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E. Article 19 — Shift Exchanges 15 minutes each, County presents first 3:45 p.m. Attorney Mierzwa asked for Articles 19, 26, and 28 to be combined since they were interrelated. Attorney Mandel reported that under Article 19, Shift Exchange, the Paragraphs in dispute were 19.01, 19.02, 19.03, 19.04, and 19.05. He revealed that so far this year, the shift exchanges had increased by 21.5%, which shows this to be an issue of concern. He spoke about shift exchanges and pay backs, and out -of -rank shift exchanges. He relayed the Special Magistrate's recommendation to adopt up to a maximum of 12 full shifts and 6 partial shifts per fiscal year, instead of the current 10 full and 4 partial shifts. He also provided an analysis on shift swaps, and recommended the Board adopt the County's proposals for said paragraphs, as shown in Exhibit L. Attorney Mierzwa described the Union's proposed changes to Article 19, Shift Exchange, Paragraphs 19.01, 19.02, 19.03, 19.04 and 19.05. He said the firefighters' workweek consists of 24 hours on duty followed by 48 hours off duty, totaling about 56 hours per week, compared to other departments who usually work 40 hours per week. He pointed out that for a 7 -day week, a firefighter is either scheduled to work 48 hours (2 shifts), or 72 hours (3 shifts), depending on the week. In addition, he discussed shift exchanges within the department and made comparisons among neighboring Counties; he also made comparisons with Union Business Banks. He concluded by saying the Union's position is that in the absence of a Union Business Bank, they proposed status quo on shift exchanges. F. Article 26 — Medical Leave and Disability Leave 15 minutes each, County presents first 7:44 p.m. Attorney Mandel explained the County's proposed changes to Article 26 - Medical Leave and Disability Leave, Paragraphs 26.01, existing 26.03, newly numbered 26.03, newly numbered 26.05, newly numbered 26.06, and newly numbered 26.09. He stated that the County's proposal was an attempt to reduce sick leave accruals and payouts upon separation from employment, and be consistent with the reductions that had occurred County -wide. The changes would bring the use of medical leave under control to reduce overtime costs and to lessen staffing nightmares that the division has been facing. He recommended the Board approve the County's proposals, as shown in Exhibit M. Attorney Mierzwa stated that under Article 26, Medical Leave and Disability Leave, the firefighters had made economic and non -economic concessions to preserve medical and disability leave, but the County Administrator's proposal would cut the maximum cap for medical leave by Impasse Hearing March 20, 2015 Page 5