TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Lisa Jenkins, Human Resources Director
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of Resolutions Approving Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) Between the City of Manhattan Beach and the Manhattan Beach Police Officers’ Association (MBPOA), Police Management Association (MBPMA), Mid-Management Employees Association (MBMEA), and the Teamsters Local 911 (Teamsters) (Budgeted for Fiscal Year 2025-2026) (Human Resources Director Jenkins).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NOS. 25-0059, 25-0060, 25-0061, AND 25-0062
Body
_________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution Nos. 25-0059, 25-0060, 25-0061, and 25-0062, approving Memoranda of Understanding Between the City of Manhattan Beach and the Manhattan Beach Police Officers’ Association (MBPOA), Police Management (MBPMA), Mid-Management Employees Association (MBMEA), and the Teamsters Local 911 (Teamsters), respectively.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The annual costs associated with the negotiated compensation increases under the Memoranda of Understanding (MOU’s) for the upcoming Fiscal Year (2025-26) are $858,966, $154,944, $601,109, and $837,109 for MBPOA, MBPMA, MBMEA and Teamsters, respectively. The ongoing annual costs associated with the negotiated increases at end of the three-year MOU’s will be $2,609,854, $559,765, $1,424,948, and $2,142,279 for MBPOA, MBPMA, MBMEA and Teamsters, respectively. The cost of the MOU increases are included in the proposed 2025-2026 operating budget and future budget forecasts.
BACKGROUND:
The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) governs labor-management relations and collective bargaining for many public agencies in California, including for the City of Manhattan Beach. Further, under Government Code section 54957.6 (part of the Ralph M. Brown Act), the legislative body provides authority and direction to its labor negotiator(s) regarding its labor negotiations. Accordingly, the City Council has provided authority and direction to its negotiators who have met and conferred with representatives from all four associations - MBPOA, MBPMA, MBMEA, and Teamsters - in reaching the terms of their proposed agreements. The current MOUs with all four associations are set to expire on June 30, 2025.
The MBPOA represents all employees at the rank of Police Officer and Police Sergeant, which currently includes 64 authorized positions. The MBPMA represents seven authorized positions in the ranks of Police Lieutenant and Police Captain. The MBMEA represents 59 authorized positions, encompassing professional, supervisory, and management classifications. Lastly, the Teamsters represents a total of 157 authorized non-sworn and non-management positions, such as technical, safety support, and administrative roles.
DISCUSSION:
The labor negotiations with the four full-time labor associations followed a period of peak inflation, and relatively low national and regional unemployment rates. During this time, the City and these four labor associations were locked into three-and-one-half year labor contracts with 3% annual increases. During this time and due to the labor market constraints, other municipalities and public sector agencies ramped up compensation and benefits to remain competitive in the current market. This has taken the shape of significant salary increases (up to 18% in a single case and 15% annually in others) and dramatic recruitment bonuses (up to $100,000), particularly for Police employees.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of inflation that provides a way to compare what the costs of goods and services cost relative to what the same products cost at a prior time, highlighting the actual increase in purchase power over time. During the majority of the past several years, while the City has been in multi-year MOU’s with its labor groups, the CPI has outpaced the negotiated MOU increases. The following represent year-over-year CPI increases in comparison to the negotiated salary increases in the most recent labor contracts (2019-2021 and 2022-2025) with both police and miscellaneous (non-sworn employee associations).
Consumer Price Index (CPI) vs. City of Manhattan Beach Negotiated Increases
Calendar Years 2019 - 2024
|
Year |
CPI Increase (LA-Long Beach-Anaheim) |
Representative Negotiated Salary Increases |
|
2019 |
3.1% |
2.0%* |
|
2020 |
1.6% |
1.56%* |
|
2021 |
3.8% |
1.72%* |
|
2022 |
7.4% |
3% |
|
2023 |
3.5% |
3% |
|
2024 |
3.3% |
3% |
*These numbers represent the salary increases for the Teamsters labor association. During the same time period, the Police Officers Association received 0%/1.2%/2% annually.
In assessing their position in labor negotiations, the City Council considered comparative data regarding the City’s relative position in the labor market, economic factors, and the City’s budget in order to provide authority for labor negotiations. The City Council met with its labor negotiators on multiple occasions and the City’s Chief Negotiator and City staff representing management met and conferred in good faith for approximately three months. All of the factors discussed resulted in a scenario that created the climate leading into current labor negotiations, which required higher than usual increases to compensation and benefits to meet the expectations and demands of the City’s labor associations, in the joint interest of ensuring the City of Manhattan Beach remains competitive in both recruitment and retention, providing employees incentives to both join and stay with the City workforce. In general, labor negotiations and the resulting labor contracts can be an important factor in promoting employee recruitment and retention, which are critical elements to delivering public services and serving the community’s needs. Additional information regarding the City’s vacancy rates and recruitment and retention efforts will be discussed in a public hearing on this same agenda, in accordance with Assembly Bill 2561.
The following summarizes the terms of the negotiated MOUs recommended for City Council approval:
1. Term of Agreement:
All four MOUs are effective from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028.
2. Cost of Living (COLA) Salary Increases:
a. MBPOA and MBPMA -
o Effective the pay period following July 1, 2025: 6.0%
o Effective the pay period following July 1, 2026: 5.0%
o Effective the pay period following July 1, 2027: 4.0%
b. MBMEA and Teamsters -
o Effective the pay period following July 1, 2025: 5.0%
o Effective the pay period following July 1, 2026: 4.5%
o Effective the pay period following July 1, 2027: 4.0%
3. Salary Schedule:
Effective the pay period following July 1, 2026, the first three (3) steps (1 - 3) of the MBMEA salary range will be eliminated and the remaining steps will be renumbered, resulting in a 9-step salary schedule for all positions. Subsequently, the employees who are in Step 1, 2, or 3 will move to the “new” Step 1.
4. Acting Pay:
Provided to employees who are taking on the full scope of a higher-level position.
• Shorten the “waiting period” from 14 consecutive days to one (1) work week for employees in the MBPOA bargaining unit who are designated to act in the higher classification.
• Remove the waiting period for acting pay for employees in the MBMEA and Teamsters bargaining units if they are assigned to a higher classification for more than three (3) days.
5. Longevity Pay:
Common Incentives in public safety departments, which was previously provided at only the 15- and 20-year increments for the POA. The PMA increase will bring parity to the longevity amounts provided to POA, but at higher years of service.
a. MBPOA -
o Effective the pay period following July 1, 2026, employees with 10 years of sworn service will be eligible for a 2.5% of base pay.
o Effective the pay period following July 1, 2026, this Longevity Pay will increase to 5.0% (from 2.5%) for employees with 10 years of sworn service.
b. MBPMA -
o Effective the pay period following July 1, 2026, the Longevity Pay will increase to 5.5% (from 3.5%) for employees with 15 years and 20 years of sworn service.
o Effective the pay period following July 1, 2027, the Longevity Pay will increase to 7.5% (from 5.5%).
6. Holiday:
Represents paid time off for employees who observe holidays, and floating holiday or “holiday-in-lieu” pay for employees who work without regard to holidays.
• Add Juneteenth (June 19th) as a paid City Holiday for all four MOUs starting in 2026.
• Add two (2) additional paid half-day holidays (Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve) for the MBMEA and Teamsters units.
7. Specialty Assignment and Certification Pay:
• Expand eligibility for the 5.0% base pay (previously restricted to specific classifications) to include all employees who have achieved the Certified Access Specialist (CASp) certification. This applies to both the MBMEA and Teamsters bargaining units, provided the employees are designated and approved by the Department Head.
• Increase the Standby Pay from $300 to $350 per week for designated classifications in the Teamsters unit.
• Increase the maximum number of employees eligible for Spanish Bilingual Pay from six (6) to twelve (12) for the Teamsters unit.
8. Parental Leave
• Add a Parental Leave provision, allowing the employee to receive up to 80 hours of paid leave following the birth of a child or in connection with the adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
9. Miscellaneous:
a. MBPOA -
o Remove the restriction on employees’ mandatory contribution to the PORAC Medical Trust upon hire, which previously depended on the time employees passed their probationary period.
b. MBMEA -
o Increase Safety Shoes Allowance from $200 to $350 annually in designated classifications.
o Increase Tools Allowance for the Equipment Maintenance Supervisor from $700 to $1,000 annually.
o The City will contribute $75.00 per month to a Retiree Health Savings Account for each employee.
o The City will increase the employer’s contribution from 4.5% to 4.75% of base pay into a 401(a) deferred compensation plan on behalf of “at-will” employees.
c. Teamsters -
o Extend Shift Differential Pay to eligible positions in other City departments, previously limited to the Police Department only.
MOU language has also been updated in order to memorialize practices not previously included, clarify language for ease of comprehension and administration, and reorganize articles and sections.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Staff determined that public outreach was not required for this item.
LEGAL REVIEW:
Special Counsel has reviewed the MOUs and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 25-0059
2. MOU - MBPOA (Final Version)
3. MOU - MBPOA (Strikethrough Version)
4. Resolution No. 25-0060
5. MOU - MBPMA (Final Version)
6. MOU - MBPMA (Strikethrough Version)
7. Resolution No. 25-0061
8. MOU - MBMEA (Final Version)
9. MOU - MBMEA (Strikethrough Version)
10. Resolution No. 25-0062
11. MOU - Teamsters (Final Version)
12. MOU - Teamsters (Strikethrough Version)