JAA board to issue contract to unions; The terms will be applied regardless if the unions accept them; for how long is at issue.

The board of the Jacksonville Aviation Authority will issue a final take-it-or-have-it-imposed contract on its unionized workers Monday at a meeting in which it might also consider a new contract for its executive director.

The meeting will come a few days after a hearing on a complaint about unfair labor practices lodged by the police officers' union in regards to the contract.

After the board decides what terms it will offer, the two unions, one representing police officers and the other maintenance workers, will vote on the contract. If accepted, the deals would last for three years; if rejected, the board can impose the contract for one year, during which a new deal could be negotiated.

Leading up to the meeting, the unions are fairly cynical about what type of deal will be offered: The workers already brought the authority to court, arguing the Jacksonville City Council, not the board, was the "legislative body" that should limn the final contract details. Once a Duval County judge decided the board did have the authority, though, the unions seem resigned to having the terms they rejected imposed upon them.

"The board is going to rule however [Executive Director John Clark] wants," said Marcus Rau, president of Florida Council of Industrial and Public Employees UBC 2081, which represents about 100 skilled maintenance workers. "I knew they were going to play hardball, but I didn't know we wouldn't have a place at bat."

But the board is tasked with considering what is good for the workers as well as for the organization in general, said Jacksonville Aviation Authority spokesman Michael Stewart. "They are acting on behalf of what they think is the best interest of the authority," he said. "I think they would look at it objectively and try to rule objectively."

Among the issues the two sides have split over:

- Whether past practices can be relied upon to decide future actions.

- How much leave time can be accumulated.

- How overtime and on-call pay should be determined.

The board will consider the recommendations made by a special magistrate who talked to the two sides after negotiations reached an impasse. Both sides have filed objections about the magistrate's recommendations with the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission. As public employees, the airport workers are not allowed to go on strike.

The negotiations have been the most fractious the Aviation Authority and its unions have seen, with tensions high from the very first meetings, during which the authority said union negotiators had to be off the clock during negotiation sessions, a change from previous negotiations. While negotiations were going on, the police officers won their first-ever grievance against the authority, and the authority announced plans to evaluate the possibility of outsourcing its maintenance work - two issues that have overshadowed the talks.

After the board's decision Monday, the unions will take up the issue, with several members saying it is likely that the workers will take the terms offered to avoid returning immediately to the bargaining table.

With the bulk of Monday's meeting expected to be taken up by the union contract discussion, it's unclear if the board will have time to deal with another contract, that of the executive director. A renewal of Clark's contract, which runs out at the end of September, was scheduled for April before being pulled from the agenda, and May's meeting was cancelled.

[email protected], (904) 359-4103

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.