roads become impassable with pot holes, your sewers back up, dogs can run freely to attack at leisure, or any other issues that so many have come to consider their 'right'. Is that the preference? Do any of you even begin to consider the many benefits you receive, or are you to busy pointing accusing fingers. Come on, run 100lb jack hammer for a day, for what $5.00 an hour, no benefits. Would that be considered fair? Have at it. The biggest complainers are likely to be the laziest. But if you want to talk of cutting the fat, we are all for it, cut the adminstration in half and we could all be happier. They create more problems than they are worth and tend to make us less efficient. But does anybody believe that Gregory Rose will reduce his 'posse'. Nope, it makes him feel important. Get rid of the drags of the City, starting with Rose, and we could all save money and be happier. But those of us in the trenches do not deserve the scorn any more than your garbage man does, we do the work for you.
By waterguy111

April 9, 2009

12:21 a.m.

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The souloution is simple, get rid of Gregory Rose, and to do that people must vote in the general election and elect William Robinson for Mayor and Woods for City Council.
Any other vote will get you more of the same. As The Mormon Mafia will then have 3 people who will control everything in North Las Vegas, and they are taking money to vote on the council.
Montandon, while gone, is not shy about accepting $50,000.00 from the Binion family for rezoning of land at Losse/Centenial, and the Utilities Director, Bereskin worked on a location for the not needed treatment plant for 7 years ,only to find out after having the taxpayer pay 1 million per acre the site was inappropiate.
Also, the land at Craig Ranch was purchased for 52 million for a park from Mantandon's ex- business partner, and he expects you to beleive that he did not profir one penny.
Sherry Buck, scared away a $70,000,000.00 school project up near Pecos and 215, because she wanted them to put in the streets as well. They said "thanks", and built the school in Summerlin.
And for Montandon to accept $50,000.00, who do you think he shared the money with, how about Buck and Smith for starters.
Wherer is the Fed's when all this open graft is going on?
Oh by the way, the new treatment plant is on Nellis AFB, and they get 500,000.00 for 25 years, free water for the base and golf course for 25 years, and the City is building them a new Recreation Center.
Sounds like a good deal for Nellis, but horrible management on both parts by Rose and Bereskin.
And why do all the Directors need City paid cars, gas, maintenamce, and insurance. Not to mention Rose and his $800,ooo.00, golden parachute.
Change has to happen in City Council, in order to get rid of Rose, and the bunch of clowns he brought in to feed at the taxpayer trough.
By rumrunner

April 9, 2009

10:09 a.m.

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What ever happened to the idea of keeping your job on your merits? Im sure im not the only one that has seen these workers doing a job that could be done by 2 or 3 people,but instead there are more like 8 or 12,and then see only one or 2 really doing anywork? I have been part of the unions,and have seen how these people are. The unions were good years and years ago. If you need someone to look for your job by way of some list,then looks as to me you werent qualified for the job anyways?