Clark County union impasse nearing end; sticking point is money

After two years of contentious contract negotiations, Clark County and the 5,000 members of its largest employee union, SEIU Local 1107, are headed toward a resolution, though not because the two sides finally agree.

Ending the dispute, which has dragged on since June 2013, will require intervention from a third-party arbitrator, former law professor Ross Runkel, who heard arguments this month and is expected to issue a decision this fall.

The two sides disagree on several issues, but the biggest point of contention is longevity pay, which offers employees with more than eight years of service guaranteed annual pay bumps.

Local governments and employees are in flux. After years of layoffs and pay freezes, governments now are on sound-enough footing to begin giving raises again, and employees are eager to recoup earnings lost during the recession. But county and local governments still are keeping a close eye on the bottom line and are using negotiations to reshape how new employees are compensated.

Tensions peaked when the county invoked a new state law to withhold raises for some employees and send union leaders back to their desk jobs.

Here’s a look at the controversy and how it may be resolved.

The sticking point

Over the past two years, the union and county management have worked to find common ground on almost every issue but money.

While the size of annual pay raises and the length of a new contract were major points of contention, the key to the whole deal has been longevity pay, which amounts to a 0.57 percent raise per year.

Once considered a staple of the public-employee benefits package and a key retention tool, longevity pay now is seen by Clark County officials and others as an outdated form of compensation that does little to reward merit.

No current employees would lose longevity pay under the county’s proposal — only new hires would be affected — but the SEIU rejected doing away with the perk for any employee. The union instead offered to increase the service time needed to receive longevity pay from eight years to 10 years, a proposal county officials rejected.

Road to resolution

Both sides presented contract offers to the arbitrator, and attorneys have until August to submit written arguments. Runkel will issue a binding ruling on the new contract, likely in September or October.

Although the arbitrator can mix and match elements from both contracts, it’s more likely the entirety of either proposal will be adopted.

What’s likely to happen to longevity pay? The county eliminated it for new hires in contracts with nine other unions. But those changes resulted from regular negotiations.

In two recent cases settled in arbitration, SEIU employees working at University Medical Center and for the Regional Transportation Commission kept longevity pay.

New law raises tensions

Animosity between Clark County and the SEIU boiled over last month over a new state law passed by the Republican majority in Carson City.

Senate Bill 241 prevents raises for employees once a contract expires and ends the practice of paid union leave, in which the county pays union officials for time spent doing union work.

Based on the law, the county suspended merit raises for workers, sparking outrage from the union, which accused the county of overreaching and playing political games with employees’ livelihoods. Union officials argue the measures shouldn’t be imposed because the previous contract was in effect before the law was passed.

The county’s lawyer said measures from Senate Bill 241 are mandatory and must be imposed.

The difference of opinion led SEIU members to file a complaint with the state Employee-Management Relations Board, the merits of which will be decided separately from the contract negotiations.