Agreement has been reached between the negotiators on behalf of the City and the Sunnyvale Employees Association (SEA). This Agreement, if approved by Council, is effective July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2004. SEA general membership ratified this agreement on March 21, 2000. This report recommends that the Salary Resolution be amended to implement the agreed upon provisions of the SEA Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The MOU with SEA expired on June 30, 1999. Negotiators for the City and SEA began the meet and confer process in January 1999, and have spent a considerable amount of time at the negotiating table. Impasse was invoked on June 3, 1999, and the arbitration hearing was held on February 14, 2000. The Arbitrator and his two panel members provided the Arbitration Board’s proposal and recommendation, the substance of which is articulated below under Discussion and in the SEA MOU.

The general provisions of the proposed amendments are as follows:

With this MOU, the City and SEA agreed to a annual total compensation survey to establish salaries for the benchmark classifications and respective classifications in each job families.

Effective retroactively to August 8, 1999, salaries will be increased and are as set forth in Exhibit A of the Salary Resolution attached hereto. The salaries indicated for the twelve (12) classifications in the Staff Office Assistant benchmark job family include a 2.0% adjustment for pay equity. Further, the classification of Groundsworker (a classification in the Utility Worker benchmark job family) received an additional 2.5% internal salary adjustment retroactive to August 8, 1999.

The City has agreed to conduct three special studies to be completed during the term of the MOU. The studies will review specifics as detailed in the MOU for the Programmer, Senior Civil Engineer, and Leisure Services Coordinator I classifications.

Effective the first pay period following ratification of the MOU (pay period beginning April 2, 2000), the translator/bilingual premium will be increased to sixty dollars ($60.00) per month or twenty-seven dollars and sixty-nine cents ($27.69) per pay period.

Effective the first pay period following ratification of the MOU (pay period beginning April 2, 2000), the length of time for eligibility for out-of-class pay will be decreased from five (5) consecutive work days to three (3) consecutive work days. All other provisions remain the same.

A provision for court pay has been included with the MOU and provides, in the situation where an employee cannot modify his/her work schedule so that the City-related Court duties occur during the employee’s work time, that a minimum of four (4) hours call-back at the overtime rate be paid, provided certain conditions are met.

Effective retroactively to July 1, 1999, the annual safety shoe allowance shall be $200.00. Future payment of the allowance shall be made at the end of the first full pay period ending in July of each year to those active employees in classes requiring safety footwear.

The City shall report, as special compensation as required by PERS procedures, the standardized value, as determined by the City, for qualified uniforms for each employee required by the City to wear a uniform, and who actually wears the uniform during working hours.

The City shall adopt the necessary resolutions and obtain written confirmation of compliance from the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) to report the value of employer paid member contributions (EPMC) of seven percent (7.0%) as additional compensation for each SEA-represented employee retroactive to August 8, 1999. The cost of this benefit is shared with SEA through its total compensation salary setting methodology.

The City shall amend its contract with the PERS to provide the Military Buy-Back Option (Military Service Credit for Public Service) for PERS Miscellaneous members.

For employees in the classification of Hazardous Materials Coordinator and/or Fire Protection Engineer who are under the PERS Safety Retirement Program (2% @ 50), the City agrees to pay the following additional amounts on behalf of the employee for the employee’s share of the PERS retirement contribution:

1. One percent (1%) effective the first pay period including July 1, 1999;
2. One percent (1%) effective the first pay period including July 1, 2000; and
3. One and one-quarter percent (1.25%) effective the first pay period including July 1, 2001.

The City will review the PERS Actuarial study of the costs associated with the cost of the single highest year option with potential for contract amendment to shift the cost to the employer and reduce the employee contribution from 8% to 7% provided no additional cost would result for the City.

Effective with the pay period beginning January 9, 2000, the City's contribution towards medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, the employee assistance program, and optional life insurance will increase by fifteen dollars ($15.00) per pay period to two hundred seventy-three dollars and ninety-six cents ($273.96) per pay period or to five hundred ninety-three dollars and fifty-eight cents ($593.58) per month.

Effective with the pay period beginning January 7, 2001, the City's contribution towards medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, the employee assistance program, and optional life insurance will increase by fifteen dollars ($15.00) per pay period to two hundred eighty-eight dollars and ninety-six cents ($288.96) or to six hundred twenty-six dollars and eight cents ($626.08) per month.

Dental coverage has been expanded to allow dual dental coverage under dental plans offered for each bargaining group, if elected, by husbands/wives represented by different bargaining groups

Effective April 1, 2000, under the Met Life dental plan or its successor, the dental coverage for Type C services will be increased from 50% to 75%.

Effective July 9, 2000, the amount of the cash in-lieu payment will increase. Depending on the coverage dropped, the employee will be eligible to receive a monthly payment of eighty-two dollars and thirty-three cents ($82.33) to two hundred thirteen dollars ($213.00).

This incentive schedule will be in effect through June 30, 2002, and will be reviewed on the first full pay period which includes July 1, 2002.

Vacation Leave

Effective July 1, 1999, a new level has been added to the vacation accrual schedule which will provide an accrual rate of seven (7) hours per pay period for employees with 521-650 pay periods of service (20-25 years of service). In addition, the maximum vacation accrual has been increased to 400 hours. Further, the annual minimum usage requirement has been eliminated.

Upon amendment of the City’s Administrative Policy, if an employee is on LWOP, either authorized or unauthorized, leave accrual will be pro-rated based on the number of paid hours in the pay period.

Bereavement Leave now includes grandparent or grandchild of the employee’s spouse.

The grievance/MOU interpretation impasse procedure has been modified slightly and now contains provisions similar to those included in the PSOA 1997-2003 MOU.

Requests for reclassification will now be accepted bi-annually during the months of February and August of each year.

The City and the Association will continue the previously established committee for the resolution of problems, formed to resolve labor-management issues in a way that maximizes the chances of mutual agreement.

Modifications have been made in the language of the articles on Recognition, Non-Discrimination and Promotional Exams (Rule of List). Language has also been included for Self-Directed Work Teams, employees covered by Department of Transportation (DOT), reference to the City’s Equal Employment Opportunity Program, and a re-opener for Domestic Partners if the City Council implements a Domestic Partners Policy.

The new or modified provisions within the SEA agreement have been covered above.

The cost to the City to implement the first year of this Agreement is approximately $1,460,000. Costs for the terms and provisions of the new SEA agreement are in excess of the amount provided in the budget. A budget modification for Fiscal Year 1999/2000 will likely be required as well as an adjustment in future years’ projections.

The public is notified of this action through placement on the City Council agenda. Employees represented by SEA are notified by receipt of a copy of the corresponding MOU and a copy of this report to the SEA president.

Alternative #1; adopt the Salary Resolution amendments as proposed, and implement the provisions of the SEA MOU.

1. SEA MOU
   Table of Contents in Adobe Acrobat format
   Body of the Agreement in Adobe Acrobat format
2. Amendment to the Salary Resolution in Adobe Acrobat format