Table of Contents:
Page
Article I Period of Agreement…………………………………..3
Article II Conditional Recognition……………………………....4
Article III Association and Township Rights and Obligations…...4
Article IV Miscellaneous……………………………………….....7
Article V Non-Discrimination…………………………………..10
Article VI Terms and Conditions of Agreement………………...11
Article VII Salary………………………………………………....11
Article VIII Fringe Benefits…………………………………….....15
Article IX Other...... ………………………………………17
Agreement
This agreement is between Wayne Township, Marion County Indiana, (hereinafter referred to as “Township”) on behalf of the Wayne Township Fire Department, (hereinafter referred to as “Department”) and the Wayne Township Professional Firefighters Association, Local 416 (hereinafter referred to as “Association”). The general purpose of this agreement is to set forth the salary and fringe benefit structure applicable to certain fire fighters, civilian EMS and administrative civilian personnel employed in Wayne Township and to promote orderly and peaceful labor relations for the mutual interest of the Township, the Department and the Association. It is hereby recognized that in this agreement where it states “his” is referring to “his/her”.
Witness: That to facilitate harmony and efficiency to the end that the Township and the Association and the general public may mutually benefit, the Township and the Association have the following understanding:
Article I
Period of Agreement
Section 1 –Duration
This agreement shall take effect January 1, 2015 and shall continue in force and effect until 12:00 midnight, December 31, 2015. This agreement shall remain in full force and effect from year to year thereafter, unless either party desiring to amend this agreement shall notify the other in writing. Notice of a request for amendment shall specify the content of any and all proposed amendments. If no understanding by the parties has been reached by the expiration date, this agreement shall continue in full force and effect until a new agreement is reached by the parties or for a period of one (1) year, whichever is shorter. If no agreement is reached within one year, this agreement may be extended for additional periods of time by written agreement of both parties.
Section 2 -Complete Agreement
This document and associated side letters constitute the sole and complete agreement between the parties. All terms and conditions of employment not covered by this agreement shall continue to be subject to the Township’s and Department’s direction and control.
Section 3 –Separability
In the event that any provisions of this agreement are found to be inconsistent with existing statutes or ordinances/resolutions, the provisions of such statutes or ordinances / resolutions shall prevail; and if any provision herein is found to be invalid and unenforceable by a court or other authority having jurisdiction, then such provision shall be considered void, but all other valid provisions shall remain in full force and effect. The parties hereto agree to notify the other of any ruling in that regard
Article II
Conditional Recognition
Section 1 – Recognition
The Township recognizes the Association as the exclusive bargaining agent to bargain on matters of compensation, benefits and work conditions on behalf of the sworn full time members of the Department of the rank of Battalion Chief or below (“firefighters”); all full time civilian EMS employees (“civilian EMS”) and all other full time fire department civilians employees (“administrative civilians”). The Association shall have no right to act as the bargaining agent for firefighters serving in any appointed ranks above the rank of Battalion Chief, nor paid part time firefighters, EMT’s paramedics or other civilian employees. The terms “firefighter” or “employee” when used in this Agreement shall refer only to those firefighters or civilians within the recognized unit described in Article II.
Article III
Association and Township Rights and Obligations
Section 1 Association Rights
a. Dues Check off. Upon receipt of voluntary, written, current, signed authorizations in such form as complies with the laws of the State of Indiana, from members of the Local 416 covered by this Agreement, the Township shall deduct each month from the earnings of such employees, an amount representing their Association dues for the preceding month. The Township shall remit such monies to the Association or its designated official. The Association shall establish the amount of the dues and agrees to notify the Township of any changes 30 days in advance. The Township shall not be liable to the Association for any failure to make such deductions. In the event of an overcharge already remitted to the Association, it shall be the responsibility of the Association to adjust the matter with the employee. The Association will indemnify the Township and hold it harmless from any or all claims or liabilities which arise under this paragraph. The Association shall be allowed up to two (2) separate dues assessments as provided with the listed above conditions.
b. Bulletin Boards. The Association shall have access to all bulletin boards within normal work areas of covered employees for the purpose of posting Association notices. The Wayne Township Fire Chief, (hereinafter referred to as “Chief”) or his designee shall first approve such notices. The Association may have an internet bulletin board on the Department’s Computer System. The Department has the right to remove, or use reasonable means to prevent the posting of items, it deems offensive or otherwise inappropriate. The Association shall be allowed to use the Department email system to correspond with its members and make them aware of information.
c. Non-Discrimination. Neither the Township nor the Association shall make any regulation affecting the right of any employee or employees to join, or refrain from joining, the Association or other lawful employee organization; provided that the Township shall retain the full right to control employees, actions, property and equipment during working hours and to control the use of Township premises.
d. Time Off for Union Business. The Township and the Department recognizes the need to allow time off for union activities, functions, meetings, conferences/seminars or where elected officials of the Association must be in attendance. A reasonable amount of time shall be granted for elected officials/or designee of the Association to attend such gatherings. Union time shall be construed as time off from scheduled duty day, with pay. Time off shall be based on the understanding that the representative was on duty and not penalized in any way for the time off. The Association shall inform the Department no less than 48 hours prior to the date or time when the leave is to be taken. The Association and the Department through Labor/Management meetings shall agree on a reasonable amount of time and conditions for the leave. It is agreed that such leave can be denied if a suitable replacement for the representative cannot reasonably be arranged.
Section 2 -Township Rights
The Township, on its own behalf and on behalf of its citizens, hereby retains and reserves all powers, rights, authority, duties and responsibilities conferred upon and vested in it by the laws and the Constitution of the State of Indiana and the United States, Township resolution/ordinances and any modifications made thereto. Further, all rights which are ordinarily vested in and are exercised by employers except to the extent they are specifically relinquished herein are reserved to and remain vested in the Township, including but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the right:
a. To manage its affairs efficiently and economically, including the determination of quantity and quality of services to be rendered, the control of material, tools and equipment to be used, and the discontinuance of any services, material or methods of operations.
b. To introduce new equipment, methods, machinery, duties, or processes, change or eliminate existing equipment and institute technological changes, decide on materials, supplies, equipment and tools to be purchased.
c. To subcontract or purchase any or all work, processes or services, or the construction of new facilities or the improvement of existing facilities;
d. To determine and change the number, location and type of facilities and installations.
e. To determine the size of the workforce and increase or decrease its size.
f. To hire, assign and lay off employees, to reduce the workweek or workday or effect reductions in hours worked by combining layoffs and reductions in workweek or workday.
g. To direct the workforce, assign work and determine the number of employees assigned to operations.
h. To establish, change, combine or discontinue job classifications and prescribe and assign job duties, content and classifications.
i. To establish wage rates for any new or changed classifications for sworn personnel.
j. To establish work schedules; and to, from time to time, change those work schedules.
k. To establish work and productivity standards and to, from time to time, change those standards.
l. To establish, maintain and revise rules and procedures for the administration of the Department.
m. To discipline and discharge firefighters according to Merit Law.
n. To adopt, revise and enforce working rules and carry out cost and general improvement programs.
o. To transfer, promote and demote, (according to Merit Law), firefighters from one classification, division or shift to another.
p. To select firefighters for promotion (according to Merit Law), or transfer to supervisory or other positions and to determine the qualifications and competency of employees to perform available work.
q. To employ part time reserves to serve, as firefighters, EMT’s, paramedics, and other part time civilians. The department will consult with the Association before any changes in the number of operational reserves is implemented.
r. To employ, transfer, and promote civilian EMS and administrative civilian employees under the same terms, conditions and rules as other non-fire department civilian employees of Wayne Township
Section 3 -No work stoppage or Lockouts
As the services performed by the employees covered by this agreement are essential to the administration of the department and to the welfare of the public dependent thereon, the Association agrees that in no event whatsoever, during the term of this agreement will the Association or any of the employees covered by this Agreement, initiate, authorize, sanction, encourage, support or engage in any strike, slowdown, concerted job action, work stoppage, “sick-out” or cease the continuous performance of their duties. The Township and Department agrees that no lockout shall take place during the term of this agreement.
The Association acknowledges that any conduct, which violates this section, threatens irreparable harm to the public. The Association shall have no liability for unauthorized activity by employees in violation of this section subject to the agreement of the Association to immediately make a vigorous and bona fide effort to end all such activity in the event of a documented violation of this section, including, but not limited to, written notification to each offending employee that his/her activity is unprotected and is not authorized, supported or ratified by the Association.
The parties recognize the right of the Department and the Wayne Township Fire Merit Commission, (hereinafter referred to as “Commission”) to take such disciplinary action as the Department and the Commission in their sole discretion deem appropriate, including discharge, against any employee(s) who participate(s) in a violation of Article III, Section 3, whether such action is taken against all of the participants or against only certain participants. The parties agree that the issue of whether the discipline imposed or recommended was uniformly applied to all members of the department who violate this Section shall not be raised in any proceeding before the commission or any subsequent appeal of the discipline, nor raised in any proceeding regarding an employee’s eligibility for unemployment compensation. It is understood and agreed by the parties that an employee does have the right to present evidence solely on the issue of whether he/she did, in fact, violate any of the provisions of Article III, Section 3.
Article IV
Miscellaneous
Section 1 -Labor/Management
When referred to in this agreement, Labor/Management will consist of the following people or their designee: Township Trustee, Fire Chief, Association President and the Association Trustee.
Section 2 –Safety
There shall be a Health and Safety Committee established within the Department. The Health and Safety Committee shall be composed of an equal number of representatives appointed by the Fire Chief and the President of the Association. Said committee shall meet at mutually agreeable times and places for the purpose of discussing health and safety problems and recommendations for the remedy of such problems. A reasonable number of meetings shall be held on not less than a quarterly basis. Any recommendations of the committee shall be presented to the Chief, who shall retain exclusive authority to implement, modify, or reject any recommendations.
Any personnel assigned to committee, attending on their day off, will be paid their appropriate hourly rate for time spent at meeting.
Requests for meetings involving the Health and Safety Committee may be initiated by the Fire Chief or the Health and Safety Committee Chairperson, who shall be appointed by the Fire Chief. The Chairperson shall prepare an agenda of items to be discussed and propose a date and place for such meeting.
b. The Department and its employees covered herein shall comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws concerning safety and health. The Department shall make reasonable provisions for the safety and health of its employees during the hours of employment in compliance with applicable laws. On-the-job training for the operation and care of equipment shall be provided by the Department. In this regard, the Association and employees realize that they have joint responsibility to cooperate in maintaining safe practices in the Department.
It is the responsibility of the employees to operate all vehicles, machinery and equipment in a safe manner. An employee who is found unable to do so may be disciplined, removed from the job, or assigned to do work which he/she is able to perform.
Section 3 - Chief / Association Meetings
There shall be established Chief/Association meetings held monthly between the Chief, or designee, and the President of the Association, or designee. The purpose of these meetings is to identify potential labor/management problems and find equitable solutions to these problems. Meeting dates and times shall be determined between both parties involved. Dates and times must be made in advance at least 7 days prior to meetings unless there is mutual agreement. The Association may request through the Fire Chief an emergency/urgent meeting with the time/location agreed upon by both parties.