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Teamsters tentatively accept school raises
By BARBARA BEHRENDT, Times Staff Writer INVERNESS -- In what could be the shortest pay raise negotiation in the history of unions in the Citrus public schools, the Teamsters union gave its tentative approval Wednesday to retroactive raises for the current school year. Citrus administrators made their first pay offer for this school year about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and about three hours later, Teamsters accepted. Usually such negotiations stretch over weeks or months. The tentative agreement must be approved by the employees and the School Board. The agreement increases hourly pay for the district's blue collar workers by 15 cents an hour across the board. Workers at the top of their salary scale won't get an increase but will receive a salary supplement of up to $500. The raise package will cost the district approximately $85,000. The union, which represents more than 400 Citrus bus drivers, maintenance workers, custodians, technicians and food service workers, agreed to sign off on the contract quickly, but not necessarily because officials liked the provisions. Teamster representative Leo Krug questioned chief administration negotiator Ed Murphy about whether the offer was the district's final offer and Murphy said it was. So Krug noted that, whether he liked it or not, he had an obligation to present it to the employees for consideration. Teamster employees expressed several concerns about Wednesday's negotiations. Krug questioned how he would be able to sell the small raise to employees and told Murphy that 25-cent raises would have been easier to justify to workers who had not yet seen pay raises this year. "We think it's fair and equitable," Murphy said. "We're sure it's not what people expected but you have got to look at the economics things. You have to look at what is affordable and this is affordable." Others on the Teamsters team were anxious to talk about other issues beyond pay raises including increased pay for bus drivers driving for field trips and increased meal allowances. There was also displeasure and confusion over the structure of the raise package. While some employees just reaching the top of their pay scale would see only the 15-cent an hour raise, which amounts to about $300 a year more for full-time workers, others already there because of their salaries under the old pay structure would receive more -- as much as $500 in pay increase. When Krug asked Murphy why that was, all Murphy said was that was how it worked out. Murphy said he expected the Teamsters to agree to the package and that other union concerns could be addressed when they return to the table to bargain for the 2002-03 year. "We had wanted to get this year behind us," Murphy said, as union team members began balking over reaching a settlement so quickly. "If we cannot come to some TA (tentative agreement) shortly, I'm not so sure the retroactivity would still be there." Murphy added, "It's not that I want to hold that over anybody's head, but that (the offer of retroactivity) is today." Krug stood abruptly at his place saying, "Ed, I need to see you outside for a sidebar." "Uh oh," said Murphy as he got up to follow Krug into another office. Murphy and Krug came back a few minutes later to announce a brief break for lunch. The settlement came shortly after the groups reconvened. None of the district's roughly 2,000 workers have seen pay raises this year. Administrators suspended negotiations in spring pending additional budget information. Then the budget shortfalls which came to light after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a shortfall in the student count kept employee unions away from the bargaining table until this week. Teachers and the aides, clerks and secretaries represented by the Citrus County Education Association meet in their first session to talk about pay this school year at 9:30 a.m. today. -- Times Staff Writer Barbara Behrendt can be reached at behrendt@sptimes.com or 564-3621.
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