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OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2026 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 26, 2025 1 of 9 FISCAL YEAR 2026 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY 1 for the 2 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 3 4 SUBMITTED BY: 5 6 JOSS N. SPRINGETTE, ESQ. 7 CHIEF NEGOTIATOR 8 9 JUNE 26, 2025 10 11 Good afternoon, Honorable Senator Novelle E. Francis, Jr., Chairperson of the 12 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance, other members of the Committee, 13 non-committee members in attendance, and the People of the Virgin Islands. My name 14 is Joss Springette, and I am the Chief Negotiator at the Office of Collective Bargaining 15 (OCB). I appear before you today in support of our proposed budget for Fiscal Year 16 2026, in the amount of One Million Two Hundred Sixty-Three Thousand Three Hundred 17 Ninety-One Dollars ($1,263,391.00). Appearing with me today is Zuleyma Chapman, 18 Esq., Assistant Attorney General-Labor and Nikima Richards, Financial Specialist. 19 First, I will begin my testimony by thanking my team for their continued 20 commitment, perseverance and professionalism as we provide the central government 21 with stellar representation. I would also like to give special recognition to our 2025 22 Employees of the Year: Eling Joseph in the St. Croix District and Roshanna Malone in 23 the St. Thomas-St. John District. The theme for this year’s Employee Recognition Week 24 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2026 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 26, 2025 2 of 9 is unleashing potential. You have tapped into your innate talents and skills, challenged 25 yourself, worked outside of your comfort, and impressed us all. Continue to make us 26 proud! 27 OVERVIEW AND COMPOSITION OF THE OFFICE OF 28 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 29 30 Through Act 4440, the Office of Collective Bargaining ("OCB") was established in 31 1980 within the Office of the Governor. The Office is led by me, the Chief Negotiator, 32 and our statutory responsibilities are as follows: 33 (i) exclusively represent the executive branch of Government and its departments and 34 divisions and negotiate on its behalf in all collective bargaining proceedings; 35 (ii) assist the Governor in formulating labor policies for collective bargaining and plan 36 strategies for such bargaining; 37 (iii) coordinate the Government's position in all mediation and arbitration cases and labor 38 disputes; 39 (iv) conduct systematic studies of collective bargaining agreements for the purpose of 40 contract negotiations; and 41 (v) prepare and submit an annual report and such other reports as may be requested, to 42 the Governor and the Legislature on the effects of this chapter on the annual budget and 43 personnel matters. 44 Our offices are in the GERS Building on St. Thomas, and at Chandler’s Wharf on 45 St. Croix. We currently have a team of seven (7) employees and one (1) Assistant 46 Attorney General-Labor. The Assistant Attorney General-Labor is assigned to OCB by 47 the Department of Justice (DOJ). OCB’s current employees hold classified non-union 48 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2026 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 26, 2025 3 of 9 positions, and the Assistant Attorney General-Labor is an exempt employee. The team 49 consists of professionals with a wealth of experience in administrative functions, 50 customer service, labor relations, human resources, arbitration, general legal practice, 51 labor law, and employment law. The current Organizational Chart is attached. 52 53 PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2026 EXPENDITURES 54 55 PERSONNEL SERVICES AND FRINGE BENEFITS 56 57 Our proposed budget for Personnel Services is Six Hundred Ninety-Two Thousand 58 Four Hundred Eighty-Seven Dollars ($692,487.00), which represents 54.81% of the 59 overall proposed budget. Fringe benefits are projected at Two Hundred Ninety-Nine 60 Thousand Six Hundred Forty-Five Dollars ($299,645.00), which represents 23.72% of 61 the overall budget. 62 EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES 63 64 Our proposed budget for equipment and supplies is Eighty-Nine Thousand Five 65 Hundred Dollars ($89,500.00), or 7.08% of the overall budget. This amount will cover 66 the cost of paper, a new copier, cleaning supplies, and other equipment necessary for the 67 daily operations of the office. 68 UTILITIES 69 70 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2026 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 26, 2025 4 of 9 Utility costs for Fiscal Year 2026 are projected to be Thirteen Thousand Dollars 71 ($13,000.00) or 1.03% of our overall budget. This amount only applies to our St. Croix 72 office, because we do not pay utilities in our St. Thomas office. These funds are 73 transferred to the Department of Finance, and utilities are paid through the Single Payer 74 Utility Fund. 75 OTHER SERVICES 76 77 Our proposed budget for Other Services is One Thousand Sixty-Eight Seven 78 Hundred Fifty-Nine Dollars ($168,759.00) or 13.36% of our overall budget. These funds 79 cover operating expenses, including rent, service agreements, IT, communications, and 80 training. 81 82 OVERVIEW OF PROPOSED FY 2025 BUDGET 83 Personnel Services $692,487 54.81% Fringe Benefits $299,645 23.72% Equipment & Supplies $ 89,500 7.08% Other Services $168,759 13.36% Utilities $ 13,000 1.03% TOTAL $1,263,391 100.00% 84 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2026 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 26, 2025 5 of 9 85 86 We do not receive any federal funds. 87 88 OPERATIONS 89 90 The demands on the Office are increasing with more requests from our clients for 91 training and advice. Therefore, we need to fill the current vacancies, improve our 92 technology, and continue streamlining operations. We are also recruiting candidates for 93 our Financial Management Officer, Legal Counsel, and Paralegal Officer positions. In 94 addition, my team and I attend continuing legal education courses locally and virtually. 95 96 97 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2026 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 26, 2025 6 of 9 LABOR RELATIONS 98 OCB’s mission is to fulfill our legal mandate to fairly engage in the collective 99 bargaining process and enhance the relationship between labor and management. Our 100 goals are to reduce labor disputes, continue training management in labor relations, and 101 improve relations between management and labor. OCB receives calls and email 102 inquiries daily from agencies seeking guidance on legal issues, organizational plans, or 103 OCB’s intervention in various collective bargaining matters. These discussions provide 104 us with insight into the agencies’ operations, their challenges, and how OCB can better 105 serve the government. We also receive calls from unions who seek to amicably resolve 106 issues without filing grievances or other formal complaints. This dialogue with union 107 representatives serves as an essential element in labor relations. We encouraged our 108 clients to do the same, which has resulted in some agencies meeting with unions as often 109 as biweekly. 110 PENDING CASES 111 OCB continues its statutory commitment to amicably resolve pending cases and 112 avoiding future ones. As of May 31, 2025, OCB has a caseload of Three Hundred Sixty- 113 Seven (367) cases. Of that amount, there are two hundred ninety -four (294) Rights 114 Arbitration (RA) cases, thirty-six (36) Unfair Labor Practice Charges (ULPC), twenty- 115 seven (27) civil cases, seven (7) Unit Clarification (UC) cases, one (1) Equal 116 Employment Opportunity (EEOC) case, one (1) Government Service Appeal case, and 117 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2026 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 26, 2025 7 of 9 one (1) Recertification (RC) case. From October 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025, we received 118 fifty-nine (59) cases and were successful in closing thirty-three (33) cases through 119 arbitration, dispositive orders, withdrawals, or settlements. This is about 9% of the 120 caseload. Below is a chart showing the caseload as of May 31, 2025: 121 122 NEGOTIATIONS 123 OCB engages in contract negotiation with fifteen (15) labor unions that represent 124 thirty-three (33) bargaining units within the government. OCB currently manages thirty- 125 two (32) collective bargaining agreements, of which fifteen (15) are current, and one 126 bargaining unit does not have a CBA. 127 RA 80% ULPC 10% Civil 8% UC 2% IMP 0% EE… GSA 0% RC 0% DC 0% CHART OF CASES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2026 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 26, 2025 8 of 9 Since my last budget hearing, we have completed negotiations with the following 128 unions: 129 1. IAMAW for Enforcement Officers and other non-supervisory employees at the 130 Waste Management Authority; 131 2. OVILU for employees at the Department of Agriculture; 132 3. OVILU for employees at the Department of Justice; 133 4. USW for supervisors at the Waste Management Authority; and 134 5. USW for 911 Emergency Center Operators at the VITEMA 135 136 Negotiations continue with the following unions: 137 1. Virgin Islands Workers Union for Headstart; 138 2. Virgin Islands Workers Union for VITRAN; 139 3. Seafarers International Union for Public Health Physicians; 140 4. Educational Administrators Association; 141 5. Seafarers International Union Masters Unit; 142 6. United Steelworkers for Supervisors; 143 7. International Association of Firefighters for Supervisors 144 8. Police Benevolent Association; 145 9. American Federation of Teachers for Teachers; 146 10. American Federation of Teachers for Paraprofessionals; 147 11. American Federation of Teachers for Support Staff; 148 12. Our Virgin Islands Labor Union – Department of Public Works; 149 13. Association of Firefighters for Firefighters and Corporals; 150 14. Association of Firefighters for Support Staff; and 151 15. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers for Security 152 Guards at the Department of Health and both hospitals. 153 154 Attached is a copy of our at-a-glance spreadsheet showing the status of each CBA and 155 our tentative schedule for the rest of the calendar year. 156 157 CONCLUSION 158 Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today in support of our budget 159 for Fiscal Year 2026. We urge this body to approve our recommended budget of One 160 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2026 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 26, 2025 9 of 9 Million Two Hundred Sixty-Three Thousand Three Hundred Ninety-One Dollars 161 ($1,263,391.00). We welcome any questions that you may have. 162