►
Description
Dockets #0402, 0403 - Hearing regarding appropriations for the FY22 cost items in the collective bargaining agreement between the City and AFSCME
A
Calling
this
hearing
of
the
boston
city
council's
committee
on
city
services
and
innovation
technology
to
order
for
the
record,
my
name
is
kenzie
bach,
I'm
the
district
8
counselor
and
the
chair
of
the
committee.
This
public
hearing
is
being
recorded
and
live
streamed
at
boston.gov
city
dash
council
dash
tv.
It
will
be
rebroadcast
on
xfinity
channel,
8,
rcn,
channel
82,
verizon
files,
channel
964,
and
we
will
be
taking
public
testimony
at
the
end
of
this
hearing.
A
You
can
also
send
us
written
testimony
at
ccc.csit
at
boston.gov
ccc.csit.boss.gov,
so
also,
if
you're
watching
this
hearing
after
it
happens,
feel
free
to
send
a
long
written
testimony
still
we'll
likely
be
taking
the
matter
up
next
wednesday.
So
there's
some
time
between
now
and
then
and
if
you're
here
in
the
chamber,
you
can
sign
up
to
testify
in
the
corner.
There
are
some
sheets
right
by
the
door,
so
we
ask
you
to
sign
up
there.
A
Today's
hearing
is
on
docket
zero,
four
zero,
two
message
and
order
for
supplemental
appropriation
of
two
million
nine
hundred
fifty
four
thousand
eight
hundred
and
twenty
eight
dollars
to
cover
the
fy
22
cost
items
contained
within
the
collective
bargaining
agreement
between
the
city
of
boston
and
afscme
and
then
docket
zero.
Four,
zero.
A
I
strongly
support
unions
and
collective
bargaining
for
employees
to
negotiate
the
terms
of
employment,
including
pay
benefits,
hours,
leave,
job
health
and
safety
policies
for
better
work-life
balance.
My
staff
will
be
attending
and
I
will
thoroughly
review
the
video
hearing,
minutes
and
public
testimony.
Should
you
or
any
member
of
the
public
have
any
questions
or
concerns?
Please
do
not
hesitate
to
reach
out
to
my
office
directly
at
617-635-4376
or
at
ruthc.luigen
at
boston.gov.
That's
r-u-t-h-z-e-e,
dot,
l-o-u-I-j-e-u-n-e.
A
At
boston.gov,
sincerely
ruthie
luigen,
boston
city,
councilor
at
large
and
then
from
another
colleague
at
large
councilor
julia
mejia.
I
have
one
other
letter
april
19th
dear
madam
chair
members
of
the
committee
on
city
services
and
innovation
technology.
A
So
thank
you
to
colleagues
for
sending
along
those
letters.
What
I'll
now
do
is
turn
the
floor
over,
as
I
mentioned
to
mr
williamson
and
mr
mandarini.
Let
you
guys
give
a
brief
presentation
on
this
and
then
we'll
move
to
questions.
So
you
have
the
floor.
B
Thank
you,
council
box
so
good
morning,
and
thank
you
council
bach,
for
inviting
us
here
today
to
testify
on
this
important
matter.
B
My
name
is
jim
williamson,
I'm
the
budget
director
here
and
I'm
joined
by
lou
mandering
senior
adviser
to
the
mayor
on
labor
issues,
we're
here
to
offer
testimony
on
the
dockets
before
you
today
in
the
appropriations
that
they
reflect
as
well
as
to
answer
any
questions
that
you
might
have
to
the
best
of
our
ability
and
we'll
follow
up
with
any
questions
that
we
can't
answer:
dockets:
zero,
four:
zero:
two
and
zero
four
zero.
B
Three
are
appropriate
appropriation
transfer
orders
that
covers
the
fy
22
cost
of
collective
bargaining
agreements
between
the
city
in
the
assembly
union.
It
totals
two
million
nine
hundred
fifty
four
thousand
eight
hundred
and
twenty
eight
dollars
docket
zero.
Four
zero
three
reduces
the
central
central
collective
bargaining
reserve
and
docket
zero.
Four
zero
two
allocates
those
resources
to
various
departments
that
have
afscme
employees
in
the
fy
22
budget.
B
The
fy
22
budget,
passed
by
city
council,
included
a
10
million
dollar
reserve
to
cover
settlements
as
they
occurred
during
fy22,
so
far,
fbi
22.
This
is
the
second
supplemental,
collective
marketing
appropriation.
So,
with
the
approval
of
this
supplemental,
the
remaining
balance
will
of
the
collective
buying
reserve
will
be
five
million
dollars.
B
The
contract
includes
base
wage
increases
of
two
percent,
one
point:
five
percent
and
two
percent
in
october,
of
each
fiscal
year
of
the
contract
term,
and,
as
I
said
before,
I'm
you
know
we're
here
today
to
answer
any
questions
you
might
have
about
them
and
or
about
agreement.
A
Great
well,
thank
you,
and
I
should
also
note
this
is
mr
mandarini's
first
time
appearing
before
us
in
a
hearing.
So
thank
you
thanks
for
joining
us
and
welcome
to
the
administration,
yeah,
so
I'll,
just
I'll
ask
a
few
questions
just
to
get
things
on
the
record.
A
So
jim,
let
me
just
say
aloud
and
you
can
confirm
this
is
right
just
so
that
people
understand,
basically,
because
we
don't
know
when
we
pass
the
budget
exactly
how
much
we're
going
to
reach
in
in
the
settlement,
given
that
the
contracts
were
still
outstanding,
we
sort
of
put
a
placeholder
number
in
and
that's
the
10
million.
B
A
A
B
Well,
I
don't
want
to
speak
on
behalf
of
the
labor
team,
but
I
I
would
presume
we
would
settle
additional
contracts
between
now
and
june.
30.
A
Wonderful-
and
I
just
want
to
know-
we've
been
joined
by
my
colleague
president
ed
flynn
of
district
2.,
counselor
flynn,
I'll
go
to
you
in
a
moment
I'll.
Just
I'm
just
asking
a
few
questions
on
the
team.
So,
in
terms
of
the
the
agreement
reached,
I
see
the
salary
increases.
It's
it's
two
percent
for
the
first
year,
one
point:
five
percent
for
the
second
year
and
two
percent
for
the
third
year.
Am
I
right
and
remembering
that
that's
the
same
pattern
as
was
set
with
the
sena
contract.
C
A
And,
and
can
you
sort
of
explain
to
folks
this
appropriation,
what
it
does
is
it
goes.
It
goes
back
and
provides
the
pay
up
to
this
point
right.
It
doesn't
pre-provide
it
for
the
period
following
after
in
the
contract
right.
A
And
can
you
speak
to
me
about
the
the
one-time
lump
sum?
The
thousand
dollars,
that's
included
in
the
contract?
Maybe
this
is
a
question
for
mr
mandarini
just
I
know
that
that
isn't
something
we
saw
in
the
senate
contract
so
just
wondering
if
you
could
speak
to
it
at
all.
C
I
can
so
the
thousand
dollars
is
in
recognition
as
we
settled
in
the
contract
with
the
union
of
the
fact
that
this
is
a
union
of
disproportionately
comprising
workers
who
have
worked
continuously
on
the
front
lines
through
a
very
trying
time.
Over
these
last
couple
of
years,
while
they've
been
out
of
contract
and
expired
contract
status,
that
one-time
payment
is
a
recognition
of
that.
A
Great
thanks
so
much,
and
then
I
see
that
this
continues
the
again
in
the
senate
agreement
which
for
folks
watching
at
home,
you
should
just
know
that
the
city,
almost
all
city
workers,
their
contracts,
expired
in
june,
30
2020,
with
a
couple
of
exceptions
that
expired
in
the
summer
of
2021,
so
we're
in
a
season
where
almost
all
city
workers
were
out
of
contract
and
then
we're
starting
to
kind
of
get
folks
into
contract,
and
so
senna,
which
I
mentioned
a
moment
ago,
is
the
one
that
we've
heard
so
far.
A
This
is
the
second
of
that
kind
of
you
know
30
unit
set
of
things
that
need
to
come
in.
So
I
saw
that
in
senna
as
well.
We
had
juneteenth
come
in
as
an
additional
holiday.
You've
got
that
here
as
well.
Correct
yeah-
and
I
know
I'm
just
I'm
saying
some
of
the
things
out
loud
that
are
in
these
documents,
so
that
people
get
a
chance
to
understand
who
are
watching
at
home
the
all
the
documents
are
available
to
them,
but
and
then.
A
Well
I'll
I'll,
allow
counselor
flynn
to
say
a
few
words
or
ask
any
questions
and
then
I'll
come
back
with
any
remaining
ones.
Counselor
flynn.
D
D
Okay
from
the
po
from
public
works,
transportation,
the
parks,
department,
police,
fire,
inspectional
services,
do
you
have
a
and
I
know
the
the
great
work
afscme
does
in
in
boston?
I
know
the
great
work
our
city
workers
do
in
boston.
Can
you
give
me
a
general
idea
what
type
of
job
some
of
these
workers
are
in
or
or
does
it
or
does
it
vary.
B
It's
a
quite
a
broad
breadth
of
activity,
so
it
could
include
people
public
works
laborers.
It
could
include
public
works
laborers.
It
could.
You
know.
B
B
D
B
I
I
you
know
I
I
can't
speak
any
well
highly
of
the
folks
that
came
in
and
they
they
provided
the
services
that
were
required
during
during
the
pandemic,
and,
as
you
say,
most
of
these,
these
jobs
are
not
positions.
You
can
do
remotely
so
they're
in
the
field
providing
direct
services
to
the
city.
B
D
And
I'm
certainly
going
to
support
and
vote
for
vote
for
this.
I
wish
it
was
a
little
higher
1.5
to
me
seems
a
little
a
little
low
is
there?
Is
there
a
reason
why
that's
a
little
low.
B
You
know
I
I
know
you
raised
the
same
concern
in
the
cena
contract
as
well,
and
it's
yeah.
I
think
it's
what
the
city
found
was
affordable.
Given
the
fiscal
environment
that
we're
operating
in-
and
I
felt
there
was
a
you
know-
a
good
wage
pattern
to
offer
and
get
agreement
upon.
D
Should
that
be
extended,
I'm
just
I'm
just
trying
to
think
out
loud
a
little
bit
just
giving
people
enough
planning
time
is
or
is
that
what
it
is
2022
at
the
end
of
the
calendar
year,
but
does?
Does
it
make
a
little
bit
more
sense
to
maybe
maybe
give
give
it
a
little
bit
of
an
extension?
So
you
can
allow
some
some
workers
a
little
bit
in
in
in
the
city
a
little
bit
more
flexibility.
C
Well,
mr
president,
I
would
say,
through
the
process
of
negotiation
with
the
union,
this
is
what
the
parties
agreed
to
was
to
use
them
in
this
calendar
year,
the
notion
of
carrying
them
over.
I
don't
want
to
go
too
far
into
what
we
discussed,
but
it's
not
what
not
what
either
of
the
parties
agreed
to
so
not
sure
how
to
not
sure
how
to
respond.
C
Yes,
that's
that's
correct,
and
actually,
if
I
could
circle
back
to
the
question,
you
asked
a
couple
of
questions
ago
about
the
nature
of
what
these
workers
do.
These
are
pretty
much
the
definition
of
frontline
workers
in
the
city.
I
mean
they
do
the
hard
stuff.
You
know
the
snow
removal,
the
thankless
unforgiving
stuff
that
can't
be
postponed
very
hard
physical
labor,
so
that
one-time
bonus
is
in
recognition
of
the
fact
that
they
work
continuously
during
a
extraordinarily
trying
time
over
these
last
couple
years,.
D
C
Yeah,
mr
president,
the
it's
one
of
the
weird
ticks
of
labor
law
that,
even
when
you
want
to
do
something
nice,
that's
the
subject
of
bargaining.
You
have
to
bargain
over
it.
So
that's
what
this
reflects
and
that's
actually
what
was
reflected
in
the
cna
agreement
too.
Okay,.
D
D
These
these
workers
were
essential
workers.
They
had
families,
they
they
went
to
work.
They
they
dealt
with
medical
challenges,
I'm
sure,
but
what
are
we
doing
short
term
and
what
are
we
doing
long
term
to
to
help
them
and
their
families
on
mental
health,
future
mental
health
challenges?
Unfortunately,.
B
Well,
because
that's
it's
an
excellent
point,
I
think
part
of
the
fy
23
budget
mental
health
was
center
in
terms
of
assistance
to
city
employees.
During
the
pandemic
we
actually
increased
the
size
of
the
employees,
assistance,
staffing
level
we
actually
added
two.
Initially,
we
actually
funded
them
through
the
cares
grant,
but
we've
retained
those
position
post
post,
you
know
as
we
as
we
roll
through
the
covet
process,
and
so
that's
one
of
the
resources
that's
available
to
the
city.
Employees.
B
Yeah,
one
of
the
things
that
has
rolled
out
through
the
hr
is
a
new
sort
of
hr
sort
of
resource
platform
called,
I
think
it's
called
beacon
and
that
that's
precisely
what
the
platform
is
about
is
connecting
city
employees
to
their
benefits
and
their
resources.
B
That
that's
just
the
name,
that's
of
a
technology
platform.
D
For
for
many
for
many
workers
that
may
not
speak
that
may
not
speak
english
as
their
first
language.
How
are
they
going
to
know
about
what
this
collective
bargaining
states,
what
their
rights
are,
what
their
benefits
are?
Are
we
going
to
effectively
communicate
this
document
to
them?
Many
of
my
constituents?
Don't
don't
speak
english
as
a
first
as
a
first
language
as
you
know,
but
how
do
I,
how
do
I
know
that
my
constituents
are
also
receiving
this
basic
information
if
they're
an
employee.
C
C
We
can
work
with
unions
to
provide
that
information
and
to
help
them
get
the
resources
they
need
to
do
it.
It's
a
little
that
we
need
to
be
a
little
bit
careful
of
sort
of
reaching
into
the
membership
to
talk
to
them,
and
I
think
it's
something
that
really
needs
to
be
done
with
the
union
in
partnership
with
the
union.
C
But
your
suggestion,
your
question,
which
we
can
take
in
the
form
of
a
suggestion,
is
a
good
one
that
that's
something
we
should
talk
to
the
union
about
and
ensure
ensure
that
that's
being
done
and
that
you
know
there
isn't
more.
We
can
do
to
help
with
that.
You
know
alarm.
D
A
Great,
thank
you
so
much
president
flynn,
and
I
don't
think
I
have
really
further
questions.
I
guess
the
one
thing
I
would
just
want
to
comment
on
and
kind
of
put
on
the
record.
Today
I
mean
you
know
we
I
well,
I
guess
a
question.
Am
I
right
in
thinking
that
asks
me?
You
know
we
have.
You
know
about
9,
000
folks,
working
for
bps
and
then
I
think
across
our
public
safety
unions.
A
You
know
we
have
like
sort
of
another
four
and
a
half
thousand
folks,
so
I
think
you've
sort
of
got
14
000
of
the
18
000
city
employees
there,
and
so
then
you're
sort
of
talking
about
a
remainder
of
4
000
and
here
with
afscme
we're
talking
about
a
thousand
inside
of
that
4
000
and
then
obviously,
a
certain
number
of
inside
of
that
4
000
are
political
appointees
who
are
not
unionized.
A
So
I
guess
am
I
right
in
thinking
that
afscme
is
the
largest
of
our
civilian
unions.
Setting
aside
the
teachers
union.
A
A
Okay,
so
I
guess
just
the
note
that
I
would
register
is
that
when
we
were
looking
at
a
sort
of
contract
history
over
the
last
20
30
years,
what
we
saw
was
a
very
substantial
divergence
in
growth
between
our
civilian
and
our
sworn
city,
employee
populations,
and
I
say
that
just
distinct
from
the
fact
that
the
sworn
have
always
made
more
than
the
civilians,
but
that
actually
the
incremental
increases
were
going
up
much
much
more
significantly
for
our
for,
like
you
know
our
police
and
fire
sworn
folks
than
they
were
for
our
civilian
unions,
and
I
do
think
that
over
time,
it
really
creates
a
very
substantial
equity
issue
and
puts
us
in
a
position
where
we
can't
keep
staff
for
a
lot
of
those
critical
frontline
activities
that
were
referenced.
A
And
we
know
at
the
council
as
the
folks
who
approve
an
overall
budget,
that
there
is
a
certain
zero-sumness
to
all
of
this
in
the
sense
that
we
want
to
be
paying
all
of
our
workers
well
and
all
of
them
enough
to
be
a
competitive
workplace.
For
these
critical
city
services
that
we
do
so,
I
just
wanted
to
register
because
we're
in
a
situation
here
where
we're
now
looking
to
ratify
a
second
one
of
these
civilian
contracts
with
the
sworn
contracts
all
still
outstanding,
that
the
council
actually
registered
its
substantial
concern
about
that.
A
That
kind
of
growing
gap
in
a
unanimous
letter
in
2016.
I
believe
it
was
when
we
last
ratified
the
fire
contract
and
that
I
you
know
since
since
we're
not
since
we
are
not
able
to
be
at
the
bargaining
table
or
be
in
those
conversations.
A
I
think
I
would
be
remiss
not
to
use
this
opportunity
of
taught
talking
about
a
settled
civilian
contract
to
say
that
I
don't
think
we
want
to
continue
seeing
that
gap
widening
just
because
you
know,
I
think
we
already
reflect
the
the
danger
and
challenges
that
some
of
our
sworn
police
and
and
fire
personnel
face
in
terms
of
having
much
higher
base
salaries
right.
But
if
we
also
increase
them
by
larger
amounts
of
money,
it
just
becomes
kind
of
unstable
on
the
on
the
city
side.
So
that's
more
of
a
comment
than
a
question.
C
I
think
equity,
it's
fair
to
say,
equity-
is
going
to
be
a
guiding
principle
for
this
administration.
So
I
take
your
comment.
Take
your
the
sentiments
behind
it
and
I
am
certain
we
will
operationalize
that.
A
Great
great
to
hear
all
right,
I
think
I
wanted
to
register,
although
I
don't
have
a
formal
letter
from
her
that
just
counselor
aaron
murphy
at
large
also
wanted
to
express
her
regrets
at
not
being
here
and
to
say
that
she's
fully
in
support
of
the
matter
and
has
staff
watching.
I
think
that's
it
from
us,
I'm
certainly
attending.
A
So
the
council
does
not
meet
this
wednesday
because
of
the
holiday
on
monday,
but
we
do
meet
next
wednesday
on
the
27th,
and
I
am
intending
to
recommend
passage
of
these
two
dockets
at
that
time.
So,
looking
forward
to
that,
if
I
get
any
information
requests
from
colleagues
who
weren't
able
to
make
it
today
in
the
meantime
I'll
send
those
over
courtesy
of
igr
and
just
make
sure
we
get
everybody's
questions
answered.
A
A
But
again
I
will
just
remind
members
of
the
public
that,
if
you
are
watching
this
after
the
fact
and
you
missed
your
opportunity
to
come,
join
us
in
the
chamber,
you
can
send
written
testimony
by
emailing
ccc.csit
boston.gov,
that's
ccc.csit
boston.gov,
and
I
would
just
note
that
I
expect
to
conclude
a
committee
report
for
this
docket
by
the
end
of
the
day
on
friday.