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OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2027 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 24, 2026 1 of 8 FISCAL YEAR 2027 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 24, 2026 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). Before I begin my testimony, I want to express my greatest gratitude to my team 16 for always stepping up and continuing to demonstrate the essence of true public service. 17 I would also like to extend special congratulations to our 2026 Employees of the Year - 18 Nikima Richards from the St. Croix district, who is present with me today; and Roshanna 19 Malone from the St. Thomas-St. John District. Their work has been guided by purpose 20 and contributes to a shared mission and meaningful results. Thank you for always giving 21 your greatest and continue to make us proud! 22 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2027 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 24, 2026 2 of 8 I appear before you today in support of our proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2027, 23 in the amount of One Million Five Hundred Seventy-Four Thousand Seven Hundred 24 Twenty-Eight Dollars ($1,574,728.00). 25 OVERVIEW AND COMPOSITION OF THE OFFICE OF 26 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 27 28 For the benefit of the listening and viewing audience, through Act 4440, the Office of 29 Collective Bargaining ("OCB") was established in 1980 within the Office of the 30 Governor. The Office is led by me, the Chief Negotiator, and our statutory 31 responsibilities are as follows: 32 (i) exclusively represent the executive branch of Government and its departments and 33 divisions and negotiate on its behalf in all collective bargaining proceedings; 34 (ii) assist the Governor in formulating labor policies for collective bargaining and plan 35 strategies for such bargaining; 36 (iii) coordinate the Government's position in all mediation and arbitration cases and labor 37 disputes; 38 (iv) conduct systematic studies of collective bargaining agreements for the purpose of 39 contract negotiations; and 40 (v) prepare and submit an annual report and such other reports as may be requested, to 41 the Governor and the Legislature on the effects of this chapter on the annual budget and 42 personnel matters. 43 Our St. Thomas office is located in the GERS Building on St. Thomas, and at 44 Chandler’s Wharf on St. Croix. We currently have a team of six (6) employees. OCB’s 45 current employees hold classified non-union positions. The team consists of employees 46 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2027 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 24, 2026 3 of 8 with a wealth of experience in administrative functions, labor relations, human resources, 47 arbitration, general legal practice, labor law, and employment law. The current 48 Organizational Chart is attached. 49 50 PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2027 EXPENDITURES 51 52 PERSONNEL SERVICES AND FRINGE BENEFITS 53 54 Our proposed budget for Personnel Services is Eight Hundred Sixty-Seven 55 Thousand Two Hundred Fifteen Dollars ($867,215.00), which represents 55.07% of the 56 overall proposed budget. Fringe benefits are projected at Three Hundred Seventy-One 57 Thousand One Hundred Sixty-Eight Dollars ($371,168.00), which represents 23.57% of 58 the overall budget. 59 EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES 60 61 Our proposed budget for equipment and supplies is Forty Thousand Dollars 62 ($40,000.00), or 2.54% of the overall budget. This amount will cover the cost of paper, 63 cleaning supplies, and other equipment necessary for the daily operations of the office. 64 UTILITIES 65 66 Utility costs for Fiscal Year 2027 are projected to be Thirteen Thousand Dollars 67 ($13,000.00) or 0.83% of our overall budget. This amount only applies to our St. Croix 68 office, because we do not pay utilities in our St. Thomas office. These funds are 69 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2027 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 24, 2026 4 of 8 transferred to the Department of Finance, and utilities are paid through the Single Payer 70 Utility Fund. 71 OTHER SERVICES 72 73 Our proposed budget for Other Services is One Hundred Sixty-Three Thousand 74 Three Hundred Forty-Five Dollars ($163,345.00) or 10.37% of our overall budget. These 75 funds cover operating expenses, including rent, service agreements, IT, and 76 communications. 77 CAPITAL PROJECTS 78 79 Our offices in both districts are in need of new copiers. Additionally, both vehicles 80 need to be replaced. Most recently, the vehicle in the St. Thomas District was turned 81 over to the Department of Property and Procurement for disposal. While the vehicle in 82 the St. Croix District is operational, it is need of extensive repairs. We are requesting 83 One Hundred Twenty Thousand Dollars ($120,00.00) in Capital funding for the purchase 84 of new copiers and a vehicle. 85 We do not receive any federal funds. 86 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2027 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 24, 2026 5 of 8 OVERVIEW OF PROPOSED FY 2027 BUDGET 87 Personnel Services $867,215 55.07% Fringe Benefits $371,168 23.57% Equipment & Supplies $ 40,000 2.54% Other Services $163,345 10.37% Utilities $ 13,000 0.83% Capital Projects $ 120,000 7.62% TOTAL $1,574,728 100.00% 88 89 90 91 92 OPERATIONS 93 94 The demands on the Office have increased and clients are making more requests for 95 training and advice. Therefore, we urgently need to fill the current vacancies, and are 96 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2027 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 24, 2026 6 of 8 recruiting candidates for our Financial Management Officer, Legal Counsel, and 97 Paralegal Officer positions. 98 PENDING CASES 99 OCB continues its statutory commitment to amicably resolve pending cases and 100 avoiding future ones. As of May 31, 2026, OCB has a caseload of Four Hundred 101 Seventy-Three (473) cases. Of that amount, there are three hundred ninety (390) Rights 102 Arbitration (RA) cases, forty six (46) Unfair Labor Practice Charges (ULPC), - six (26) 103 civil cases, eight (8) Unit Clarification (UC) cases, one (1) Equal Employment 104 Opportunity (EEOC) case, one (1) Government Service Appeal case, and one (1) 105 Recertification (RC) case. From October 1, 2025, to May 31, 2026, we received ninety- 106 eight (98) cases and were successful in disposing of five (5) cases during this time period, 107 both of our attorney positions were vacant. Below is a chart showing the caseload as of 108 May 31, 2026: 109 OFFICE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – FY 2027 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 24, 2026 7 of 8 110 NEGOTIATIONS 111 OCB engages in contract negotiation with fifteen (15) labor unions that represent 112 thirty-one (31) bargaining units within the government. Of the thirty-one bargaining 113 agreements nine (9) are current, and one bargaining unit does not have a CBA. 114 Since my last budget hearing, we have completed negotiations with the following 115 unions: 116 117 1. American Federation of Teachers for Teachers; 118 2. American Federation of Teachers for Paraprofessionals; and 119 3. American Federation of Teachers for Support Staff; 120 121 122 RA 82% ULPC 10% Civil 6% 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 2027 BUDGET HEARING TESTIMONY – JUNE 24, 2026 8 of 8 Negotiations continue with the following unions: 123 1. Virgin Islands Workers Union for Headstart; 124 2. Virgin Islands Workers Union for VITRAN; 125 3. Seafarers International Union for Public Health Physicians; 126 4. Educational Administrators Association; 127 5. Seafarers International Union Masters Unit; 128 6. United Steelworkers for Supervisors; 129 7. International Association of Firefighters for Supervisors 130 8. Police Benevolent Association; 131 9. Our Virgin Islands Labor Union – Department of Public Works; 132 10. Association of Firefighters for Firefighters and Corporals; 133 11. Association of Firefighters for Support Staff; and 134 12. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers for Security 135 Guards at the Department of Health and both hospitals. 136 137 Attached is a copy of our at-a-glance spreadsheet showing the status of each CBA and 138 our tentative schedule for the rest of the calendar year. 139 140 CONCLUSION 141 142 Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today in support of our budget 143 for Fiscal Year 2027. We urge this body to approve our recommended budget of One 144 Million Five Hundred Seventy-Four Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty-Eight Dollars 145 ($1,574,728.00). We welcome any questions that you may have. 146