Towns making headway in contracts
Published on December 12th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - Town Administrator David Ragucci recently hammered out a tentative contract deal with public works employees that will dole out an eight percent pay hike in exchange for a five percent health insurance giveback.
According to the Town Administrator, the pact will mirror the provisions of an agreement solidified last November with the Stoneham Patrolman’s Association.
“Negotiations are continuing and the latest union to settle is the DPW union,” Ragucci disclosed on Tuesday morning. “I am getting closer to a settlement with the police’s Superior Officer’s Union and with fire, but nothing [is] settled.”
As with the previous contract with the patrolman’s union, which has reportedly been ratified by the collective bargaining unit, public works employees will foot an extra five percent of health insurance premium costs starting next July.
In exchange, the eight percent salary increases will be awarded in four stages over the next three years.
The break down of the raises includes a three percent hike retroactive to July 1, 2007, a one percent increase in January of 2008, a 2.5 percent allotment on July 1, 2008, and finally a 1.5 percent increase in January of 2009.
In addition to the pay hikes, says Ragucci, the town has also agreed to change contract language involving tuition reimbursements and to tack on an extra personal day.
In exchange for those concessions, the two municipal unions that have consented to the town’s demands that employees contribute more towards health insurance costs.
Last September, the Stoneham Teacher’s Association (STA), the town’s largest labor group and the first to settle its contract, agreed to pay three percent more of health insurance premiums in exchange for a similar eight percent pay hike.
According to Ragucci, he had already made his feelings clear on the School Committee’s deal with the STA, and had no interest in creating bad blood between the two sectors of town government.
“I really don’t want to get into a contest with the schools over health insurance and will only say that I wish the schools got a better contribution rate,” said Ragucci.
Reached on Tuesday afternoon, Selectman John DePinto welcomed the news of the tentative pact with public works employees, especially since the union has agreed to foot three more percent of health insurance costs than the STA.
According to DePinto, he hoped that the remaining municipal unions would also soon follow suit, so that the town could focus its attention on a potential townwide inclusion in the state’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC).
The health insurance option, which will allow local cities and towns to collectively purchase medical benefits along with state employees, could save the town as much as $900,000, according to Ragucci.
“It’s good to see they’re all getting settled, because once they do that, we can talk about health insurance,” said DePinto. “Right now, we don’t know what’s going to happen with going to the state for health insurance.”
Before the town can shift over to the GIC, the town’s unions must agree to accept coalition bargaining for health insurance.
By doing so, town officials can jointly negotiate medical coverage with all of the town’s collective bargaining units, instead of piecemeal with each union, as currently mandated.
Once the unions endorse the measure, the town would then sit down and work-out a preliminary deal, which may or may not include a switch to the GIC. The union representatives would then need to endorse that deal based upon votes that are weighted according to the size of each labor group.
For example, because the STA represents the highest percentage of Stoneham employees, the teacher’s union would have largest say in whether to approve any pact presented.
Ragucci had begun to meet with representatives from each union in order to jump-start talks on coalition bargaining, but Stoneham’s labor groups have reportedly since refused to meet with the Town Administrator until all contracts are settled.
“I have scheduled three PEC (Public Employee Committee) meetings and no one but management has attended,” the Town Administrator said on Tuesday.
According to Selectman Paul Rotondi, he believes that the STA is largely behind the stalemated coalition bargaining talks with Ragucci. In particular, the Selectman suspects that the majority of the town’s union groups have ignored Ragucci’s call for discussions based upon the STA’s absence.
Since the teacher’s union has the largest weighted vote on accepting the new negotiation structure, there’s no reason for other groups to attend the talks with the town administrator, Rotondi opined.
“They don’t want to negotiate it until their next contract is up,” the Selectman said. “That’s my interpretation of what they’re doing. Why else wouldn’t they come to table?”
Subscribe and get Home Delivery of The Independent
Save 36% off the newstand price — that's like 18 FREE issues!