City
of
And
Seattle
Police Officer’s Guild
Interest
Arbitration
Arbitrator: William L. Corbett
Date
Issued:
Arbitrator:
Corbett; William L.
Case #: 10630-I-93-00228
Employer:
City of
Date Issued:
BEFORE WILLIAM L. CORBETT,
NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR
SGT. E. STRIEDINGER, PARTISAN
ARBITRATOR
FRED C. TREADWELL, PARTISAN
ARBITRATOR
IN THE MATTER OF ARBITRATION ]
BETWEEN: ] CASE
NO. 10630-I-93-228
] AAA CASE NO. 75 390 00015 94
AND ] INTEREST
ARBITRATION
CITY OF
Appearances:
For the Guild:
Will Aitchison, Esq.
Labor Representative
For the City:
Mark H. Sidran
Leigh Ann Tift
10th Floor,
600
The interest arbitration was held on July 25, 26 and
27, 1994, in
Neutral
Arbitrator William L. Corbett; Partisan Arbitrator Sgt. E.
Striedinger;
and Partisan Arbitrator Fred C. Treadwell. The
parties
stipulated to the jurisdiction of the arbitrators,
presented
evidence, argument, and agreed to file post-hearing
briefs. Timely briefs were received from both
parties. Further,
the
parties agreed to extend the time period for completion of the
Decision beyond 60 days to
facilitate the arbitration panel's need
to
circulate and finalize its decision.
THE DECISION
I. BACKGROUND
During the negotiations for 1992-1995 collective bargaining
agreement,
the City of
Officer's Guild (Guild) were
able to reach agreement on all issues
except
one -- the City's proposal to civilianize certain positions
currently
filled by sworn officers. Rather than
delay implemen-
tation of the entire contract, the parties agreed
that the City
would
have the right to refer its civilianization proposal to
interest
arbitration while the remainder of the contract was to
take
effect.
The City has proposed a civilianization of fourteen
positions,
which are:
__________
Position Number
of Positions
Chief Dispatchers 6
Telephone Reporting Unit 4
School Crossing Guard Supervisor 1
Equipment Maintenance Officer 1
Facilities Sergeant 1
Media Relations 1
__________
City Drive Candidates Proposal Following a Study Conducted
by
the Office Of Management and Budget ("OMB") at the direction of
the
considered
"whether additional positions could be converted to
civilian
positions" by matching the duties performed by the
identified
sworn police officers against a set of criteria. If the
position
did not require the "training, experience, powers and
reporting
relationship of the uniformed officer," the position was
included
in the civilianization proposal. See,
Exhibit 4.
Seventeen positions were
initially identified by the OMB study.
See,
Exhibit 4. However, one of these
positions was abrogated in
the
police budget, and two of the positions were not within the
Guild's
jurisdiction. This
arbitration concerns the remaining
fourteen
Guild positions, which the OMB study concluded did not
require
training, experience and arrest powers of a sworn
police
officer. See, Exhibit 4.
II. ISSUE
The issue is whether the City has sustained the necessary
burden
of proof to change fourteen sworn officers positions to
civilian
positions.
III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES
A. Position of the City
The City argued that sworn police officers are not necessary
to
fill the fourteen positions at issue. It
claims that dedicating
sworn
police officers to these positions will not assure that its
personnel,
and limited resources, are put to the highest and best
use. The City justified its civilianization
proposal based on (1)
cost
savings; (2) comparability with similar jobs in similar west
coast
cities; and (3) creating a wider pool of applicants and
qualifications
from which to select candidates for the specific
positions.
1/ The
Guild challenged the City's projected cost
savings;
presented conflicting evidence on comparability; and
asserted
benefits of having sworn officers perform the jobs the
City sought to civilianize.
_____
1 The first two sentences of the City's
"Civilianization Study"
state:
This report deals with the possible civilianization of
certain sworn positions in the Seattle
Police Department.
Civilianization, in general, offers the prospect of several
benefits ranging from a reduction in
salary and training costs to
creation of a wider pool from which to
select new applicants.
_____
1. Cost
The City argued that its civilianization proposal would
save
approximately $200,000 in its first year, with continued,
lesser
savings thereafter. The City's $200,000
figure was based on
totaling
the current cost of having sworn officers perform the jobs
at
issue, and comparing the figure with the projected salaries for
civilian
employees performing the same functions.
The City's
figures
are:
__________
Proposed
Civilian
Function Sworn Title Cost Title Cost Savings
Facilities/ISD Sergeant $62,710 Mgmt. Sys. Analyst $50,033 $12,677
1st Watch Dispatcher Officer $49,955 Dispatcher III $45,190 $4,765
1st Watch Dispatcher Officer $57,954 Dispatcher III $45,190 $12,764
2nd Watch Dispatcher Officer $57,899 Dispatcher III $45,190 $12,709
2nd Watch Dispatcher Officer $57,899 Dispatcher III $45,190 $12,709
3rd Watch Dispatcher Officer $57,899 Dispatcher III $45,190 $12,709
3rd Watch Dispatcher Officer $57,954 Dispatcher III $45,190 $12,764
Comm
OPS Dispatcher $57,003 Radio
Com. $46,724 $10,279
Specialist
TRU Dispatcher $57,003 Dispatcher
I $35,966 $21,037
TRU Officer $55,570 Dispatcher
I $35,966 $19,604
TRU Officer $47,585 Dispatcher
I $35,966 $11,619
TRU Officer $55,328 Dispatcher
I $35,966 $19,362
Media
Relations Officer $55,328 Publ. Rel. Spec. $43,754 $11,574
Crossing Guard Supr. Officer $55,569 Crossing Guard $29,234 $26,335
Supr.
TOTAL $785,656 $584,749 200,907 2
_____
2 At the hearing the City revised its
estimated savings figure
to $210,732.
__________
2. Comparability
The parties have long used seven West Coast cities for
the
purpose of determining comparability with respect to wages,
terms
and conditions of employment. The cities
are: Long
Beach,
and
cities
to determine whether each city had a job comparable to
each
of the specific positions the City sought to civilianize,
and
if so, whether the position was held by a sworn officer or
civilian. The City's survey indicated the following:
__________
CITY POSITION
Chief Telephone School Equipment Facilities Media
Dispatcher Reporting Crossing Maintenance Sergeant Relations
Unit Guard Officer
Supervisor
&
1 sworn
&
sworn
&
1 sworn
_____
3 These new positions were changed from sworn
to civilian in 1991
when a new unit was created.
4 Duties are covered as components of several
civilian jobs.
5 These function are spread out over a number
of sworn and
civilian jobs.
6 This job was changed from sworn to civilian
in 1989 for
financial reasons.
7 These functions are performed by a variety
of sworn and
civilian jobs.
8 This job was changed from sworn to civilian
in June 1989 for
financial, stability, and expertise
reasons.
9 All positions were eliminated due to lack
of funding;
however, they were civilian when they
existed.
__________
B. Position of the Guild.
The Guild Argued that the City failed to establish the
necessary
proof to civilianize the fourteen position.
It argued
the
City did not adequately present and support its proposal
at
the bargaining table; that its proposal would not result in
cost-saving;
that the proposal was not consistent with
civilianization
efforts when compared to other police departments
in
the
City's proposal will have a detrimental impact on performance
of
the respective positions.
1. Cost
The Guild disputed the City's figures. It argued that
civilianization
would increase the City's annual costs by
approximately
$48,000. The Guild's figures indicate:
__________
Function Sworn Title Cost Civilian
Title Cost
Facilities/ISD
10 Sergeant 62,710 Man. Sys.Analyst 114,815
1st Watch Dispatcher Officer 49,955 Dispatcher IV 11 58,055
1st Watch --- Officer 57,954 Dispatcher IV 58,055
Dispatcher
2nd Watch Dispatcher Officer 57,899 Dispatcher IV 58,005
2nd Watch Dispatcher Officer 57,899 Dispatcher IV 58,005
3rd Watch Dispatcher Officer 57,899 Dispatcher IV 58,005
3rd Watch Dispatcher Officer 57,954 Dispatcher IV 58,005
Comm
Ops Dispatcher 57,003 Comm. Spec. 12 61,314
TRU Dispatcher 57,003 Dispatcher III 51,834
TRU Officer 55,570 Dispatcher
III 51,834
TRU Officer 47,585 Dispatcher
III 51,834
TRU Officer 55,328 Dispatcher
III 51,834
Media
Relations Officer 55,328 Sr.Pub.Re.
Spec 13 58,039
Crossing
Guard Super. Officer 55,569 School C.G. Sup. 14 44,178
TOTAL 834,001
TOTAL SAVINGS (48,355)
_____
10 As the testimony at the hearing established,
the incumbent
in this position is currently
performing the equivalent of 2
separate jobs; the City's Exhibit 10
presumed that the replacement
for the officer will only perform 1 of
those jobs. Table 2 reflects
the replacement of the sworn position
with two non-sworn positions.
11 The figures in Table 2 reflected 12%
increase over the wages
paid Dispatcher III's
-- the same differential as between the
positions of Dispatcher II and
III. The costs for Dispatcher IV are
understated, for shift differential is
not included in the
calculation of the Dispatcher wages.
12 Table 2 reflects a $5,000 greater salary
than that reflected
on Exhibit 10. The figures in Table 2 are understated,
before they
ignore the fact that the City will
likely need to hire two civilians to
perform the job.
13 Table 2 presumes that the police department
is likely to be
a "controversial" city
agency.
14 Table 2 reflects the fact that 20% of
crossing guard duties
will have to be performed by a sworn
officer.
__________
2. Comparability
The Guild conducted its own survey and its results, in
part,
conflicted with those of the City. The
Guild's survey was
conducted
by a Guild member who contacted Guild counterparts, in
writing,
at each of the comparable cities, then followed up with
telephone
calls to presidents and vice presidents of each
organization
and with individual officers in the departments.
The results of the Guild's
survey were:
__________
CITY POSITION
School
Telephone Crossing Equipment
Chief Reporting Guard Maintenance Facilities Media
Dispatcher Unit Supervisor Officer Sergeant Relations
& &
1
sworn 1
swn.
&
sworn
20
&
sworn
21
&
sworn
&
sworn
23
&
sworn
24
_____