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CIO OF SAN BERNARDQO - REQUOT FOR COUNCIL ACOoN
,
From:
R. Schwei tzer
City Administrator
Su~e~: Adoption of a contract with
Richards. Watson & Gershon
for the provision of negotiations
services for the General and
Middle Management units.
Dept:
Date:
Synopsis of Previous Council action:
Urgency matter - due to union
contract ,expiration dates.
During the Council meeting of March 23/24 1987. received and
accepted the report of the Personnel Committee ad hoc committee
on negotiations consultants. and subsequently directed that
the resulting contract and resolution be submitted for Council
a pprova 1 .
Recommended motion:
Adopt Resolution.
Contact person: M. J. Per 1 i c k
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS:
Amount: $13.500
Phone: 5161
Ward: n/a
Source: FY- 88
Finance: 11- ~I ~
Supporting data attached: v e s
Council Notes:
75-0262
Agenda Item No
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RESOLUTION NO.
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AUTHORIZING THE
EXECUTION OF AN AGREEMENT WITH RICHARDS, WATSON & GERSHON FOR
CONSULTING SERVICES RELATING TO LABOR RELATIONS MATTERS.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SAN BERNARDINO AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION l. The Mayor of the City of San Bernardino is hereby
authorized and directed to execute on behalf of said City an
agreement with Richards, Watson & Gershon for consulting services
relating to labor relations matters, a copy of which is attached
hereto, marked Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein by reference as
fully as though set forth at length.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing resolution was duly
adopted by the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San
Bernardino at a
meeting thereof, held on
the
day of
, 1987, by the following vote,
to wit:
AYES:
Council Members
NAYS:
ABSENT:
City Clerk
The foregoing resolution is hereby approved this
day
of
, 1987.
Mayor of the City of San Bernardino
Approved as to form:
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City At orney
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AGREEMENT
(Negotiations Consultant)
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into this
day of
, 1987, by and between the CITY OF SAN
BERNARDINO, a municipal corporation, hereinafter referred to as
"City", and RICHARDS, WATSON & GERSHON, a professional
corporation, hereinafter referred to as "Consultant".
1. Recitals,
A, Consultant represents that it possesses all
professional qualifications necessary to render the services to
the City set forth herein, and City enters into this agreem~nt in
reliance upon Consultant's express representations in regard
thereto.
B. City desires to retain Consultant to perform
15 certain labor relations services. A copy of consultant's
16 Proposal is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated by
17 reference as though fully set forth herein.
2 ,
Scooe of Services. Consultant shall provide the
19 following services in connection with negotiations with the
2') General and Mid-Management bargaining units:
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A.
Serve as chief negotiator.
B.
Provide representation at meet-and-negotiate
23 planning and strategy sessions.
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C.
Provide analysis and costing of employee
25 organization proposals,
D,
Provide drafting of City proposals.
E.
Provide representation at impasse
23 proceedings.
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F. Provide advice regarding the implementation
of strike planning strategies,
G. Provide advice concerning grievances.
H. Provide management training workshops.
3, Personnel. Consultant represents that it has, or
will secure at its own expense, all personnel required to perfor~
the services by Consultant called for under this agreement.
Consultant shall at all times be and remain an independent
contractor, and such personnel as may be employed by Consultant
10 shall not be employees or agents of City for any purpose.
11
4.
Time of Performance. Services of Consultant are
12 to commence as soon as practicable after the execution of this
13 agreement, and shall continue until such time as memorandums of
14 understanding have been executed by both the General and Mid-
15 Management bargaining units.
16
5.
Comoensation. City shall pay to Consultant a
17 total sum of THIRTEEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($13,500.00)
l8 for all services provided under this agreement, There shall be
1) no other compensation payable to Consultant hereunder, and
20 I Consultant shall be solely responsible for paying the expenses
21 for all services rendered to the City pursuant to this agreement.
22 Payment or payments to Consultant shall be made at such time or
23 times and in such periodic amounts as determined by the City
24 Administrator.
25
6.
Assianabilitv. The experience, skill and
26 expertise of Consultant is of the essence of this agreement.
27 Consultant shall not assign (whether by assignment or novation)
23 this agreement or delegate the duties or any right or interest
870328 w A046.CJW(O)
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1 hereunder in whole or in part without the prior written consent
2 of City, Any assignment or attempt to assign this agreement
3 without such prior written consent or by operation of law shall
~ be void and shall constitute cause for termination,
5
7.
Termination. City may terminate this agreement at
6 any time by giving written notice to Consultant of such
7 termination and specifying the effective date thereof at least
. 8 thirty (30) days before the effective date of such termination.
9 In such event, all finished and unfinished documents and other
lO materials shall, at the option of City, become its property, If
11 the agreement is terminated by City, Consultant will be entitled
l2 to be paid all compensation for work performed to the date of
13 termination.
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8.
Amendments. Should City require changes in the
'5 scope of the services of Consultant to be performed hereunder,
,l.
16 such changes, including any corresponding increase or decrease in
l7 the amount of Consultant's compensation which shall be mutually
l8 agreed upon by City and Consultant, shall be incorporated in this
19 agreement only by written amendments hereto.
20
9.
Notices. All notices herein required shall be in
21 writing and delivered in person or sent by certified mail,
22 postage prepaid, addressed as follows:
23
Citv
Consultant
2...
City Administrator
City of San Bernardino
300 North "0" Street
San Bernardino" CA 92418
Richards, Watson & Gershon
A Professional Corporation
333 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071
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10, Hold Harmless. Consultant shall hold City, its
elective and appointive boards, commissions, officers, agents a~d
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1 employees harmless from any liability for damage or claims for
'2 damage for personal injury, including death, as well as from
31 claims for property damage which may result from Consultant's
~ professional errors or omissions. Consultant shall defend City
5 and its elective and appointive boards, commissions, officers,
6 agents and employees from any suits or actions at law or in
7 equity for damages caused, or alleged to have been caused by
8 Consultant's professional errors or omissions,
9
11, Workers' Comoensation. Consultant's employees
10 shall be covered by workers' compensation insurance in an amount
II and form to meet all applicable requirements of the Labor Code of
12 the State of California and which specifically covers all persons
13 providing services on behalf of Consultant and all risks to such
14 persons under this agreement.
15 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed
16 this agreement on the day and year first above written,
17 CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO
13
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ATTEST:
By
'1ayor
2
'ty Clerk
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RICHARDS, WATSON & GERSHON
A Pro 'nal Corporation
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By
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Its Sahreholder
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Approved as to form:
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Attorney
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A PROPOSAL FROM
RICHARDS, WATSON & GERSHON
A Professional Corporation
To The
CITY OF
SAN BERNARDINO
MARCH 19, 1987
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OUTLINE OF PROPOSAL
I, RICHARDS, WATSON & GERSHON'S APPROACH TO LABOR
NEGOTIATIONS
II, QUALIFICATIONS OF THE FIRM
A. Description of the Firm
B. Background of the Attorney
C. Prior Experience of the Firm
D, Partial List of Clients
E. Scope of Services
III, LABOR NEGOTIATIONS PROPOSAL
IV. CONCLUSION
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I. RICHARDS, WATSON & GERSHON'S APPROACH TO LABOR
NEGOTIATIONS
Richards, Watson & Gershon approaches municipal
labor relations issues in a manner which sets it apart from other
law firms and consultants. It is the philosophy of the Firm to
recognize and resolve employee relations problems at the earliest
possible time and at the lowest possible cost to the client, The
Firm prides itself on providing practical and cost-efficient
solutions to all labor relations problems. As we develop a nego-
tiation strategy for the City of San Bernardino's specific. needs
and problems, we will be guided by the City's responsibility to
maintain control of its workforce, exercise fiscal respon-
sibility, and be responsive to the needs of its citizens. Our
Firm believes that the client must always retain ultimate control
over all negotiation decisions while we analyze the negotiation
circumstances, present alternatives, and obtain the desired
results at the bargaining table. We believe that few negotiators
can examine a bargaining situation, determine the needs of the
client, and develop a legal strategy to achieve the client's
goals as effectively as Richards, Watson & Gershon.
In providing our services, the Firm always provides
quick access to qualified and experienced attorneys and a back-up
system for each attorney. In case of an emergency, an attorney
familiar with your situation is always available who can provide
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advice and guidance to the city. Telephone calls are either
answered immediately or returned the morning or afternoon they
are received. Meetings are scheduled at the convenience of the
client.
We do not believe that the negotiation process ends
with the signing of the contract. At the conclusion of nego-
tiations, we are usually asked to conduct a training session for
all City managers and supervisors which will cover the changes
made in the memorandum of understanding and the effects those
changes will have on their jobs and the employees they super-
vise. Each manager attending the training session receives a
handbook detailing the results and impact of the negotiations.
II, QUALIFICATIONS OF THE FIRM
A. DescriDtion of the Firm
Richards, Watson & Gershon is a firm of forty-five
attorneys, with four attorneys specializing in the field of
public sector labor relations. The firm provides full legal and
labor relations services to more than fifty public agencies in
California.
B. Backaround of Chief Neaotiator
The head of the Firm's Labor and Employment
Relations Department is Lee T. Paterson, a graduate of UCLA
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School of Law. Coleman J. Walsh, Jr. is the firm's Senior Labor
Associate. Mr. Paterson and Mr. Walsh would provide the nego-
tiation and legal services to the City. The biographies of
Patterson and Walsh are attached.
C, Prior EXDerience
Richards, Watson & Gershon provides over fifty
public agencies in California with complete labor relations
services, ranging from periodic telephone advice to total labor
relations representation, includinq neqotiations and repre-
sentation before administrative agencies and courts.
D. Partial List of Clients
City of Anaheim
City of Avalon
City of Carson
city of Coachella
city of Hanford
city of Lonq Beach
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
City of Seal Beach
city of South El Monte
City of West Hollywood
Los Anqeles County Transportation Commission
Leucadia Sanitation District
Oranqe County Sanitation District
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Midway Sanitation District
Additional clients may be provided upon request.
E. Scooe of Service - Labor Relations
The Richards, Watson & Gershon Employment Law
Department provides a full range of legal services in addition to
acting as the City's negotiator. Specific services which we
provide include the following:
· Serve as Chief Negotiator.
· Representation at meet-and-negotiate planning
and strategy sessions.
· Analysis and costing of Employee Organization
proposals.
· Drafting of City proposals.
· Representation at impasse proceedings.
* Representation and implementation of strike
planning strategies.
· Advice and representation concerning
grievances.
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Representation in all court proceedings.
*
Management training workshops,
III. LABOR NEGOTIATIONS PROPOSAL
We propose to provide all services as directed by
the City Manager on the following basis:
Flat Fee
1st Unit
Each Additional Unit
$8,500
$5,000
If the City wishes services may be provided on an
hourly rate basis.
IV. CONCLUSION
City governments in California are currently facing
challenges that were not even considered ten years ago. PUblic
employers must be prepared to deal with employees who may now
legally engage in strikes. Other factors influencing municipal
labor relations, which must be considered when a negotiation
position is selected, include the increased sophistication of
employee collective bargaining representatives, and the growing
number of new State and Federal employment laws being applied to
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municipal employees, All of these factors serve to accentuate
the necessity of the City obtaining the best employee relations
advice available. We believe that Richards, Watson & Gershon can
provide the City of San Bernardino with the finest labor rela-
tions representation in the state.
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LEE T. PATERSON
LEE T. PATERSON is the senior labor partner in the
law firm of Richards, Watson & Gershon, located in Los Angeles,
California. He received his B.A. and B.S. degrees from Oregon
State University and graduated from the University of California,
Los Angeles Law School with the degree of Juris Doctor and was
admitted to the bar in 1967,
After graduation, Mr. Paterson entered the practice
of law with the management labor law firm of Van de W~ter ~nd
Powell and within a year became a partner in the firm. In 1969,
he formed his own labor law firm, Paterson & Taggart, which
merged with Richards, Watson & Gershon in 1982.
Mr, Paterson is past chairman of the Los Angeles
Area Chamber of Commerce Personnel Management Committee. He is a
member of the labor relations section and management member of
the Committee on Practice and Policy of the American Bar
Association, and a member of the Industrial Relations Research
Association. His articles on arbitration, union organizing, and
unfair labor practices have appeared in legal reviews and trade
journals. Of five books published on labor relations for
employers and public administrators, the most recent are The
Public Administrator,' s Grievance Arbitration Handbook and
Manaaement Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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Mr. Paterson represents management exclusively in
problems relating to the employer-employee relationship,
including those problems concerning union organizing activities,
collective bargaining agreement negotiations, equal employment
opportunity, employment-at-will, wage-hour matters, disciplinary
hearings, and all other matters concerning employers, unions and
employees. He handles labor cases before the National Labor
Relations Board, the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, and all applicable state administrative
agencies.
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COLEMAN J. WALSH, JR.
'.
COLEMAN J. WALSH, JR. is the senior labor associate
in the law firm of Richards, Watson & Gershon. Mr. Walsh is a
1977 graduate of Suffolk University Law School in Boston,
Massachusetts, and Cornell University's Graduate School of
Industrial and Labor Relations. Mr. Walsh represents pUblic and
private employers in all areas of employment law, including
wrongful terminations, negotiations, strikes, arbitrations,
personnel system design and implementation, supervisory training,
preventive labor relations, wage and hour matters, and disc~i-
mination complaints. Mr. Walsh has negotiated collective bar-
gaining agreements with the American Federation of State, County,
and Municipal Employees, Teamsters, OPEIU, Laborers, and Steel-
workers, among others. He represents employers before all State
and Federal courts and governmental agencies, including the
Public Employment Relations Board, National Labor Relations
Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of
Fair Employment and Housing, and California Division of Labor
Standards Enforcement. Mr. Walsh is a frequent speaker before
employer and trade associations.
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o CITY OF SAN B~NARDINO - MEMORAND~
To
Honorable Mayor and Common Council
Labor Relations Consultants
From R. Schweitzer
City Administrator
Subject
Date
Approved
Date
During an Executive Session of the March 9, 1987 Council meeting,
Council gave its approval for the formation of the Council Personnel
Committee ad hoc Committee on a Contract Negotiator/Consultant.
Present during the meeting of this group were myself, Phil Arviso,
Councilman Reilly and M, J, Per1ick. Presentations were received
from the following organizations/individuals:
Lee Patterson and Coleman Walsh of Richards, Watson & Gershon
Steve Fi1arsky of Fi1arsky & Watt
Ed Kelly of Edward J. Kelly and Associates
Of the 3 organizations, the committee recommends Richards, Watson
& Gershon (Coleman Walsh) as best suited for the purpose of per-
forming negotiations for the City of San Bernardino. Filarsky &
Watt (Steve Fi1arsky) would be.the second choice.
The flat cost rate for both General Unit and Middle Management MOUls
is an all-inclusive $13,500 for Richards, Watson & Gershon. Similar
services could be obtained from Fi1arsky & Watt for a flat rate a11-
inclusive cost of $12,000. However, the Committee recommends Richards,
Watson & Gershon due to their extensive experience in working with
Southern C~ifornia cities, including outstanding recommendations
from ~ities of Anaheim, South El Monte and Long Beach.
A copy of the Richards, Watson & Gershon proposal is attached. The
committee requests that a resolution and contract be prepared at once
for your approval. These documents will be placed on the Council
agenda for April 6, 1987.
enc
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