Omaha Steve's contract: It's crowded, and pricey, at city's bargaining table

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20140203/NEWS/140209642/1694#it-s-crowded-and-pricey-at-city-s-bargaining-table

PUBLISHED MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014 AT 12:30 AM

By Erin Golden and Matt Wynn

The City of Omaha's effort to make money-saving labor deals comes with a significant price tag of its own.

In the two years since the city began using an outside labor negotiator, it has paid his firm about $500,000 — a rate of $315 per hour.

This year, with nearly 75 percent of city employees in line to get new contracts, that expense is likely to rise. The contract for Omaha's police union expired at the end of 2013. The two largest civilian unions have been without a contract since 2012.

And the fire union, which recently spent months wrangling with Mayor Jean Stothert over changes to its current contract, is likely to reopen discussions with the city sometime this year.

FULL story at link.