“I think both sides are doing a better job of educating their people and realizing that you can’t have it all,” Craft said. “Both sides have to give.”
RELATED: FOP unions, Sheriff’s Department come to terms on new contract
Union President Jeff Gebhart said the unions ratified the agreement by a vote of 130-7. He said he went into negotiations prepared with data showing the deputies here were underpaid but also a willingness to make other concessions.
Under the old deal the deputies received 2 percent pay hikes, and their supervisors received a 1.5 percent boost. Craft said after years of anemic raises, due to the county’s financial troubles, it was time to bring pay to a competitive level.
“The sheriff has always been adamant, and I believe the commissioners have the same opinion, that our employees are not going to be the highest paid in the region, but they’re certainly not going to be the lowest paid,” he said. “We needed to get them back to middle of the ground to a little bit above middle of the ground.”
Gebhart said the FOP was willing to make the concessions on wages during the bad economy because they knew things would improve. He said Commissioner Don Dixon and the rest of the board have brought the county out of a big hole, rolling $92 million in debt to zero by next year.
“We took concessions because we knew we would be in this place some day,” he said. “If the commissioners did their job we were going to be in a better place. I don’t like dealing with him (Dixon) as a union president, but as a citizen of Butler County I don’t want anybody else in there.”
The commissioners for years have tried, with some success, to get the unions to approve at least some merit bonuses. The commissioners consider a new physical fitness provision negotiated into the last FOP contract to be a form of merit pay.
Employees who pass the fitness test, based on SWAT team standards, can earn a $200 bonus, and that number can reach $500.
“We’re excited about that because the more fit the employee is, the more they don’t call in sick, they’re here, they’re healthy,” Craft said. “So that was a win-win for both sides.”
Commissioner Cindy Carpenter, who is a big proponent of wellness programs to reduce insurance costs and sick days said the fitness component was especially important to her.
“When you look at it in it’s entirety, it’s really creating a better force,” she said.
The cost for the raises and incentives was not available.
Employees work 12-hour shifts, and Craft said the union made notable concessions regarding overtime. Previously, anything over 80 hours was time-and-a-half, now the extra pay doesn’t kick in until the person works over 84 hours. Another concession was agreeing to change the contract language “from days to hours” so holiday pay is only eight hours.
Back in 2014, the FOP unions went to fact-finding and then conciliation with the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) because the two sides couldn’t meet on a wage re-opener. Because sworn officers can’t strike, contract disputes that reach an unbreakable impasse go to binding arbitration.
MORE: Butler County Children Services strike: One year later
The last FOP contracts were settled amicably before the previous deal expired in 2016, which was historic. Dixon said the county went through some pretty tough times a decade ago with massive layoffs and bare bone cost cutting and it wasn’t easy on either side.
“I think there’s a lot more trust there than there used to be,” Dixon said. “And I think there’s a track record now on both sides that is very reasonable. At least we don’t have the disagreements we used to have.”
Probably the worst union fight was with the Children Services social workers, also five years ago, when they hit the picket line for three weeks, largely over merit pay. The new contract was settled seven months after the strike. The agency ratified a new contract last year after “cordial” talks, according to union chief Becky Palmer.
About the Author