- The Grievance, if we had been successful, would only allow us to go to Arbitration on the issue. It would not, in any way, give us a victory on any of our issues of salary, reclassification and 12-hour shift issues.
- The Court’s arguments in denying our right to take the grievance issues to Arbitration were very compelling. After much discussion on the Court’s rationale, the Board determined that the chance of success on an appeal to the Maryland Court of Appeals would be extremely low.
- The cost of pursuing such an appeal, primarily in light of a low chance of success was not economically justified. The estimated minimum cost would be approximately $25,000 to $30,000 to be paid prior to Court proceedings.
Based on the above three reasons, the BCFPE Executive Board determined that the money and time would be much more effectively spent remedying any issue that we have, through the upcoming contract negotiations with the County.
We will keep you updated on progress made during the upcoming contract negotiations that would remedy any issue with salary, reclassification and 12-hour shift issues.
UPDATE: 08/22/2018 After the Federation’s 911 Center Grievance was “dismissed” by the Labor Commissioner’s designee (Lawrence Stahl), the County refused to honor the Federation’s demand for Arbitration. The Federation appealed to the Circuit Court of Baltimore County which held that the matter is arbitrable and that County was compelled to arbitrate the matter. The County appealed the Circuit Court’s decision to the Court of Special Appeals. After considering the record and hearing arguments in open Court, the Court of Special Appeals reversed the Circuit Court’s ruling and held that the matter was not subject to arbitration. The Court held that the scope of the parties’ agreement to arbitrate did not reach to the County’s statutory right to reclassify position of Emergency Communication Technician positions or other classifications
The Court reasoned that the Baltimore County Code (“BCC”) The Baltimore County Code (“BCC”) obligates the County and the exclusive representative of a union, in this case the Federation, to “[n]egotiate in good faith with respect to: (i) [w]ages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment; and (ii) [t]he
drafting of a written memorandum of understanding containing all matters agreed upon.” The MOS was a negotiation in regard to “[w]ages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.” It provided that the work schedule for certain ECT 40-hour-a-week positions would change to 12-hour shifts pursuant to the Pitman Rotating Shift configuration.
The Court held that although the County, in negotiating the MOS, had authority to negotiate wages and
hours, it did not have the authority to negotiate the classification of the employees. The statutory scheme in Baltimore County gives responsibility for classification plans to the PSAB and the County Council. Section 802(d) of the Baltimore County Charter (the “Charter”) requires the County’s personnel law to provide for the “[a]uthority in the personnel and salary advisory board to set up and revise a job classification plan.”
We disagree with the Court of Special Appeals and intend to appeal this case to Maryland’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. We will keep you posted as this case winds its way through the court system.
In Solidarity,
John Ripley, President
UPDATE: 03/07/2018 On March 6, 2018 oral arguments were heard before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in Annapolis. A panel of three appellate court judges heard arguments for about an hour about the County’s unilateral change to the annual base salary divisor and the subsequent hourly rate conversion. The line of questioning from the judges seem to support the unions position and the fact that the County is working so hard to keep the case out of arbitration, should speak volumes. The Maryland Court of Special Appeals will deliberate and a decision will be forthcoming in the following month.
A victory in this case could mean over two years of salary back-pay awarded to the hard-working men and women of the 911 center.
Please check this website for any updates concerning this case.
UPDATE: As we approach the 2-year mark and back-pay mounts, President Ripley presses on with the 911 Center Court of Special Appeals case regarding hourly pay.
Here is the update:
- The county is required to submit their Brief and a copy of the Record Extract by September 15th.
- BCFPE Responsive Brief must be filed by October 30th.
- The county can thereafter file a Reply Brief no later than November 17, 2017.
- Oral Argument is set to be scheduled before the Court of Special Appeals during their docket for March, 2018.
A victory could mean more than two-years of salary back-pay.
UPDATE: 04/06/2017 Baltimore County is appealing Judge Ensor’s 03/06/17 Circuit Court ruling to the Court of Special Appeals. (Click here to open a copy of the appeal notice.)
UPDATE: 03/06/2017 Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge issues a bench decision this afternoon GRANTING the Union's petition to compel Baltimore County to arbitrate over the 911 Center Pay Grievance. CLICK HERE for a copy of the decision.
BCFPE received a Circuit Court decision GRANTING our Petition to Compel Arbitration of the Grievance filed by BCFPE on 02/01/16 for 911 Center Employees. The Baltimore County Administration was ORDERED to proceed with Arbitration, pursuant to the Arbitration provisions of our Memorandum of Understanding.
The grievance was filed retroactively to January 1, 2016, when 911 Center Employees’ pay was unilaterally changed AFTER NEGOTIATIONS were completed. The Administration increased the salary pay divisor from 2080 per year (40 hours per week) to a 2184 hour base pay divisor (84 hours, bi-weekly), resulting in employees hourly pay being lowered by amounts exceeding one-dollar an hour.
UPDATE: 12/07/16 Hearing Date set for Monday, March 06, 2017 in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
UPDATE: The Administrative Law Judge has GRANTED the County's motion to dismiss this case. The Union is considering appeal options. (2016-06-09)
On January 19th, 2016, employees learned from ESS that the County changed the base pay scale from 2,080 hours annually to 2,184 hours annually. BCFPE has filed a grievance on behalf of all 911 Call Center Employees affected by the County's unilateral change of the annual base salary divisor for hourly rate conversion. We challenge the County's unilateral reduction in the hourly rate caluculation used for straight time, overtime, and other primium wages effective January 1, 2016 by reclassifying the affected positions from 40 hour classifications to 84-hour Bi-Weekly classifications AFTER ratification in November 2015.
This unilateral change causes a substantial reduction in straight time hourly rates. It was never discussed nor contemplated by the parties involved in the recent negotiations.
We seek to reverse any and all unilateral actions by the County.
For more information, click here to read the entire Grievance, filed February 1, 2016, or contact the BCFPE office at (410) 296-1875, or jripley@aft-maryland.org.