Final approval of RTC labor contract is delayed

By Richard N. Velotta

Thursday, July 12, 2012 | 7:07 p.m.

A five-year labor contract widely praised by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and its union employees didn’t win final approval as expected Thursday so that commissioners and the agency could explain some of the details of the deal to the public.

Commissioners unanimously agreed to continue a public hearing and final vote to their scheduled Aug. 9 meeting.

But there’s no doubt the contract would be approved after commissioners, union leaders and agency managers called the agreement a breakthrough in local labor relations because both sides were willing to compromise on issues that have hung up negotiations in other public employee union talks.

While some critics — most notably Carol Vilardo of the Nevada Taxpayers Alliance — believe the RTC didn’t demand more concessions and raised bus rates to the detriment of the riding public, agency leaders say the new contract will save $1.3 million over the next five years compared to terms of the current contract.

“I think this contract sets a new bar for collective bargaining in Southern Nevada,” said RTC Chairman Larry Brown, a member of the Clark County Commission.

“It succeeded because both sides were able to think outside the box,” added Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani. “I’m amazed that they (the Service Employees International Union) gave in on longevity pay.”

Actually, longevity pay wasn’t totally eliminated. New employees would get a lower rate, 0.3 percent of salary compared with the current 0.57 percent of salary, under the new contract. Current employees will keep existing rates.

Longevity pay is a raise based solely on holding the job and has been a standard feature in many union contracts. It hasn’t been as important to union workers during the recession because fewer people are leaving their jobs since it’s more difficult to find new ones.

The contract includes merit pay for workers, but it doesn’t kick in unless Clark County sales tax revenues climb. However, the standard for collecting a merit raise is lower with employees being rated either “proficient” to get one or “not proficient” to be denied.

The contract also includes cost-of-living increases that don’t begin until the second year of the deal and they’re based on a three-year average of the western division of the Consumer Price Index. The RTC’s union employees haven’t received a cost-of-living bump since 2009.

Negotiators on both sides said they were happy with the final outcome.

“I knew we had to come up with something fiscally responsible and fiscally viable,” said Assistant General Manager Jerry Keating, who led the RTC’s negotiating team.

Al Martinez, president of SEIU Nevada Local 1107, said there were disagreements, but no impasses in the negotiations.

“At the end of the day, I’d say both sides won,” Martinez said.

Keating and Martinez said both sides sought to avoid an impasse, which would have led to an arbitrator deciding the final outcome on disputed terms.

Despite all the positive comments, commissioners opted to delay a final action so that RTC officials could explain the details of the agreement to the public. Commissioner Steve Ross, a Las Vegas city councilman, said he was concerned the public would get the wrong message about granting raises for employees while raising bus rates, even though they were separate actions and the contract saves the RTC money.

“We don’t want it perceived as an underhanded deal,” added Keating.

In other business, the commission unanimously approved a new bus route between downtown Las Vegas and the soon-to-open Veterans Affairs Main Hospital on Pecos Road in North Las Vegas.

Buses will operate between 5 a.m. and midnight every day and the route will take 35 minutes to cover. Buses will begin operating Aug. 6 to accommodate hospital staff and the first patients will be served Aug. 14.

John Bright, director of the VA Southern Nevada Health Care System, said about 64,000 veterans are enrolled in Southern Nevada and about 12 percent of them regularly use public transportation.

The line is being launched with Veterans Affairs funding and a federal congestion mitigation and air quality grant.