Trial set in McAllen labor case

McALLEN - The legal fight between the city and its police and fire unions over the use of binding arbitration in labor negotiations is now set to go to trial in June.

The McAllen police and fire unions filed suit in March 2007 over a ballot item the city wrote for use in the May 2007 election, asking voters whether to amend the city charter to allow binding arbitration in the city's negotiations with police and firefighters.

Union officials maintained the language on the ballot negatively portrayed the practice, which requires both sides to go to an independent panel when labor negotiations reach a deadlock.

"I think we're going to trial," said Juan A. Gonzalez, one of the attorneys representing the McAllen Police Officer's Union.

"I don't think the city will ever agree the language was unfair. We need a final ruling."

Judge Aida Salinas Flores of the 398th state District Court scheduled the trial for June 2, and while a standing order remains urging both sides to reach a settlement outside the courtroom, there is little indication that will happen.

City Attorney Kevin Pagan, who outsourced the city's defense to two law firms in McAllen and Austin, said he had not discussed the case with the City Commission, which would need to approve a settlement, in almost a year.

"They'd probably be willing to tweak (the ballot item's wording) a little bit, but the law gives the City Commission the right to select that language," Pagan said.

In March last year, Flores issued an emergency ruling that the ballot item was written with a negative slant and ordered McAllen officials to rewrite it - an order their attorneys eventually challenged in the Texas Supreme Court.

The high court upheld Flores' ruling because the imminence of the May election created an emergency situation. But her ruling was only issued with respect to that upcoming election and was not a final ruling on the merits of the city's ballot language. A final ruling is still pending.

The arbitration question ultimately was left off the ballot. However, the unions' attorneys are now asking Flores to force the city to put the matter to voters immediately.

Under the McAllen city charter, though, amendments can only be made every two years. Because an amendment was made last year, the charter cannot be amended again until 2009, meaning the city could not put the binding arbitration question to voters until May next year. However, Gonzalez said the State Election Code allows the judge to override that every-two-years provision of the city charter and call for an emergency election.

Since the filing of the lawsuit, the police and fire unions have reached contract agreements with the city. But in the case of the police union, negotiations dragged out over almost two years and were strained to the point that the now former union president filed a defamation suit against McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez.

"We got a very good agreement with the city, but that was after waiting for two years," police union president Ed Suarez Jr. said.

"Binding arbitration would make it a lot easier to get our contracts done. There would be somebody outside the city who could come in and render a decision."
____

James Osborne covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4428.