Tulsa Mayor Gives Police, Fire Unions Noon Friday Deadline

Mayor Dewey Bartlett emailed city employees Thursday afternoon with details on the timeline for layoffs and an update on negotiations. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=11858478">Tulsa Fire Department Prepares&nbsp;For 147 Layoff Notices On Friday</a>&nbsp;| <a href="http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=11855295">Tulsa Firefighters And City Workers Prepare For Layoffs</a>

Thursday, January 21st 2010, 3:53 pm

By: News On 6


NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett e-mailed city employees Thursday afternoon with details on the timeline for layoffs and an update on negotiations. 
 
Bartlett said the unions for police and fire had until noon Friday to agree to salary concessions, or the city would proceed with layoffs. 
 
The city is the process of notifying firefighters, police officers and other city employees that they will be laid off effective February 1.
 
 
Tulsa Police and fire unions continue talk with the mayor's office. 

Meanwhile, at least 65 non-sworn employees will get notices that they will be laid off next week.   The city employees' union, AFSCME, voted Wednesday to choose layoffs instead of a proposed 5% pay cut. 
 
The mayor says in his employee letter that he will honor that decision, even though he has the authority to order pay reductions instead.
 
 
Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett's letter to employees:

Dear City of Tulsa employees,

Members of the AFSCME union polled Wednesday chose workforce reductions as opposed to across the board pay reductions of five percent for all non-sworn employees.

We will honor that decision. It will apply to all departments, except sworn police and fire personnel.

We also gave the police and fire unions a choice between workforce reductions and salary/incentive reductions. The original proposed plans from the departments included layoffs. I did not believe the numbers of layoffs proposed for the front lines of the departments were acceptable, and I asked the police and fire chiefs to present plans that included reorganizations that would help them save money and save jobs on the front lines.

I also offered an alternative proposal to the fire and police unions that included a salary reduction and other cuts to incentive pay and benefits. I left the decision to them. The fire and police union leaders have not submitted the salary reduction proposal to their membership for a vote, nor have they reached an agreement on any of the concession items on the table.

The police and fire unions are still in discussions with my management team regarding any and all alternative expense reduction proposals made to date, whether from my office, the unions or the department leadership. We have informed the departments and union leadership that they must reach an agreement to either accept the proposed plan for salary reductions or an alternative by noon Friday, January 22, in order to avoid layoffs in those departments. We will keep you informed via e-mail and management if there are any new developments.

Today, Fire Chief LaCroix and Police Chief Palmer are scheduling meetings with employees that would be affected by the workforce reductions in order to prepare for layoffs and initiate the seven-day notification period.

Department directors are beginning to schedule meetings with affected employees. Human Resources will provide all the information needed to make decisions with respect to other positions in the department and applications for openings within the City of Tulsa, bumping processes and severance pay. The workforce reductions will be effective Feb. 1. Eligible, non-probationary employees will receive two weeks of compensation.

Employees with seniority who are eligible to take other positions in their department will be given the right to "bump" employees with less seniority.

This e-mail should be considered as a seven-day notification to employees who could be affected by the bumping process.

Please contact your manager, or department head with your questions so they may forward them to the appropriate Human Resources representative; or submit your questions to Human Resources at 596-7427 or jobs@cityoftulsa.org to be forwarded to a Human Resources representative.

Regards,

Mayor Dewey Bartlett

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