Employees union votes ‘no’ on deal

CITY HALL — The city’s largest employee association voted to reject a proposed one-year contract absent of any pay increase — setting up a potential impasse with the city.

The Glendale City Employees’ Assn. fell a few votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to ratify the proposed contract, which was the result of several months of negotiations between the city and the union, Human Resource Director Matt Doyle said Friday.

Seven-hundred of the association’s approximately 1,000 members took part in the vote, Doyle said.

In an effort to make up for the pay, the city agreed to pick up increased costs for the employees’ medical insurance premiums, according to the proposed contract. The city usually pays only half of the premium.

The agreement also included an increased uniform allowance and language allowing for the voluntary furloughs, or unpaid days off.

The contract was scheduled to be considered by the City Council on Tuesday alongside the new Glendale Managers Assn. contract, which lacked a pay increase. That agreement was ratified by a required 50% majority, officials said.

Both contracts expired June 30.

But without an agreement for the general employees union, the city is forced to negotiate a new contract or declare an impasse.

On Friday, Doyle said city officials were still determining how to move forward.

“We need time to assess our options,” he said. “There are no hard feelings; this is a process it has to go through.”

Glendale Employees’ Assn. President Craig Hinckley could not be reached for comment Friday.

Besides forgoing a pay increase, also of note in both contract proposals was the one-year periods. Typically, contract agreements cover two to four years at a time, but executives have increasingly sought shorter lengths so that their agencies can more nimbly respond to recession-inspired calamities.

“We don’t know what the future will bring in terms of financial and budgetary issues,” said Mayor Frank Quintero.

The lack of pay increases were in light of the city’s recent $9.7 million in budget cuts.

Earlier this year, the Glendale Firefighters’ Assn. agreed to forgo increases while in the middle of its contract. City executives, who work at will, also committed to accepting no increases.