City of St. Louis, Unions agree to furloughs

KSDK -- The City of St. Louis and its unions reached a tentative agreement on a new pay plan, which includes mandatory furloughs for all employees.

According to the proposed plan, general scale employees will be required to take 40 hours of time off without pay before the end of the current fiscal year, June 30, 2010. All management and professional scale employees will be required to take twice as much time off before the end of the current fiscal year.

The city said if the two sides had not reached an agreement, an additional 70 employees would have lost their jobs.

"State and local governments throughout the country are facing budget shortfalls because of declining revenue and rising pension and health care costs," said Ron Smith, City Operations Manager. "We are no exception."

Even with the furloughs, the City faces even greater fiscal challenges both this year and next year. Revenue collections for the first three months of the fiscal year declined by about 5%. That means the City will likely have to cut its budget in the current fiscal year, and again next year.

Rudy L. Smith, organizer of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union No. 562, said "In saving some 70 city jobs, the furloughs for our members is just a band aid for the City. Until all employees and elected officials make the necessary sacrifices, this is only a drop in the bucket."

The next step will be a public hearing before the Civil Service Commission which has been scheduled for Monday, November 30, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. After the public hearing, the Civil Service Commission will meet to vote on the proposed pay plan and forward it to the Board of Aldermen.