Q & A Table of Contents
We Work One Schedule But Are Compensated Based On Another
From: Roger, Wichita, Kansas
Question: We are currently in negotiation with the City of Wichita, Kansas. We currently work a 24/48 schedule (24 hours of duty, 48 hours off). We do fire, police, medical and airport operations during our 24 hours worked.
Of our 24 hours, we work 17 hours and are on stand-by for 7 hours. The problem we have with this is we earn everything based on 12 hours worked and 12 of stand-by. This is because the city fire department works this schedule.
Because we do police, fire, medical and airport operations we have to work more hours -- therefore we should be compensated for the extra 5 hours we work. We earn sick leave, vacation and our pay is all based upon the 12/12. How can this be negotiated effectively?
Response: It is difficult to know from your question whether you are part of the same bargaining unit as members of the Fire Department. If your group is represented by the same negotiators, unless they have some incentive to do so, they are not going to make a significant effort to get your group treated differently from Fire Department personnel.
One response to that would be to find a way to make sure your group is represented at the bargaining table by people who represent your interests and not city workers who have a different schedule and different basis for their compensation. Thus, you may want to become a separate bargaining unit from the Fire Department employees.
If you are already a separate bargaining unit, clearly the people who represent you in negotiations have to pursue your interests. Then the challenge becomes one of convincing the representatives of the city’s government to differentiate between you and Fire Department staff.
Your bargaining representatives should do homework: how are other groups like yours compensated in other cities in Kansas — and across the country? Is there a national bargaining organization that represents people with your job description? Are there budget issues in Wichita that are driving the city government’s decisions regarding employee compensation? What kinds of choices can you and your group make in terms of going on strike, working to rule, or putting other kinds of public or private pressure on the folks who make decisions about your compensation?
You need to think creatively about other ways to address the issues: should the work schedule be changed? should there be differentiated pay based on the functions your group performs? If you have airport duties should your pay be increased when the terror alert level goes up? If you have a wide variety of work duties, what sort of uniform(s) do you wear? — if one uniformed force is compensated differently or better, maybe you should wear that uniform instead of what you have now.
Can you point to different qualifications for being part of your group that exceed the qualifications it takes to perform police or fire duties alone? Are you being compensated for your level of training?
How many people serve in your group compared with the other uniformed services of Wichita? Can your group’s annual productivity be measured or compared with that of the other services in such a way as might justify modifying your compensation.
I have assumed from your question that stand-by hours are not paid as well as duty hours. How is that justified — inasmuch as your time is not your own for the full 24 hours you’re on the job?
As you can see there are many questions you need to ask in order to develop a more effective negotiation strategy. You may need to consider legal issues, labor/management relations, public opinion and many other factors.
Good luck at improving your situation.
Steve
| 
