Memphis City Council members scrapped a veto override of a reworking of the city’s impasse procedure during the Tuesday, May 26 meeting.
On May 12, Mayor Paul Young vetoed an amendment that pared down the city’s impasse procedure from three arbitrators to a single mediator. A new proposal featuring a six-person mediation will be considered on June 9.
For the time being, city workers’ bargaining units will be governed by the previous set of rules. Council members would like to lock down the new procedure before considering a dispute between the city and the firefighters’ union.
“Upon passage of this resolution, we’ll be reverting back to the 2017 amendment until we have a new impasse ordinance,” said Councilman JB Smiley. “This gives all affected parties an opportunity to be a part of the creation of the new impasse ordinance. I think it speaks for itself. We have to give the employee association that is at an impasse with the administration an opportunity to be heard.”
The full council rescinded the vetoed amendment later in the afternoon.
The new proposed six-member panel will feature two representatives from each side of a dispute — city, union and council. The details have been hammered out in discussions between Smiley, the administration and vacationing council attorney Alan Wade.
“He quickly responded to all of my questions, then he told me he may lose service. I think that was his way of saying ‘please leave me alone while I’m on vacation,’ ” Smiley chuckled. “There will be a follow up resolution, which will schedule the impasse presentation before the full council.”
The expansion of the impasse panel membership appears to be at odds with Smiley’s original intent. At the time, he was attempting to simplify the process by letting the both sides in a dispute settle the matter largely by themselves. The mediator would have facilitated discussions.
Unlike an arbitrator, a mediator does not have the power to make binding decisions.
During the crafting of the vetoed proposal, Wade cautioned Smiley over its legality. The city charter explicitly calls for an “arbitrator” to help settle labor disputes between the city and its labor unions. Nevertheless, council members gave a 8-4 thumbs up to the changes.
Wade’s premonition of a veto quickly came to pass.
In a letter announcing the veto, Young chided the proposal for “circular references to unstated processes and requirements, to produce unknown/undefined documents, creating an enforcement impossibility.” The mayor said the proposal was “shrouded in enigma.”
Moreover, the mayor said the amendment “seeks to enlarge the Council’s authority in direct contravention of the charter, which vests the mayor, solely, as the chief executive officer of the City of Memphis, with the authority to ‘administer, supervise and control all divisions, boards, agencies, offices and employees of the city.’”
“The Mayor sent us a 3 page letter with some language I disagree with — but that’s neither here nor there,” commented Smiley.
Under the current system, the impasse panel hears from both sides before making a recommendation. A council vote against the recommendation nullifies it. The new rules will also require council approval for passage.
At the close of the executive session, a joint ordinance between the council and the Shelby County Commission was also pulled. Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas’ proposal would establish a public-private partnership to promote economic mobility between the county and its largest city. It was slated for its third and final reading.
“It was withdrawn also on the county side,” informed Easter-Thomas.
