| OMAHA CITY EMPLOYEES | | | CASE NO. 563 |
| LOCAL NO. 251 | | | |
| AMERICAN FEDERATION | | | |
| OF STATE, COUNTY AND | | | |
| MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, | | | |
| AFL-CIO, | | | |
| | | ||
| Plaintiff, | | | |
| | | ||
| v. | | | ORDER |
| | | ||
| CITY OF OMAHA, | | | |
| | | ||
| Defendant. | | |
Appearances:
For the Plaintiff: John Fahey
Dowd, Fahey, Dinsmore, and Hoffman
1823 Harney, Suite 201
Omaha, Nebraska 68102
For the Defendant: Kent Whinnery
Deputy City Attorney
804 Omaha/Douglas Civic Center
1819 Farnam Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68183
Before Judges Orr, Gradwohl and Mullin
ORR,J:
Now on this 17th day of July, 1984, this matter came on for an evidentiary Hearing before the Commission of Industrial Relations upon the Plaintiff's Petition and Motion seeking a temporary protective order under Neb. Rev. Stat. §48-819.01. The Plaintiff was represented by its attorney, John Fahey and the Defendant was represented by its attorney, Kent Whinnery.
The dispute before the Commission involves Inspectors of the Permits and Inspection Division of the City of Omaha, who are members of the Plaintiff's bargaining unit. The evidence presented at the Hearing established that the Defendant, City of Omaha, unilaterally required two way radio units, owned by the City, to be installed in the Inspectors' private vehicles without first bargaining with the Plaintiff. The evidence also showed that the Inspectors' responsibility for the care and control of the equipment is the same as that imposed on them for the care and control of other City owned and issued equipment.
There is little question that the installation of expensive radio equipment in an automobile in a metropolitan area clearly increases the probability that a vehicle will be broken into and the equipment stolen. The testimony established that the Inspectors have the option to eliminate any responsibility for the equipment during non-working hours by having the radio equipment removed at the close of each work day and reinstalled at the beginning of the next work day. During working hours, the City assumes financial responsibility for the radio equipment in the event it is stolen, but does not assume financial responsibility for any damages to the Inspectors' vehicles resulting from a break-in. The Inspectors must bear the costs of this damage themselves. Clearly, the installation of the radios by the City has changed the terms and conditions of the Inspectors' employment by exposing them to financial risk for which they do not have any recourse against the City. Because the City is currently in the process of installing the radios into the Inspectors' vehicles, we find that the Plaintiff's request for a temporary protective order ordering the City to cease installation of the radio units and to remove those units already installed until an agreement is reached between the Plaintiff and the Defendant concerning the terms and conditions of the installation should be granted.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §48-819.01 and §48-816 that the Defendant, City of Omaha, cease any further installation of radios in the Inspectors' automobiles, that the City remove all installed radios, and that the parties bargain in good faith with respect to the terms and conditions of employment of the employees effected by the proposed installation of radio equipment. It is further ordered that both parties shall file a status report with the Commission Office on the progress of bargaining on or before the seventh day of September, 1984.
Entered July 19, 1984.
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