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City of El Paso Fire Department Wage Raise Policy Charter Amendment, Proposition 2 (May 2015)
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A question regarding pay increases for El Paso firefighters was on the ballot for El Paso voters in El Paso County, Texas, on May 9, 2015. It was approved.
Two different proposed amendments to Article 9 -- "Wages and Other Compensation" -- of the El Paso City Charter were proposed. One came from the city, and the other, which was chosen by voters, was put forward by the firefighters' union.[1]
The proposal put forward by Local 51, the International Association of El Paso Firefighters, was designed to prescribe annual 3 percent raises to the wages of firefighters for three years beginning on September 1, 2015.[1]
The other amendment, which was proposed by the city, was designed to give the following, significantly smaller wage increases:
- 1.25 percent increase retroactively on March 1, 2015
- 0.25 percent increase on March 1, 2016
- 0.5 percent increase on March 1, 2017
- 0.25 percent increase March 1, 2018
A "yes" vote on this ballot measure was a vote for the firefighters association's proposal. A "no" vote was for the city's proposal.
Three propositions designed to let voters decide between the union's proposals and the city's proposals were on the ballot for the election on May 9, 2015. A majority of electors voted "yes" on all three proposals, which means voters chose the union's proposals in each case.
Election results
| El Paso, Proposition 2 | ||||
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 23,450 | 67.67% | ||
| No | 11,205 | 32.33% | ||
- Election results from El Paso Elections Office
Text of measure
Ballot question
The following question appeared on the ballot:[1]
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The City of El Paso and Local 51, International Association of El Paso Firefighters propose different pay increases for the firefighters. The Association of firefighters proposes pay increases in the following specified amounts:
Instead of the Association’s proposed pay increases above, the City of El Paso proposes pay increases in the following specified amounts:
On September 1, 2015, entry level steps will be eliminated to move Firefighters’ to a higher pay grade and increase their pay by 5%. A maximum 1.0% step will be added to the pay scales to increase the pay of Firefighters who are the last step in their pay grade. Effective September 1, 2016, the step that was added on September 1, 2015 will increase to 1.5%. Are you in favor of Local 51, International Association of El Paso’s Firefighters proposal instead of the City’s proposal? A vote “Yes” is for Local 51, International Association of El Paso Firefighters’ proposal. A vote “No” is for the City’s proposal.
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Background
Referendum process
Juli Lozano, the city's spokeswoman, said the referendum process is used as a last resort by the city during collective bargaining. She said, "The right for a referendum with regard to collective bargaining did not exist until 1989, and this is the first time we are conducting an election pursuant to Chapter 3.11A of the City Charter."[3]
Police referendum
On May 10, 1988, El Paso voters rejected a referendum about proposed wages for the police department. This measure was put to the voters under a different mechanism than the one that triggered this referendum according to the city charter's collective bargaining referendum provision established in 1989.[3]
Support
Since voting "yes" on this referendum amounts to approval of the firefighters assocation's proposal, "supporters" of this referendum consist of those who agree with the fire department's position.
Joe Tellez, president of firefighters association, said, "I think that firefighters would be happy just to get the health insurance plans and premiums settled." Concerning the referendum over wage increases, he said, "We're asking for a fair increase. We've done our homework. We've had impasses before, but this is the first time that we find ourselves headed to a referendum. Our current contract is in place until we can negotiate a new one."[3]
The union has also claimed that the city is using false fiscal scare tactics to shortchange firefighters and that, since 2010, the city has only approved 1.5-percent annual cost of living increases to firefighter salaries. The union also focused on the raises given to City Manager Joyce Wilson, claiming her salary was increased by more than 40 percent over her career.[4]
Paul Thompson, second vice president of Local 51, explained that firefighters had accepted the small 1.5-percent raises until health insurance contributions were increased by the city. Thompson said, "The latest round of collective bargaining negotiations began under (Wilson). Her pay raise was actually a little more than 40 percent since she was hired, and that doesn't include the perks. We had agreed to 1.5 percent pay raises, to help the city, but with the 350 percent increase we're facing for health insurance, we had to ask for better pay."[4]
Union representatives also argued that El Paso firefighters are paid less than firefighters in most other major cities in Texas, comparing the average firefighter salary throughout the state of $41,000 to the average salary in El Paso of $36,000. Thompson said, "Firefighters in Austin have 28 pay steps, compared to five for us."[4]
Opposition
Since voting "no" on this referendum amounts to approval of the city's proposal, "opponents" of this referendum consist of those who agree with the city's position.
According to City Manager Tommy Gonzalez, the fire department's proposal would require a property tax increase, costing city property owners an additional four cents on the dollar. City spokeswoman Juli Lozano said this increase would amount to about $13 million in revenue. City officials put this number into "average home-owner terms," saying the union's proposal would cost an additional $57.63 to the average homeowner over three years, while the city's proposal would increase costs to the average homeowner only $4.81 over the same time period.[3][5][6]
Contradicting the union's claim that firefighters have only received minimal cost of living adjustments since 2010, the city issued a written statement saying, "For example, despite the claim that they haven't had a pay increase since 2010, in fact, the firefighters have received two across-the-board increases of 0.5 percent in 2013 and 1 percent in 2014, longevity increases of 0.10 percent every year, and the sick leave payout incentive went into effect in 2013 and 2014 with 3.3 percent and 4.3 percent in payments, respectively, for those firefighters who participate in the payout program. And all of this is on top of 5 percent annual increases for those firefighters who have not reached the top step."[4]
Costs of the three proposals
There are three proposals on the table, as of May 1, 2015:
- The city's initial proposal, summarized above.
- The union's proposal, summarized above.
- A compromise proposal from the city.
The city gave the union an alternative proposal after the collective bargaining referendums were already put on the ballot. The union conducted an eternal election on the proposal. If the results are positive, the referendums before all city voters may be affected. Below are two charts showing the city's cost analysis of all three proposals for city taxpayers.
The first chart shows the total costs and the estimated property tax rate increases:
The second chart shows the cost increases for tax payers who own a home with the average value of $124,192, after the $5,000 Homestead Exemption:
Path to the ballot
Article III, Section 3.11A of the El Paso City Charter provides that "[a] referendum election may be called by the City Council when a collective bargaining agreement between the City and an employee organization so provides." This was the case for the three referendums put before voters on May 9, 2015. The city and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 51 was unable to come to an agreement over health insurance premiums, wage increases or policy on random drug testing. Therefore, these referendums were called in order to let voters decide the issues. According to Juli Lozano, the city's spokeswoman, this is the first time this charter provision as been employed to settle a collective bargaining dispute.[3]
Other elections
On May 9, 2015, El Paso voters also voted on city council members for districts one, five, six and eight. For more details about these races, see this page. A runoff election was scheduled to be held on June 13, 2015, depending on the results of the election on May 9, 2015.
Related measures
- City of El Paso Fire Department Increases to Firefighter Health Insurance Contributions Charter Amendment, Proposition 3 (May 2015)
- City of El Paso Fire Department Positive Drug Test Policy Charter Amendment, Proposition 1 (May 2015)
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 El Paso City Government, "EFPD Collective Bargaining Charter Amendments," accessed April 20, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 El Paso Times, "El Paso voters may decide on how much city should pay firefighters," February 23, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 El Paso Times, "Firefighters union, El Paso City Council trade complaints," May 1, 2015
- ↑ El Paso City Government, "Estimated Impact for Average Value Home," accessed May 3, 2015
- ↑ El Paso City Government, "Estimated Cost of Proposals," accessed May 3, 2015
