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Lewiston council directs staff to negotiate with AFSCME Local 1124 under specified conditions
Summary
The Lewiston City Council voted to authorize staff to enter negotiations with AFSCME Local 1124, attaching conditions including overtime only after 40 hours actually worked, alignment of holiday/weekend pay with city personnel policy, and at-will employee designation.
The Lewiston City Council voted April 7 to authorize city staff to enter into collective bargaining negotiations with AFSCME Local 1124 under three specified conditions: overtime to be earned after 40 hours actually worked, alignment of holiday and weekend pay language with the city’s personnel policy, and designation of employees as at-will.
Councilor Calister Forsman moved the motion; Councilor Spickelmeyer seconded. Clerk Brockie conducted a roll-call vote: Council President Klayberg, Councilor Schickelmeyer, Councilor Wright, Councilor Schroeder, Councilor Forsman and Councilor Spickelmeyer voted yes; Councilor Klein voted no. The motion passed.
Background and council discussion: Human Resources Director Nikki Provence (presented as Nathan/Nikki Provence in the packet) recommended negotiations proceed with conditions meant to align AFSCME terms with other employee groups and city policy. Staff proposed clarifying overtime calculations (excluding paid time off from overtime thresholds), aligning holiday and weekend pay to the personnel policy to reduce payroll complexity, and treating all employees as at-will, while preserving legally required due-process protections for public employees.
Several councilors debated whether items in the union contract should instead be handled through the city’s personnel policy so changes could be made more quickly and applied uniformly. Some councilors favored recognizing the union and negotiating specific contract provisions; others preferred updating the personnel policy and bringing recurring items (such as safety gear allowances) to the council annually. City Attorney Jennifer Zingano reviewed the legal framework for due-process in public employment and confirmed that certain procedural protections apply regardless of whether terms are in contract language or personnel policy.
Vote details: Motion to authorize staff to negotiate with AFSCME Local 1124 under specified conditions — moved by Councilor Calister Forsman; seconded by Councilor Spickelmeyer. Roll-call: Ayes — Klayberg, Schickelmeyer, Wright, Schroeder, Forsman, Spickelmeyer. Nay — Klein. Outcome: Approved.
Next steps: Staff were directed to proceed with negotiations consistent with the council’s direction and to present outcomes to the council for final approval.
