JAMESTOWN – All six of Jamestown’s collective bargaining units are now under contract with the city.
On Monday night during a special voting session, the Jamestown City Council unanimously approved new seven-year contracts with employees from both the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 418 and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Local 1000. Both contracts are retroactive to Jan. 1, 2012 and will expire at the end of 2018.
Following the vote, Jamestown mayor Sam Teresi credited his staff for helping to finalize the contract, along with the leaders from both unions.
“I think as an indication that this was a good and fair agreement, both parties were able to negotiate a settlement where things that were important to them were addressed to everybody’s satisfaction, but neither side got 100 percent of what they were looking for, and that typically is a hallmark of a fair agreement,” Teresi said.
The mayor said both contracts include no pay increase for the years 2012, 2013 or 2014, adding that this year there will be a .5 percent increase and a 2.25 percent increase for each year after, through 2018.
“That’s a total of 7 percent over seven years, which equates to an annualized increase of 1 percent per year for the seven years that these agreements cover,” Teresi explained. “The agreements also have some significant changes on the healthcare benefit front.”
The mayor said both unions will also join the voluntary wellness program administered by Blue Cross-Blue Shield, which will help to reduce healthcare costs for both the employees and the city. The groups will also see a slight increase in out-of-pockets premium expenses for healthcare – going from 17 to 19 percent. However, any employee who does not enroll the in voluntary wellness program will eventually see their out-of-pocket contribution go up to 26 percent in 2016 and 27 percent in 2017.
CITY WILL NO LONGER PAY RETIREMENT HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR NEW HIRES
Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi
The mayor also said there is a major watershed change in the healthcare program, with any new hire in either bargaining unit no longer being eligible for healthcare benefits from the city once they reach the age Medicare-eligibility age.
“This is something that will benefit taxpayers down the line,” Teresi said. “It’s a big step towards curbing the cost of the burden on the taxpayers for those retirement legacy benefits and is a huge step toward providing that relief to the city budget in future years. Our thought is that future mayors and city councils will be thinking this administration and this council, and these bargaining units, for making this watershed change.”
The mayor says that with the new change in how the city will deal with the healthcare of future retirees for both the CSEA and AFSCME, it may also be an option to consider for the four other bargaining units when it comes time to finalize their next contracts.
The CSEA local 1000 covers 18 city employees – primarily the clerical staff and support staff along with some junior engineers in the DPW. AFSCME Local 418 covers 58 employees in the DPW and parks department.
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