Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor Grievance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Baxter council denies grievance over after‑hours text message pay
Summary
The Baxter City Council voted to deny a step‑three grievance brought by a public works employee arguing that an after‑hours work text qualifies as a contract "call back" worth two hours of pay. The council and staff cited contract language and precedent and noted mediation and arbitration remain available to the union.
Baxter City Council on Tuesday denied a step‑three grievance from a public works employee who says a work‑related text message after hours should qualify as a contractual "call back" and trigger two hours of pay.
Assistant City Administrator Steel told the council the grievance arose after the employee replied to a work‑related text; staff reviewed 18 months of time sheets and found no precedent for paying call‑back compensation for text responses. Steel said the city had already paid a 15‑minute increment on the employee’s October 30 paycheck "because that was work‑related," but that administration recommended denying the grievance because the contract’s call‑back language, as applied historically, describes staff being called back to physically return to work.
Abby Pearson, who identified herself as the exclusive representative for local 0689, told the council the contract language is clear and that a text from a supervisor functionally operates as a call back: "A text, a phone call, him coming into work are all call backs. Our contract does not say 15‑minute increments," she said. Union president Cory Steiner and the employee identified in the record as Keith Vince testified that the contract’s call‑back provision entitles the employee to two hours, not the 15‑minute minimum the city applied.
Council discussion focused on whether the original contract drafters could have anticipated modern communications such as texts and whether compensating a brief text reply would set an unsustainable precedent. One council member said the 15‑minute compromise acknowledged work occurred without creating a broader obligation, while others noted the matter may be addressed in ongoing contract negotiations.
A councilor moved to deny the step‑three grievance; the motion was seconded and the council voted in favor. The council record shows the motion carried. City staff noted the union may pursue mediation (step four) or arbitration (step five) under the collective bargaining agreement.
The council also directed staff to consider clarifying call‑back language in the next CBA negotiations to avoid similar disputes going forward.
