After 16 months of negotiations, Sub-local 11 of UE Local 222, representing Norwich City Hall employees, achieved a three-year contract settlement. The new agreement increases wages each year, by 3.5 percent, 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent. In addition 95 percent of employees also will also receive upgrades which will be implemented incrementally every 6 months and which will bring the average wage increase to 5.6 percent in the second year of the contract. Overall, including the classification upgrades, wage increases will average 3.7 percent a year.
"The bulk of the negotiations were around the reclassifications and I believe this is the absolute best we could have done," explained Sub-local 11 President Angelo Callis. The contract retains 100 percent employer paid health insurance for retirees and 50 percent for spouses, but for employees hired after July 1, 2008, the employer coverage will drop to 50 percent for the retiree and 25 percent for the spouse. The committee noted the importance of enacting legislation providing for universal health coverage and, led by Vice President Sue Goldman, is actively engaged in that struggle.
Members have three health insurances choices, a PPO, an HMO and a Health Savings Account. For the PPO, the employee share of the premium will go from 11.5 percent to 13 percent on June 1, 2009; the HMO will go from 9 percent to 11 percent; and the employee contribution to the HSA goes from 3 percent to 4 percent. The city will continue to pay 100 percent of the dental plan for the individual and 75 percent of the cost of a family plan. An additional rider for periodontics was added on the same cost-share basis.
SENIORITY, GRIEVANCE IMPROVEMENTS
Another important gain was new language giving employees the right to bump outside of their departments in the event of a layoff, and replacing department seniority with unit-wide seniority. Previously a member could only bump into a lower classification in their own department. If an employee is temporarily transferred to a higher classification for two months or more, the higher rate of pay will be used to calculate paid accrued time, such as vacation, sick leave and holiday pay.
The number of members granted leave from duty with full pay to attend grievance meetings was increased from two to three, at the third and fourth steps of the grievance procedure. New language was added allowing the union to proceed to the next step in the grievance procedure whenever a response is not provided by the city within the contractual time limits. In the past, management could bog down the grievance procedure by not timely responding to grievances.
Work shoe reimbursement for outdoor work was increased to $100, and the educational reimbursement was increased to $650. Aunts and uncles and their spouses were added to the family funeral leave provision. The employer will recognize civil unions in all provisions. If an employee runs out of vacation during an FMLA leave, that employee may be granted up to two weeks of additional unpaid leave.
Members ratified the contract on October 15 by a vote of 39 to 3. The negotiating committee consisted of President Angelo Callis, Vice President Sue Goldman and Joe East. They were assisted by UE Field Organizer John Lambiase.