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By Dave Toplikar (contact) 
Thursday, May 20, 2010 | 12:42 p.m.
Sun Coverage
- City Council cuts 200 Las Vegas city jobs amid budget shortfall (5-18-2010)
- Las Vegas City Council to deal with $80 million in cuts Tuesday (5-17-2010)
- Largest Las Vegas city employees union returns to table (5-14-2010)
- Mayor: 60 more to lose jobs, firefighters won’t be cut (5-13-2010)
- Mayor: Firefighters, city staff reach ‘agreement in principle’ (5-6-2010)
- Analyst: Don’t cut Las Vegas city jobs (5-5-2010)
- Mayor: City job losses could double earlier estimates (4-22-2010)
- Mayor: More mergers needed between Las Vegas, Clark County (4-29-2010)
- Mayor: City to move forward on employee job cuts (4-21-2010)
- Mayor: Time short for 141 Las Vegas city jobs to be saved (4-15-2010)
- Mayor: Some Las Vegas city jobs might have to be privatized (4-7-2010)
Following the cuts of about 200 city jobs made by the Las Vegas City Council on Tuesday, the mood isn't good among city employees, Mayor Oscar Goodman said today.
"It's glum, as well it should be," Goodman said at his weekly press conference.
Goodman told unions months ago that the job cuts wouldn't be made for the next fiscal year if the unions would agree to going "flat" - forgoing their automatic cost-of-living, step pay increases and longevity increases - plus take an 8 percent reduction in salaries and benefits.
"Since that time, it's changed. But I'll stay by my prior commitment if folks are ready to cut their flat, plus 8 percent," he said. "It's more like flat, plus 10, now."
The city must present its budget to the state on June 1. The first round of layoffs takes place on June 12 when 145 employees lose their jobs. Another round of layoffs takes place July 16 and a third, affecting about a dozen city marshals, takes effect in January.
The unions have floated some offers to the city, but the offers have not met the city's criteria, which was designed to deal with a deficit of about $80 million.
Goodman was asked if there was a specific trigger, such as the current budget deficit, that would automatically force the city's four unions to renegotiate their contracts. Goodman said there is some language to that effect in the contract with firefighters, but not with the other three unions.
"What has happened with two of our unions, they voluntarily opened up their contracts last year and came with a certain percentage reduction and then had their contracts extended in return for that," Goodman said.
The only union currently in negotiations is the firefighters' union, which is still at the table with the city, he said. The next meeting will be Tuesday.
Although a tentative pact was reached recently by negotiators for the city and the firefighters, the council informally rejected it and sent its negotiators back to the table to get more concessions from the firefighters.
The firefighters' last offer included concessions amounting to about $4.7 million, but the city is seeking closer to $8 million in concessions.
If both sides don't agree, an arbitrator would be brought in to conduct fact-finding, then binding arbitration would take place.
"Historically, the city has lost its arbitration," Goodman said. "In this particular time and place, if there are ever going to be changes, based on arbitration, this economy is the economy in which it's going to take place."
He said another question is whether an arbitrator would ever direct "a rollback" of salaries.
"In the past, that has not been the case. But, as I say, this present economy is such that I think it's ripe for change," he said.
Should negotiations be public?
Gov. Jim Gibbons is making a push to change state law to open such negotiations to the public.
Goodman isn't ready yet to open them.
"We're about as close to that as possible because we have public reports as to how we're standing with the negotiations," Goodman said. "There are pros and cons. I believe in transparency. But at the same time, one of the things that government loses in the real world when we are as transparent as transparency would permit, we lose our edge."
For example, in a property transaction, once a government body starts talking about proposals, then it puts itself at a competitive disadvantage with other sectors, he said.
"The pros are I think everybody would feel much more comfortable," Goodman said. "The cons are there may be an awful lot of grandstanding. And, I don't know, unless you're in the process, I don't know if people are going to be able to discern the wheat from the chaff as far as what the grandstanding is and what the real discussions are."
But doesn't grandstanding take place in a lot of city council meetings already?
"The difference is, if you're in a room the negotiations go on for hours," he said. "They sit down, they go in, they try to pound out an agreement."
If they were open, would it favor the city?
"I don't think the public clamor, at least I haven't seen it so far, is going to make one side or the other, management or labor, enter into an agreement," he said.
Goodman said the people who speak to him tell him "the line we're taking is the appropriate line."
LVCEA might present city another concession offer
Before Goodman's press conference, Don King, president of the city employees' largest union, the 1,400-member Las Vegas City Employees Association, said the union's board would meet today to discuss whether to present another concession offer to the city.
King said the LVCEA negotiators had "a marathon" session with the city's staff on Monday, prior to Tuesday's budget hearing. King said the city staff rejected that offer, which he wouldn't disclose.
He said if they do come up with another offer, they hope to present it to the city on Monday.
Meanwhile, he said 96 of his union members will lose their jobs on June 12 and about 40 more will have their jobs cut July 16. The union represents a mix of both blue and white collar jobs, including custodial workers, surveyors, clerical workers and building inspectors — just about everyone who isn't an administrative or appointive employee, a firefighter, a police officer or corrections employee, he said.
Isn't Las Vegas a great city!
Open these negotiations to the public. Do it by close circuit TV. We need to hear what these unions hvae to say to justify there concessions or lack there of. And Oscar although I've been behind most all your proposals comparing these negotiations to purchasing land is way off base.
I hope the building department takes a big hit. One of the worst to deal with in the country. They seem to delay permits and invent reasons to inspect, fail, and reinspect both plan reviews and job sites just to keep themselves employed. My dealings have been on small commercial projects, I can't imagine what there like to deal with on the large / resort projects.
Contract out for personnel. Contract for services. Quit having government be the employer except where it has to be. A few officials to oversee contracts and the police. For the rest, end city employment and hire contractors where the city can add or cut services according to its ability to afford it. And give extra points to bidders that are non union.
This is a difficult situation for everyone affected by it, however, the union needs to put its best and final offer on the table and let the chips fall where they may. People need to get on with the next phase of their life - with or without a city job. For eighteen months, I endured the stress of watching my co-workers lose jobs. I eventually lost mine too, but the stress of the "unknown" was over and I was able to move on.
clean house in the fire dept and put an ad for new people--50k will stand in line for half the pay. They may even do the boot drive on their own time!
@ mrlucky-
oh my god, your a genius. And your taxes will go down by.............. Oh, they won't go anywhere, but you'll probably get a bigger mob museum. You should run for office with that talent of fiscal vision.
--------------
Oh, and whose going to train the new people, well we will keep the training people on.
And who is going to teach them about their experience on the job, well we'll keep some of the older guys on the job.
And what about the specialty groups, well we'll keep some of them so we have a capable crew in case we need them.
And what about administration, well we'll keep some of them to make sure this new attitude department runs right..............Oh wow, I guess we're keeping everyone, but we still need to hire more to keep the OT down. Maybe we should have just done that in the beginning and saved millions.
@ mrlucky-
By the way, the MDA kids would like to thank you also for attacking the FF's so they can't collect for them on duty, or with their nice trucks to help advertise, or the real fire boots to help advertise, or in their uniforms to help advertise, especially when it didn't cost the taxpayers a red cent.
I think they want you to take Jerry's place.
Croc....why do you bother commenting on these posts? Don't you see that the same 5 or 6 people continuously post coments on these blogs? I'm sure you could probably figure out who they are. Stop wasting your time..what's the point?
Give them all showgirl outfits, I hear the mayor is paying $200 and $50 to ride his arms.
Thank you Oscar for staying with the budget.
I wish you could teach Obama afew thing about budgets.
Its sad for the layoff but a budget is a budget.
Look for more deeper cuts in the future.
The good old days are over.
LOL
no wonder the city employees are glum, the mayor is the head of the convention and visitors authority and their wages were frozen. His city employees laid off and 8% pay cuts, makes sense to me, does it to all of you.
Did the showgirls take a pay cut??????
Not
More gin please!!!!!
jazmn,
I'm waiting for paint to dry.
Oh, it's also entertaining.
the showgirls need a raise, and i need a martini!
Loving you Croc1!!
Idiocy.