Iorio: Tampa contract talks with unions reach impasse

Mayor Pam Iorio said today the city cannot afford pay raises of any amount and declared an impasse in contract talks with the three unions representing city employees.

"As a city government, we have a tremendous deficit in revenues," Iorio said in a press release, "and this will be the third year in a row that we have to make cutbacks in our workforce in order to balance the budget."

The mayor's declaration could shift the fight to the City Council Chambers. Last year, the politically potent firefighters union won unanimous council approval for pay raises totaling nearly 10 percent for most union members. Iorio had wanted much less.

Now, however, the city's revenue situation has worsened and council sentiment might be shifting toward the mayor.

"I will back the mayor on this," said Councilman Charlie Miranda. "There's no other way of doing it than to face the reality of what we have."

The mayor's statement of impasse means one of two things happens next: either the dispute can go to a special magistrate for a recommended settlement, or straight to the City Council for a final decision. If either side disagrees with the magistrate's decision, the dispute goes to the council.

In a letter to Greg Stout, president of the Tampa Police Benevolent Association, Iorio said she wants to bypass the special magistrate to "avoid further unnecessary delays and the financial expense" to taxpayers.

Rick Cochran, a police detective and vice president of the Benevolent Association, said the union is willing to forgo a cost-of-living increase but wants officers who are eligible to get step increases based on merit. About half the police force, or 500 officers, would be eligible for a step increase next year.

"We made it very clear to the city since negotiations started that we believed our members were OK with a zero cost-of-living raise," Cochran said.

A starting patrolman is paid $46,384 a year. If the officer qualifies for all available step raises, he or she can top out after 10 years at $75,358 as a master patrolman. The step increases can be up to 4.2 percent, depending how long the officer has been with the city.

Cochran said the step increase "is a big reason we get the quality of officers we do in Tampa, and why they stay so active."

"They don't want to get bad evaluations or do anything to jeopardize getting those steps," Cochran said.

Martha Stevens, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1464, said she wants to take the contract dispute to the special magistrate. The union, which represents 2,000 blue-collar, technical and clerical workers, wants changes in the contract that have no financial impact, Stevens said. For instance, the union wants to change city rules that allow administrators to impose disciplinary action up to two years after an infraction.

"We have not even discussed the pay raises," Stevens said. "That's not our issue."

Several council members who voted against Iorio and for the firefighters in August said the worsening economy has altered their perspectives.

"I don't know what the issues are," Councilman Tom Scott said, "but given the economy, where we are and that there are people being laid off from their jobs, it's going to be a tough issue for all of us."

Council member Linda Saul-Sena said the city has been generous in negotiating past union contracts, but can't afford such largess now.

"I know in the past (Iorio) has negotiated very generous settlements and she's cutting back because we can't afford it," Saul-Sena said.

Last spring, members of the firefighters and transit unions approved contracts for this fiscal year that gave them 2.5 percent cost-of-living increases for the current fiscal year. The firefighters also got 3.5 percent step raises for those who qualify, while the transit union workers got 3 percent merit raises.

In April, Iorio called on city workers to forgo raises in 2010 because of a looming $52 million budget deficit. The mayor said if the city hiked wages, it would siphon more than $12 million from the general fund, resulting in 200 to 240 layoffs.